Chapter 5: No Apologies

Ten minutes later, the teacher pushed open the door. She froze when she saw the mess on the floor and clusters of crying children.

"Oh my God... what happened?"

Mia was the first to run up, grabbing the teacher's leg and sobbing: "Teacher! Chloe and Leo hit people! They hit so many people! Kick them out!"

Other children chimed in, all talking at once.

The teacher took a deep breath, her face dark, and walked to the back row.

"Chloe, Leo, come with me to the office."

Chloe stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.

Leo stood up too.

They followed the teacher out.

As they passed Mia, Chloe stopped.

"Next time you start something with me," she turned her head, voice low. "I won't just be hitting them."

Mia's crying cut off instantly.

She stared at Chloe's back, lips trembling, unable to get a single word out.

The teacher's office was at the end of the first floor.

Chloe and Leo were told to sit in the plastic chairs by the door and wait for their parents.

Leo leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, like he was sleeping.

Chloe stared at the window at the end of the hallway, her mind all over the place.

She didn't know who would show up.

If it was Arthur, that ordinary-looking office worker dad, would he send her straight back to the orphanage?

She'd only been adopted a few days and already caused this much trouble. What family would want a kid like that?

But she didn't want Mom to come either.

That Mom who had always been kind to her, who made her feel like she could be treated fairly too.

If she found out her beloved adopted daughter was a troublemaker with a mean streak, she'd probably be so disappointed.

Chloe's fingers slowly tightened around her pant leg.

She didn't want to be abandoned again.

Even if this home was strange in every way, it was a thousand times better than the orphanage and the Sterlings.

"Chloe, Leo..."

Footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Chloe looked up and saw a blonde woman in a beige trench coat walking toward them with quick, long strides.

It was Diana.

"Mom..."

Chloe stood up, her voice a little unsteady.

Did she know what had happened?

How would Mom handle this?

"You've got a cut on the corner of your mouth." Diana walked up to Chloe, crouched down, and held her face in both hands, looking her over carefully, her tone unhappy.

"Anywhere else hurt?"

"No." Chloe shook her head, feeling some of the weight lift off her chest. "Just that."

"Good."

Diana let go of her and looked at Leo. His eyes were still closed.

"Leo, you okay?"

"I'm fine. They couldn't touch me."

Leo opened his eyes, calmly told Diana what had happened before she arrived, then glanced sideways at Chloe.

"Mom, this isn't going to be easy to sort out. Sister... really hates Mia."

He figured it out?

Was it that obvious how much she hated Mia?

Would he and Diana blame her for being unreasonable?

Would they ask her why she hated Mia?

If they asked, what was she supposed to say?

Chloe's heart clenched hard a few times. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Diana or Leo.

Luckily, neither of them seemed to want to push it.

"Got it."

Diana was quiet for only two seconds, then stood up and pushed open the office door.

The room was already full.

Mia sat in the middle, next to a middle-aged man in a suit who looked like a butler.

Two broad, muscular bodyguards in black stood behind him, making the already small office feel even more cramped.

The other children's parents had arrived too. Some were holding their kids, some had their arms crossed, and none of them looked pleased.

Diana walked in, pulled over a chair, and sat down with her legs crossed.

"Alright."

The teacher sat behind the desk and cleared her throat. "Everyone's here. Let's talk about what happened today."

"What's there to talk about?" Mia's butler spoke first, his voice firm and steady. "Our young lady was beaten by these two children. This can't just be dropped."

"Beaten?" Diana raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's the word you want to use?"

The butler glanced at her, taking in the plain trench coat she was wearing, a faint look of contempt at the corners of his mouth.

"You're the mother of these two children?"

"Yes."

"Then you need to keep them in line." The butler said. "Our young lady has never had to put up with anything like this in her life. We need an explanation for what happened today."

"An explanation?" Diana smiled. "What kind of explanation?"

"A public apology." The butler paused, glancing at the teacher. "And these two children need to leave this school. The Sterling family has no interest in sharing a school with violent kids like them."

The teacher's face fell.

The Sterlings were one of New York's most prominent families. She couldn't afford to get on their bad side, but she couldn't bring herself to help adults gang up on two five or six-year-old children either.

"How about..." The teacher looked at Diana, carefully suggesting. "How about the two children apologize, and we call it even?"

Chloe stood in the doorway, catching those words through the gap in the door, her fingers tightening even more.

An apology.

Always with the apology.

In her past life, no matter what Mia did, it always ended with her saying sorry.

"No."

Diana's voice came from inside. Not loud, but perfectly clear.

The teacher and the butler both froze.

Chloe, standing just behind Diana, froze too.

"What did you say?" The butler frowned.

"I said no." Diana repeated, her tone still calm and unhurried. "If anyone should be apologizing, it's your young lady."

"Are you out of your mind?" The butler's voice rose. "What did our young lady do wrong?"

"She started it." Diana said. "She tried to make my daughter her little errand girl, then used snacks to get other kids to beat her up. That's bullying, isn't it?"

She paused, then added: "Learning to bully people at five years old. The Sterling family's approach to parenting is really something."

The butler's face flushed a deep, ugly red.

"You... a nobody, talking to me like this?"

"So what if I'm a nobody?"

Diana tilted her head, amusement in her voice. "Nobodies can't talk sense?"

The teacher jumped in quickly: "Okay, okay, let's all calm down..."

"Teacher."

Diana turned to her, voice firm. "I want to ask you something. Have you actually looked into what happened?"

The teacher opened her mouth and said nothing.

She hadn't. Not really.

Mia was a Sterling. In most cases, whatever she said was taken as fact. What actually happened didn't really matter.

"You hesitated. So you haven't looked into it at all."

Diana caught the guilt on the teacher's face, and her expression grew colder.

"Then let me tell you what happened. Your student, Mia Sterling, insulted my daughter. When my daughter ignored her, she used snacks to bribe at least four other children to go after my two kids."

She spoke slowly and clearly, every word landing hard.

"My children were defending themselves."

The office went quiet for a few seconds.

Mia suddenly jumped down from her chair, pointing at Diana, her voice sharp: "You're lying! They hit first! Butler, call the police! Have her arrested!"

The butler reached out and pressed down on Mia's shoulder, signaling her to be quiet.

He stared at Diana, eyes narrowing.

"Ma'am." His voice dropped. "I'd advise you to be smart about this. The Sterling family has money and connections. If you push this any further, you'll be the one who ends up worse off."

"Is that a threat?" Diana asked.

"It's advice."

Diana held his gaze for two seconds, then laughed.

That smile sent a chill down Chloe's spine.

"Alright."

Diana said. "Then I'll give you some advice too. Take your young lady and walk out of here right now. Pretend none of this ever happened."

"And if I don't?"

"Then go ahead and try."

The two of them locked eyes. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut.

The teacher stood caught between them, quietly breaking into a cold sweat.

"Um... everyone please calm down..."

Nobody paid her any attention.

Mia peeked out from behind the butler, glaring at Diana, her eyes full of hate.

"You bitch!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but each word was spat out with sharp, deliberate force. "You and those two bastards of yours can all go to hell!"