Chapter 54:


    Kaiden sat there for a moment, processing the indignity. Then he opened his mouth, and a wail erupted from him — a sound of pure, unadulterated misery. He scrambled in the mud, a desperate, half-formed word rising in his throat, a cry for his primary caregiver born of pure instinct.


    It wasn’t a casual slip. But before the full name could detonate in the charged air, Belle rushed forward, her heels sinking into the turf, and mped a hand over Kaiden’s mouth.


    The parents standing nearby stopped whispering. Their feigned ignorance evaporated. They exchanged nces that said everything.


    “Did you hear that? He almost called Ms. Escobar…” a woman in pearls whispered to her husband.


    Belle’s face went from pale to ghostly white. The blood drained from her lips.


    “Shh! Kaiden, stop it!” she hissed. She looked up at the crowd, her smile brittle and terrifying. “He’s in shock. He’s confused. He calls me that sometimes because I’m his godmother. It’s a term of endearment.”


    Isolde let out a short, sharpugh. It sounded like ss breaking.


    She crossed her arms, leaning back on her heels. “Is that so? Godmothers must have changed since my time. He seems very… attached.”


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    Grayson’s public rtions manager, a man who had been lurking in the shadow of the administration building, sprinted into the fray. He began ushering people away, using his body to block the line of sight.


    “Show’s over, folks! Just a yground spat. Please, clear the area.”


    Belle scooped up the muddy, screaming boy. She didn’t look at Isolde. She ran toward the waiting ck SUV as though the devil himself were snapping at her heels.


    Isolde didn’t watch them go. She dropped to her knees in front of Effie.


    She pulled a tissue from her pocket and gently wiped a speck of dirt from Effie’s cheek. Effie was trembling, but her eyes were wide and clear.


    “You did good, baby,” Isolde whispered.


    Effie looked at her hands and flexed her fingers slowly. “Mommy,” she said, her voice filled with wonder. “I’m not scared of him.”


    “No,” Isolde said, kissing her forehead. “You never have to be scared of him again.”


    Isolde stood and took Effie’s hand. They walked out of the school gates with their backs straight, leaving the chaos behind them.


    As they settled into their car, Isolde’s phone buzzed.


    Harper: I’m seeing videos of the incident popping up all over the school’s parent social media groups. Three different angles. The audio of his cry is muffled but damning. We’ve got them.


    Isolde typed back with one hand.


    Isolde: Hold it. Let them sweat. Let the rumors do the work first.


    Inside the Lancaster SUV, the atmosphere was poisonous.


    Belle was frantically scrubbing mud off Kaiden’s zer with a wet wipe. “I told you never to use that word in public!” she snapped. “Do you want to ruin everything?”


    Kaiden sobbed harder, his face streaked with tears and dirt. He didn’t understand. He was hurt, and he was being yelled at.


    Grayson’s voice came over the car’s speakerphone. It was cold. Detached.


    “I don’t care what happened. The board is calling me,” Grayson said. “They want to know why my son is calling my VP ‘Mommy’ in a way that’s about to hit Page Six. Handle it.”


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