2026-01-13 20:54:09
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CHAPTER 127
The campus had learned how to laugh again.By the next afternoon, the tension from Director Hill’s announcement had thinned into something performative—half caution, half bravado. Students walked with a little more swagger now, voices louder, jokes sharper. The mystery had become entertainment. The danger, hypothetical.Jared felt it the moment he stepped back onto the grounds.He kept his head down, hands in his jacket pockets, moving with purpose across the quad. He wasn’t supposed to be here long—just a brief meeting with administration, escorted in and out. No detours. No unnecessary attention.That was the plan.He saw Sammy Jo before Sammy Jo saw him.Sammy stood near the central fountain, flanked by Brad and two other students, laughing loudly at something on Brad’s phone. Brad’s posture had changed in recent days—shoulders squared, chin lifted, confidence borrowed and worn too eagerly.Jared adjusted his path instinctively, angling toward the library steps.Almost made it.“He
CHAPTER 126
The rumor didn’t begin loudly.It slipped out the way dangerous things often did—through a whisper shared too casually, a screenshot forwarded without verification, a speculative post buried deep in a forum thread no one took seriously at first.By late afternoon, it had a name.Diamond.By early evening, it had evolved into something else entirely.“The Diamond empire?” someone scoffed in the student union. “That’s insane.”“No, listen,” another replied, leaning in. “My cousin works in finance. Diamond Holdings is real. Huge. Quiet. They own pieces of everything.”“That doesn’t mean the heir is here.”“But Hill said exceptional influence. Who else fits that?”Phones were out again. Tabs opened. Names searched. Old articles resurfaced—half-written profiles about Howard Diamond, speculation about a reclusive family, mentions of a son who never appeared in public photos.By dinnertime, the conclusion had solidified into certainty.Director Hill’s warning wasn’t abstract.It was about th
CHAPTER 125
The announcement came at 9:17 a.m.Across Los Angeles University, screens flickered to life at once—lecture halls, libraries, cafeterias, even the digital boards lining the quad. Conversations stalled mid-sentence. Professors paused in front of whiteboards. Students instinctively reached for their phones as the LAU crest filled every display.Then Director Hill appeared.He stood behind the familiar podium, suit pressed, shoulders squared, expression composed. At first glance, he looked the same as always—but something in his posture felt tighter, more deliberate, as if every word had already been weighed and reweighed before being allowed to exist.“Good morning, students of Los Angeles University,” Hill began. “This is an official campus-wide announcement.”The background hum of campus life faded into silence.“Over the past several days,” Hill continued, “our university has experienced a series of incidents that have raised serious concerns about student conduct, faculty behavior,
CHAPTER 124
Hill pulled up Jared’s student profile on his computer. The screen loaded, displaying a clean, unremarkable record on the surface.Enrollment status: Active (Suspended – Pending Review)Background: Financial aid recipient (prior)Family: Limited disclosureHill frowned.“Limited,” he muttered.That wasn’t common. Most students—even wealthy ones—had something on file. Parents. Guardians. Emergency contacts tied to verifiable identities.Jared’s file felt… scrubbed.Hill clicked deeper. Access logs. Overrides. Administrative notes.There it was.A sealed addendum dated months earlier. Board-level encryption. He hadn’t noticed it then—or hadn’t been allowed to.His mouth went dry.Hill leaned back slowly, hands steepled beneath his chin, and let his memory rewind.The call ordering him to reverse Jared’s expulsion.The threat to his job if he didn’t comply.He’d assumed it was donor pressure. Maybe Sammy Jo’s family being outmaneuvered by someone richer, louder.But the tone hadn’t been
CHAPTER 123
Director Hill did not like surprises.He especially did not like them at night, when the campus had gone quiet and the weight of responsibility settled heavier than usual on his shoulders. The disciplinary reports lay open across his desk, pages spread like evidence at a trial he could already feel slipping out of his control.The cafeteria altercation.The hallway fight.Suspensions.Videos circulating unchecked.Hill removed his glasses and rubbed his temples slowly.Too many incidents. Too much attention. Too many names repeating themselves.A soft chime broke the silence.His computer screen lit up with an incoming secure call.Hill straightened immediately.Only three people had access to that line.He accepted the call.“Director Hill,” came the voice on the other end—calm, measured, unmistakably corporate. “Thank you for taking this so late.”Hill swallowed. “Of course. Is there a problem?”There was a brief pause.“Yes,” the voice said. “There may be.”Hill’s fingers tightened
CHAPTER 122
Jared didn’t dream that night.There was no replay of fists or voices, no flashbacks of raised knuckles or Becky’s scream echoing down the hallway. When he slept, it was heavy and blank, like his body had finally decided it couldn’t afford memory.Morning came quietly.Sunlight filtered through the tall windows of the guest suite, casting long bands of gold across the floor. Jared lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling, taking inventory of the dull ache in his ribs, the stiffness in his jaw, the faint throb behind his eyes.Pain was familiar.Confusion wasn’t.He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, rolling his shoulders slowly. The mirror across the room caught his reflection: split lip crusted over, faint bruising along his jawline, shadows under his eyes that had nothing to do with exhaustion.He looked… calm.That realization surprised him more than the injuries.Brad was gone.Emotionally, the space he’d occupied in Jared’s life had emptied out completely. N
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