Steve Parker rested his closed eyes against his interlaced fingers. He focused on organizing his thought process. His elbows rested on the desk for support. His breathing remained steady. His left eyebrow twitched a bit.

It had been him who told Jae to look after Logan, speculating if his youngest met a girl. Now, he found out how diligently he took the assignment. Not only that but also he was able to gather a few students to help. One of them came up with the idea to use the portfolios. Through their search, Alex happened to be around when the girl saw the folder. Since it was just the two of them, they managed to hide its existence and destroy it before anyone else could see.

Yet, that folder… how did it manage to appear there? At the right place, at the right time. For Jae, it would have been a blessing in disguise. Someone practically gave the answer on his lap.

The incident seemed calculated indeed.

If more people were around, it would only be a matter of time before someone slipped and spread the news.

“Are you alright, Mr. Parker?” Lilly asked out of concern. She had finished the remaining contents of the mug. The Principal seemed awfully quiet. Then again, all hell almost broke loose at that time.

Steve opened his eyes, staring straight ahead, “I am trying to think of why would a mole risk something like this. The contracts were very particular. Only a fool would do something like this and think there’s a chance to survive through it. Also, the matter didn’t occur out of neglect. Intentions to leak out the secret is clear. The consequences will be more severe because of it.”

Lilly nodded her head. She had the same opinions after Alex told her about the incident. Every employee knew it would be hard to face the Greenwoods. There would be no going back once they caught wind of their actions.

“Perhaps it is a student” she offered to the table of possibilities, “It could also still be a staff member if that person received threats against their lives or their loved ones.”

The Principal made a face. He placed his hands down on the desk, turning his head to look at her, “Who would go that far just to expose a person’s identity?”

“It’s on my lower part of the list of possibilities” Lilly smiled sheepishly, “I know how it sounds but until we have further information, I will not be able to eliminate it. We do have quite a number of enemies.”

“But leaking out a secret is quite different than directly assaulting the girl.”

“That is true. It would be a lot harder to catch Alex off guard if she went back to her hometown. They’d lose countless windows of opportunities. The motive is still unclear.”

“Unless they wanted her to leave the academy in the first place. It wouldn’t matter if she went home or not, they just want her far from here” Steve exhaled sharply, “I’ll have the security footage. Maybe we’d find a lead. If the person is not a staff, it could mean someone else borrowed those portfolios and slipped the folder in between.”

“Then, the person brought the idea of using them for your son’s investigation” Lilly said, finishing the most probable possibility. She sighed in content. Both of their minds had been in sync throughout the conversation—if only she could have the same experience with her employees.

She stood up and stretched out a hand, “Thank you again for your time, Principal Parker. I’ll look forward to your cooperation in solving this case.”

Steve rose up to his feet and shook her hand, “Thank you for informing me about the matter. I will add more security measures in case the mole makes another move. Hopefully, we’ll be able to catch the person in action.”

Then, he escorted her out of the office, leaving her by the door. He had another appointment coming up. He needed to sort out the rest of his mind. He couldn’t offer to be distracted with this case. It would be unprofessional of him.

They had been lucky—very lucky—that only one student saw that folder before Alex took it away. It also helped that the student was willing to cooperate with them. Still, it wouldn’t look like a good thing to Ethan even if it could have been worse. Whether the school would suffer or not would depend on how he handled this matter.

He needed it to succeed.

Lilly handed the empty mug back to Ms. Kich, remembering to thank her for hospitality. She headed for the parking lot. The hallways were still empty when she walked out of the staff room. She quickened her pace. She wanted to leave before the students finished their afternoon classes.

She felt relieved that she managed to persuade the Principal to keep it between them. Ethan would still find out someday but, at least, she could easily take on the blame.

Since Alex told her about it, her niece would be safe. She still relayed the incident to a guardian. It wasn’t like she completely kept it to herself—though it almost did turn out that way. She should be thankful that her house was often quiet or she wouldn’t have overheard the girls.

Turning a corner, Lilly halted in her steps. She couldn’t believe that she forgot a detail such as the date when Alex found the folder. If their theory was right, it would help speed up their investigation. She should ask her once they’re at home. Then, she should email about it right away.

The sooner this case was solved, the better.

Lilly continued to walk. After another corner, she could almost spot the exit. She only needed to pass by the long hallway. A janitor peeked at her from his mopping. She stepped to the edges, almost hitting the lockers. The worker smiled at her in gratitude and she nodded back in reply.

The janitor mopped from the opposite direction that she came from. That meant the floor ahead of her might be slippery. She took calculated steps, testing the tiles. With her heels, it would be easier to slip and fall compared to a pair of sneakers.

She lifted her hand against the lockers, brushing against the cold metal surface. They were her only line of support if she did slide unexpectedly.

How long was this hallway? She fumed in her mind.

The exit didn’t seem to grow bigger, the closer she came to it.

When Lilly finally reached the double doors a few feet away, she exhaled deeply. She didn’t even know she held most of her breath. Since the janitor began at this part, the floor must be dry by now. The doors happened to be closed too, she’d need to go to the middle anyway to push it open.

Still taking precautions, she kept a slow pace. The door and her were only a few steps apart.

Blinding light flashed before her eyes. She took a step back. The point of her heel hit the floor at an angle and slid against a tile. A firm hold wrapped around her wrist, steadying her posture.

At the same time, Lilly squinted her eyes on reflex and shielded her face with a hand. She continued to blink away the black spots that sprouted in her vision. The sudden shadow that came and blocked the sun rays helped her eyes regain focus.

All of it happened in a matter of seconds.

“Are you alright?” A deep voice asked, the tone laced with concern.

Lilly shook her ahead, getting rid of the last spots. She shuffled her feet and balanced her weight. Once she felt composed, she replied, “I’m alright. Thank you. It just caught me by surprise.”

The voice rumbled a low chuckle, “My presence seems to have that effect on you.”

“What?” Lilly scrunched her eyebrows. Then, she looked up. Her nerves froze in place. She just cleaned out her vision. Her eyes made no mistake. Before her stood a man with dark violet eyes and coal black hair.

He also had an uncanny resemblance to someone she met the night before.

===

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