Dad stopped three feet away from Victoria. He looked at my face, then down at the chopped hair on the floor, and finally at the scissors in Victoria's trembling hand.
Victoria tried to pull her shoulders back. She swallowed hard, attempting to find her usual arrogance. “You’re trespassing,” she said, though her voice shook. “My father owns this school. He'll have you arrested.”
Dad didn't blink. He just stared at her with a cold, absolute authority.
“Put the scissors down,” he said.
Victoria hesitated, her eyes darting to the hallway, but then her smirk slowly returned. She let the scissors drop to the tile with a loud clatter.
“Go ahead and play the hero, Marine,” Victoria said, taking another step back. “But you can't save her. In fact, by breaking down that door, you just gave my father exactly what he needs to ruin you both.”
CHAPTER 2
The metallic clatter of the scissors hitting the tile seemed to echo for an eternity.
Dad didn't react to Victoria's threat. He kept his eyes locked on her for three agonizing seconds before he finally broke the stare and stepped toward me.
“Are you hurt, Maya?” he asked, his voice entirely different now—low, steady, and anchoring.
“I’m okay,” I lied, my voice cracking as I wiped my eyes. I was still clutching the blue ribbon so tightly my knuckles were white.
Dad reached down and picked up the grooming scissors from the floor. He didn't put them in his pocket; he held them carefully by the tips. Then, he turned his attention to Lexi, who was frantically trying to shove her phone into her riding jacket.
“Keep the phone exactly where it is,” Dad commanded, his tone slicing through the air like a blade. Lexi froze, looking terrified.
Footsteps pounded down the hallway. Mr. Sterling, the Headmaster of Crestwood Academy, rushed through the broken doorway. He was a balding, frantic man who always looked like he was one spilled coffee away from a nervous breakdown. Two campus security guards in yellow windbreakers trailed behind him, looking nervously at the flashing police lights outside.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Headmaster Sterling shrieked, his eyes darting from the shattered door lock to my dad's uniform.
Before my dad could speak, Victoria let out a dramatic, sobbing gasp. She threw her hands over her face, leaning heavily against the lockers.
“Mr. Sterling, thank god you’re here!” Victoria cried, her voice trembling with perfectly manufactured terror. “Maya went completely crazy! She cornered us in here because Lexi caught her trying to steal my grooming equipment! When I confronted her, she came at me with scissors!”
I stared at her, paralyzed by the sheer audacity of the lie. “That’s not true! She cut my hair!” I pointed frantically at the dark locks on the floor.
“She cut it herself to frame me!” Victoria sobbed louder, peeking through her fingers to check the Headmaster’s reaction.
Headmaster Sterling didn't even look at the hair on the floor. He turned his furious gaze immediately on me. “Maya Vance. I should have known letting a charity case into this academy would result in violence. You are completely out of control.”
“Hold on,” Dad said, stepping directly between me and the Headmaster. His voice was a dangerous rumble. “My daughter is the victim of an assault. I walked in and saw that girl holding these scissors to Maya's throat.”
“I don't care what you think you saw, Sergeant Major,” Sterling sneered, waving a dismissive hand. “Victoria Kensington is an exemplary student. You, on the other hand, just destroyed school property and brought local police onto a private campus. I want you both off these grounds immediately. Maya’s scholarship is officially under review for termination.”
“We’re not leaving,” Dad said, his posture straightening. “We’re waiting for the local police out there to come inside and take a formal statement. We have the scissors. And her friend has a video of the entire thing on that phone.”
Sterling’s face paled for a fraction of a second, but then a smug, deeply unpleasant smile spread across his lips.
“The police outside are here because Arthur Kensington requested a private escort for his vehicle,” Sterling said smoothly. “They work for this town, and Mr. Kensington essentially owns this town. If you try to file a police report, I will immediately press charges against Maya for attempted assault, and I will personally ensure she is blacklisted from the State Equestrian Board for life. Take your daughter and go home, Mr. Vance. Before things get worse for you.”