"Really?" Cameron arched an eyebrow. The news caught her off guard, but it somehow made sense.


    Austin wasn''t kidding when he said Samuel held grudges. The guy clearly didn''t mess around.


    Cameron showed a faint smirk. Samuel didn''t waste any time, that was for sure. She hadn''t expected him to track down Wace Vi this fast.


    She guessed this was his payback and was d to see it.


    "Is that all you have to say?" Xander sputtered, his face turning red. "Aren''t you worried? Go home and check on your family-now!"


    The smile faded from Cameron''s face. She locked eyes with him. "Be honest. Are you here for me, or for Milería? If it''s Milena you''re worried about, why don''t you go tofort her yourself?"


    Xander went silent. He''d found out about the attack


    Note


    Panicked, he''d immediately messaged her, offering to


    Frustration boiled over. In his rush, he''d forgotten all


    post on Milena''s Instagram-one that she''d set to be visible only to him.


    over.


    But once


    again, she''d shot him down.


    but their


    argument and raced to the ssroom to break the news.


    Cameron''s face was a nk te. "You may go," she said tly, then strode into the ssroom.


    Xander stood there, ck-jawed.


    He thought, ''Seriously? Cameron isn''t dashing home right away? How could someone be so cold-blooded? Those are his family! And why isn''t he panicking? I''m more worked up than him whose family is in trouble.''


    Cameron plopped into her seat, grinning ear to ear.


    Elijah caught the smile and raised an eyebrow. "Xander brought you good news?"


    "Great news," Cameron said, still beaming.


    Elijah cracked a smile. "Congrats."


    "Thanks."


    Elijah could tell Cameron was over the moon. He thought, ''For once, Xander has done something useful.


    Just then, the bell rang, and Xander had no choice but to trudge back to the ssroom and texted Milena again.


    Xander: [Ms. Wace, I filled Cameron in. He''s stuck in ss right now, so he can''t swing by.]


    Milena: [Thanks, Mr. Murphy.]


    Xander: [Hey, after school-mind if I tag along with Cameron to Wace Vi? I''d like to check on you.]


    Milena''s eyes widened. She was sprawled in bed, icing her swollen face, when the message popped up. Startled, she shot upright.


    "Easy, Millie. Hold still," Heidi scolded, gently pushing her back down and holding the ice pack on her face. "Keep that ice on, or your face will still be puffy tomorrow."


    Taking a deep breath, Milena typed a reply: [I appreciate it, but I''m good. I just freaked Samuel mighte back. I''m terrified.]


    Xander: [Why not move to Cameron''s ce? That mansion in Noble Vista has tons of room.]


    Milena went silent. It wasn''t like they hadn''t tried. Cameron had cklisted them. They couldn''t even set foot within 0.6 miles of the gatedmunity.


    Milena: [Thanks, but I''ll pass.)


    Confused, Xander replied: [This doesn''t add up. Yeah, Samuel''s arrogant, but he usually has a reason. Did something go down between you guysri


    AD


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