Chapter 4

The chaotic scene finally came to an end.

The clearing crew packed up the remaining clutter left behind by Vivian and her daughter.

Lily crouched down, picking up a torn sheet of music from a corner.

It contained every single annotation she had diligently made over three years of practice, now ripped down the middle.

“Mom, my sheet music is ruined.”

Lily looked up, her eyes rimmed with red.

“But it’s okay. I already memorized every note in my head.”

“Mom, don't be sad about Dad. We’ve known what kind of person he is for a long time now. He isn't worth crying over.”

Seeing how heartbreakingly sensible my daughter was, the suffocating gloom inside me lifted a little.

I crouched down, pulled Lily into my arms, and said gently, “Thank you, baby. We’re still going to that interview tomorrow as planned.”

Later that evening, I received a call from Steven.

“Emma, Mark has been bailed out.”

“Vivian pulled some strings to cover the bail money. But here’s the tricky part: as soon as Mark got out, he used his status as a legal guardian to submit a formal written dispute to the Admissions Board at St. Mark’s Academy.”

I rubbed my temples, fatigue creeping into my voice. “What did he write?”

“He claimed that you two are undergoing a severe marital breakdown, questioned your mental stability, and requested that the school suspend Lily’s interview tomorrow.”

“According to St. Mark’s protocol, once they receive a written objection regarding ongoing family legal disputes from a parent, the board usually revokes the child's eligibility outright to mitigate liability.”

Mark had calculated this down to the millimeter.

Vivian’s ex-husband had set up a family trust worth several million dollars, but it would only unlock once Vivian’s child successfully secured admission to St. Mark’s.

Vivian couldn't wait three years to purchase property and satisfy the residency requirement, which was why she set her sights on my turn-key house.

And Mark was desperate for that trust fund to unlock so he could inject cash into his struggling company.

To force me to back down in the legal lawsuit, he was more than willing to use his own daughter’s future as leverage to blackmail me.

“Is there any workaround?” I asked calmly.

“Only one,” Steven weighed his words carefully. “Unless you can secure a unanimous board waiver at tomorrow morning’s closed-door Admissions Committee meeting at ten o'clock.”

After hanging up, I sat in my study, deep in thought for the entire night.

The next morning, in front of the gates of St. Mark’s Academy.

Mark, looking haggard after his release yet unable to hide his spite, stood on the front steps side-by-side with Vivian.

Seeing me approach with Lily, Mark adjusted his tie and strode forward, blocking my path.

“Emma, have you thought it through?”

“Without my withdrawal statement, the board will disqualify Lily in twenty minutes.”

“If you have your lawyer drop the forgery charges right now and transfer the school quota to Vivian, I’ll sign the confirmation immediately.”

Vivian stood behind him, acting as if yesterday’s disgrace had never happened, a triumphant smile playing on her lips.

I looked at Mark’s calculating face and squeezed Lily’s small hand. There was no panic or despair in my eyes—only absolute coldness.

At that moment, the campus bells of St. Mark’s Academy began to chime.