Chapter 5
Dean Whitmore was sweating before Cassian entered his office.
That irritated Cassian.
Not because he enjoyed fear.
Because frightened administrators tended to become vague.
Rebecca attended.
So did counsel for the school.
Cassian placed one condition on the meeting.
“Noah is not discussed beyond what is necessary.”
Whitmore nodded.
Jace’s transfer had been approved outside the school’s normal admission cycle.
His academic record was strong enough.
That was not the issue.
The issue was how fast it happened.
Arthur Vale’s foundation guaranteed tuition and donated $150,000 to the school’s student-support initiative one week later.
Whitmore insisted the donation did not buy admission.
Rebecca did not accuse him of that.
She asked:
“Who first contacted you?”
Whitmore hesitated.
“Mr. Arthur Vale.”
Cassian stared.
“What did he say?”
“That Jace’s family circumstances required discretion.”
“What circumstances?”
“Potential paternity dispute.”
“Did he name me?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you I knew about Jace?”
Whitmore shifted.
“He implied there had been a long-standing private support arrangement.”
Cassian’s expression hardened.
“Meaning he told you I had hidden my son.”
Whitmore said nothing.
Rebecca asked:
“Why did you believe Mr. Vale?”
“He was a respected attorney.”
Cassian almost laughed at the past tense.
Whitmore continued.
“Jace’s mother confirmed there had been support.”
That was true.
A lie wrapped around facts.
Whitmore then disclosed something worse.
Arthur had told him Cassian might react aggressively if confronted.
“Based on what?” Rebecca asked.
“Mr. Vale said Cassian was extremely protective of Noah and could become volatile if Jace approached him.”
Cassian stared.
Whitmore continued:
“Mrs. Holloway separately asked that any first interaction be monitored.”
“Why?”
“She said Jace was angry.”
That part sounded honest.
Jace had spent thirteen years believing he was unwanted.
Then learned he shared a father with a boy attending one of the most expensive schools in the state.
Cassian asked:
“Did Jace have disciplinary problems before the locker incident?”
Whitmore looked uncomfortable.
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Three.”
Cassian went still.
Noah had never mentioned them.
Whitmore explained.
Jace had shoved another student.
Broken a classroom tablet during an argument.
Threatened a boy who mocked his mother.
No suspensions.
Warnings.
Counseling referrals.
“Why wasn’t he suspended?”
Whitmore’s attorney answered:
“The school used progressive discipline.”
Possible.
Then Rebecca found the timing.
The third incident happened ten days before Jace locked Noah inside the locker.
Arthur’s foundation made another pledge two days later.
$100,000.
Whitmore immediately objected.
“There was no quid pro quo.”
Rebecca said:
“I didn’t say there was.”
Cassian watched him.
That made Whitmore more nervous.
Before leaving, Cassian asked:
“Why were you in the hallway so quickly when I arrived?”
Whitmore hesitated.
“I was told there might be a confrontation.”
“By whom?”
“Jace.”
Cassian became still.
“When?”
“About fifteen minutes before you arrived.”
“What did he say?”
Whitmore looked down.
“He said, ‘My father’s coming. You should probably turn the cameras on.’”
The cameras had already been operating.
But Whitmore had personally opened the live security monitor.
Jace had expected Cassian.
Cassian had not told anyone at the school he was coming.
Noah’s teacher had called him only minutes earlier after hearing there was a locker disturbance.
May you like
Someone else had known.
And someone had told Jace.
