Chapter 4
Section 4
I was practically buzzing.
Yes!
All those jerks who’d been so cocky, so eager
to hurt me, weren’t getting away with it!
But I was a mess, covered in dirt and blood.
Dad thought I looked familiar.
He started to kneel down to get a closer look,
but the bodyguard cut him off.
The bodyguard stammered, forcing a smile,
“Mr. Miller, what brings you here?”
Dad just scoffed, “Do I need to ask your
permission to do something?”
He pointed at me, lying on the ground.
“Who is that? What’s going on here?”
The bodyguard’s face went tight, looking
guilty.
く
“Mr. Miller, it’s just some nobody student.
She’s been giving Ashley trouble, so I was just
teaching her a lesson.”
Dad wasn’t buying it.
He frowned.
The Miller Corporation was huge, involved in
everything.
Dad was always working, always dealing with
something.
He valued efficiency.
He hated incompetence.
Even when I was in grade school, he thought
the teachers were too slow and hired a
<
The bodyguard’s stammering, his inability to
get to the point, was driving Dad nuts.
Dad started to push past him, ready to see
for himself who I was.
But Chad stepped forward.
“Mr. Miller, don’t bother. Why waste your time
on trash? I swear, the bodyguard’s telling the
truth.
“That person’s a lowlife who’s been harassing
Ashley. You don’t want to get your hands
dirty.”
The other students chimed in.
“Yeah, Mr. Miller, we were just helping
Ashley!”
With everyone backing Chad up, Dad
hesitated.
He straightened up, giving up.
I panicked, fighting to speak or even make
eye contact.
But the beating had hurt my throat.
My mouth was filling with blood.
I couldn’t say a word.
Dad was about to leave.
I clawed at the floor, trying to get his
attention.
Dad!
く
It’s me!
Look at me!
Help!
Then, Dad stopped dead.
But he wasn’t looking at me.
He’d spotted Michael, who’d been dragged
into the stairwell.
Michael was half–out, unconscious.
Dad told his assistant to bring him over and
frowned.
“What happened to him?”
L
Then he remembered what I’d said about
ditching Chad for Michael.
“And the girl who was with him? Where is
she?”
Chad bit his lip, avoiding eye contact.
“Uh, we didn’t see any girl with him.”
He couldn’t resist asking, “Mr. Miller, who is
that girl? If she’s important, we can help you
look.”
Dad didn’t answer.
To protect me, my family never revealed my
identity.
It prevented people from trying to use me.
And I always went through Dad’s personal
assistant.
Most of the Miller security team barely knew
what I looked like.
Dad told them to take Michael and left.
I grabbed a small rock and threw it at Dad’s.
feet.
It rolled a few times and caught his attention.
