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Catchy Title: "The Classroom Door Was Locked, But What Lay Beneath the Wool Was Not Human..." / Chapter 2 / 6

Chapter 2 - THE UNINVITED GUEST

Catchy Title: "The Principal’s Key Turned in the Lock, But She Wasn't Alone.""Ms. Carter? Open the door immediately," a voice boomed from the hallway.

It was Principal Vance. Her voice usually carried authority, but today, there was a sharp, frantic edge to it that I had never heard before.

"Claire, don't open it," Marcus warned through the phone speaker. "I’m tracing the boy's records right now. Leo Vance? Is his last name Vance?"

I looked at the emergency contact sheet on my desk. My eyes widened. "No... his last name is listed as Smith. Leo Smith."

"It’s a fake identity," Marcus snapped. "His parents are elite biophysicists who went missing from a government lab three days ago. Claire, the people looking for him will use any disguise. Do not open—"

Thud.

The heavy oak door shuddered. Principal Vance wasn't just knocking anymore; someone was throwing their weight against it.

"Leo, come here," I whispered, grabbing his small hand. His skin felt burning hot, as if the device on his neck was radiating immense thermal energy. The countdown now read: 00:32:05.

With a loud click, the master key turned in the lock. The door swung open.

Principal Vance stepped inside, but she wasn't the one who had forced the door. Flanking her were two men dressed in immaculate, tailored gray suits. They wore dark sunglasses despite being indoors, and their expressions were entirely blank, like stone statues.

"Ms. Carter," Principal Vance said, her face completely pale, sweat breaking out across her forehead. "These gentlemen are from the... State Health Department. They inform me that Leo has been exposed to a highly contagious contaminant. He needs to be quarantined immediately."

One of the men in gray stepped forward. His eyes locked directly onto Leo’s covered collar. A chilling smile spread across his face.

"Hand the boy over, Ms. Carter," the man said, his voice entirely devoid of human emotion. "For his own safety. And yours."

I stepped in front of Leo, shielding him with my body. "Where are his parents? I cannot release a student without a legal guardian present."

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The ink on the emergency audit report was barely dry when the secure terminal on my desk flashed a violent crimson. I hadn't slept in thirty-six hours, my eyes burning from staring at columns of ghost figures, duplicate invoices, and shell corporations linked to Dominic Rossi. But the red alert wasn’t from Rossi’s faction. It was an internal security flag originating from the estate’s main vault deep beneath the west wing.

The ink on the emergency audit report was barely dry when the secure ter...

The glass shattered into a thousand tiny diamonds on the marble, scattering the light from the chandeliers. The muffled laughter died instantly, replaced by a suffocating, heavy silence that crept outward from the grand staircase.

The glass shattered into a thousand tiny diamonds on the marble, scatter...

The heavy oak doors of my private study clicked shut behind us, locking out the clinical, terrifying silence of the kitchen. Evelyn Crane stood stiffly in front of my mahogany desk, her hands folded over her apron with the rigid precision of someone who had spent decades micromanaging every square inch of my estate. Behind her, Norah hovered near the doorway, clutching her clipboard like a shield.

The heavy oak doors of my private study clicked shut behind us, locking...

The second man adjusted his jacket, and as he did, the fabric parted just enough for me to see the silver sheen of a silenced firearm strapped to his chest.

"We are his guardians now," the man replied.

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