Chapter 13
427words
"Lily," she gasped when she saw me, lunging forward like I was her last hope, "It was you, wasn't it? You destroyed everything!"
She clutched my arm with desperate fingers, her eyes wild: "Please, make this stop! I promise I'll never cross you again!"
"Give me back my father, give me back our money! I can't be poor—I just can't!"
Students gathered at the upstairs windows, pointing and whispering about the once-untouchable Alpha princess.
Victoria felt their stares and something inside her snapped. She dumped her backpack, ripping books apart and scattering pages across the pavement.
"Stop staring! None of you can look at me!" she screamed at the windows, hair wild around her face. "My father is the principal! He'll expel every last one of you!"
"My father runs this school! I'm an Alpha! Who dares challenge me?"
She laughed and sobbed at once, shredding textbooks and flinging the pieces, completely unhinged.
I watched her quietly before asking, "Still feel like you're untouchable, Victoria?"
Victoria froze mid-motion, then let out a primal scream before bolting through the gates and vanishing into the streets.
For someone who spent her life sorting people into hierarchies, experiencing life at the bottom was perhaps the most fitting justice.
A few days later, Mom received a message from an unknown number.
"Ms. Sarah, this is State Education Commissioner Dr. Stephanie Shaw."
Mom answered immediately, her voice tense: "Hello, Dr. Shaw. What can I do for you?"
A warm voice replied: "Sarah, I wanted to personally explain how this investigation unfolded."
"I saw your Instagram post that day. As someone who also climbed up from nothing, I couldn't ignore such blatant injustice. That's why I initiated the federal investigation."
Mom choked up: "Dr. Shaw, thank you! You haven't just helped Lily—you've helped countless kids facing discrimination in these elite schools!"
"I don't even know how to thank you properly!"
There was a pause, then Dr. Shaw said with slight embarrassment: "Well... Sarah, I do have one small request..."
"Anything! Just name it!"
"I graduated from Stanford three years ago before joining the Education Department. After seeing all those rave reviews about your legendary lamb recipe, I've been dying to try it..."
"Any chance I could skip the waiting list for one of your lamb platters?"
Mom was speechless for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Dr. Shaw, that might be the cutest request I've ever heard!"
"Consider yourself on our permanent VIP list—with unlimited lamb privileges!"
