Chapter 129

Ethan was so terrified he dropped to his knees in front of Clara with a loud thud. "Please... please forgive me! I didn't know who I was messing with. You can have the room—I was completely out of line!" Clara sighed, her voice calm but firm. "You could've avoided all this, Mr. Miller. Business needs rules and some integrity. Since you get it now, go give my teacher an apology. Make it sincere." "Yes, absolutely!" Ethan nodded like his life depended on it. Back inside, her classmates were nervously discussing what might've happened. "She's been gone forever. Something must've gone wrong." "Yeah, those guys looked scary. I bet they gave her hell." "I'm so worried I can't even eat right now." Amidst the chatter, Ava kept her head down, saying nothing. Next to her, Jonah Bailey sneered, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "She brought this on herself. We were all ready to move to the other room, but no—she had to play hero. Look where it got her." "That's enough, Jonah. She stood up for us,"