Chapter 3

The summer break flew by in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, school was back in session.

Victoria had already made arrangements for me to transfer to the same international school as Everest. It was the same place where Kevin and I went in my previous life.

On the first day of school, I sat in the car early, waiting.

When Everest opened the door, I greeted him with a cheerful smile. "Good morning, Everest. Mom said we'll be going to school together from now on."

Everest paused for a moment before getting in.

Then, without saying a word, he took the seat farthest from me.

The next day, I did the same thing, and the day after that.

After two months of this, I stumbled on something I hadn't expected.

Everest never replied to anything I said, but every now and then, if I was late for breakfast and had to dash out the front gate, I'd spot him by the car, backpack slung over his shoulder, still waiting for me.

I quickly masked my surprise and curved my lips into a smile. "You're really the best, Everest."

Each time, Everest would just glance at me, expressionless, then turn away and get in the car without a word.

But this time, he actually stepped in with his right foot first.

I let a small smile tug at my lips.

Well, that was definitely an improvement.

That day, after school, I waited by the building for a long time, but Everest never came out. I tried calling him, but I couldn't get through at all.

Just when I was starting to freak out, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.

I suddenly remembered, in my previous life, something major had happened at the school gate right around this time.

Back then, I was hitting the books hard, just trying to keep up with everyone else at the international school.

I caught bits and pieces of my classmates talking excitedly. Apparently, someone came to cause trouble for the Thompson family members.

Rumor had it that something had happened to one of their kids.

Years later, I caught wind of a rumor that Everest, the one in charge of the Thompson Group, had his face messed up on purpose by someone back in high school.

Could it be this was the day?

Oh no, I was running out of time.

I snapped back to my senses and quickly texted the driver, Luke, telling him that if he didn't see me at the school gate, he should come look for me.

Then I bolted, racing toward the alley behind the school.

Everest must be okay.

When I got there, I saw Everest trapped in a corner by a bunch of punks.

"Mr. Thompson really is a mute, huh? No matter how we rough him up, he won't make a peep," one of them sneered.

"Mutes don't rat. You wanna mess with the Thompson family?" another one jeered.

"Shit, he got the nerve to stare me down," one of them spat.

One of them, looking like some school kid, spat on the ground, whipped out a box cutter, and took a swipe at Everest's face.

My heart tightened. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a baseball bat on the ground.

I took a deep breath, hyped myself up, and yelled as I charged in, "I already called the cops."

I dove into the crowd, swinging the bat like crazy.

I was seriously glad I'd actually paid attention in gym class lately.

The punks were totally caught off guard, scrambling and running in every direction.

When I shouted that I'd called the cops, they hesitated and lost their nerve.

"Damn, this brat got lucky," they grumbled as they walked off.

Once the coast was clear, I hurried over to check on Everest.

He had a bloody cut across his face. Thank god it wasn't too deep, but his hands and legs were scraped and bruised all over.

"Hang in there, Everest. I'll get you home," I said.

I helped Everest up, ready to get out of there, when suddenly someone kicked me hard, knocking me flat on the ground.

"Damn it, Ethan, I told you this girl was just making stuff up. Call the cops? Yeah, right," one of them sneered.

"You bitch, already pulling tricks at your age?" another one spat.

"A mute and a little con artist, what a perfect pair," they all laughed.

Ethan was cussing up a storm, slamming his foot into my back over and over.

I bowed my head in pain, only to meet Everest's terrified gaze.

My lips trembled as I forced a smile and whispered, "Don't be scared, Everest."

Everest's eyes suddenly froze on me.

I stood my ground in front of Everest, not budging an inch.

The punches behind me came down even harder, pissed off.

Just as the next punch was about to land, Everest, who'd been enduring everything in silence, suddenly sprang into action.

He lunged at the guy closest to me, biting down on his hand like a wild animal.

His sudden, feral outburst froze Ethan and the others for a few seconds.

Outnumbered, Everest still got slammed down and held to the ground.

Fists pounded his head and chest, and someone even whipped out an iron bar.

Was there really no way to change how things turned out?

Just when I was about to give up hope, voices and footsteps echoed from the entrance of the alley.

Could it be Luke?

I forced my eyes open, straining to see who it was at the alley entrance.

Through my blurry vision, a pair of white sneakers came into view.