❛𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈 𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒!❜
⸻ in which Rory Hargrove is obsessed to uncover
the truth behind Barbara Holland's disappearance, while
facing her brother's enemy and buried se...
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
SEPTEMBER, 1984
THE GIRL LEFT THE San Francisco High School buildingat a fast pace, her fists clenched. She still couldn't process what had just happened. She had been expelled from one of the best schools in the state of California.
She stopped beside the road, where cars were passing at the same speed as her turbulent thoughts, right in front of the school's huge gates. She placed a trembling hand to her forehead, trying to control her desperate breathing. And the same question kept echoing in her mind: What am I gonna do now?
That week, her father had been fired from his job. Great, she said sarcastically when she received the unfortunate news, thinking that nothing could be worse. But she was wrong. Another bomb had just exploded in her lap. The bomb that she planted herself.
"Rory, what the hell was that?" Her brother's deep, husky voice echoed behind her, making her turn to face him.
She had just been arguing with the principal, making serious accusations about the teacher, Blake Sutherland, who was a bastard in Rory's opinion - something she had no problem making clear.
"I did what had to be done! He committed several crimes, Billy, namely fraud. He has taken bribes from several students, he has harassed female students, and he has even inflated the grades of rich people's students. This has been going on for years, there are inconsistencies in the paperwork, the grades announced don't match the school success of some students, and it's unfair!"
Rory spat the words out loud, not caring if anyone heard her.
"You're probably just being paranoid-" He dismissed her concern.
"No, I'm not. I know what I read and the conversations I overheard. I have proof, and they know it!" The girl shouted, still embarrassed that they didn't believe her and accused her of trying to ruin the reputation of such a beloved teacher.
"And you?" Now in an offensive stance, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you realize how much shit you did? I tried to defend you, I explained your side of the story to the principal, but you literally beat a student until he was unconscious and taken to the hospital!"
Billy glanced down at his bloody knuckles. If he'd already felt a horrible dose of anger that day, hearing his sister remind him of his not-so-wrong mistakes from her perspective left him beside himself.
