“Dad,” Isabella said, her voice barely audible. “I maintained a 3.7 GPA. I made varsity cross-country. I got accepted to three major universities. Why does she hate me so much?”
I turned and gripped her shoulders. “Because you are not a puppet, Isabella. You are a human being, and you had the audacity to become someone she couldn’t script. To a woman like your mother, that isn’t a choice—it’s a betrayal.”
I looked at the walls of her room—posters of the Pacific Crest Trail, ecology textbooks, and photos of her mud-streaked and grinning at finish lines. This was the person Candace refused to acknowledge.
“Get dressed,” I said. “Put on that charcoal suit we bought for your interviews. I’ll be back in ninety minutes.”
“Where are you going? Graduation starts at seven.”
I gave her a look that usually preceded a hostile boardroom takeover. “I’m going to go collect a debt. Stay ready.”
As I walked out, I knew the foundation was cracked beyond repair. But even a ruined building can have a spectacular demolition.
Chapter 2: The Hidden Rank
My first stop was the school district’s administrative office. I had made several calls on the drive over, and Principal Vera Rice had agreed to meet me despite the late hour. Vera was a woman of formidable structure—stocky, with steel-gray hair and eyes that had seen every trick in the book.
“Steven, I saw the photos you messaged me,” she said, ushering me into her office. Her voice was taut with a quiet, seething anger. “That is more than a mother’s disappointment. That is domestic sabotage.”
“It’s a declaration of war,” I corrected, leaning over her desk. “Principal Rice, I need two things. I need a replacement cap and gown, and I need to know the truth about Isabella’s final class ranking.”
Vera looked at her computer screen, her brow furrowing. She typed for a moment, then rotated the monitor toward me. Her finger traced a line beneath Isabella’s name.
“This was meant to be confidential until the ceremony,” she murmured. “But given the circumstances, I think the hierarchy needs to be established. Isabella isn’t just graduating with honors, Steven. She is graduating as the Valedictorian.”
The word hit me like a physical blow. A weighted GPA of 4.2. She had surpassed the runner-up, Meredith Bird, by a mere point zero three.
