Chapter 157
The other girls looked at each other, unsure what to say. At first, they all thought Claire was just making things up. But watching Vera now, hunched over with dry heaves, it was hard not to think of morning sickness. One of the girls, whose mom had gone through it with her little brother, recognized the signs right away. She was almost certain Vera was pregnant.
For a while, the group went quiet. On the surface, they knew Vera’s business wasn’t theirs. She was their friend, after all, and they were supposed to worry about her. Still, none of them could help feeling a twisted sense of satisfaction. Vera always claimed the school heartthrob as her own, telling everyone else to back off. And now, look at her. After messing around, would he even want her anymore?
One girl in their group, who secretly liked the same guy but never had the courage to say so, could barely hide her excitement. The look on her face said it all.
Claire’s warning in the bathroom had actually been a genuine heads-up for Vera. At Silverpeak, a school packed with rich kids, wild stories were nothing new. Drama happened all the time. Families usually swept these things under the rug, but Vera didn’t even seem to realize something was wrong, and her family hadn’t noticed either. That was what made it so strange.
The school had pretty strict rules, but money could always buy privacy. There were places and moments the school couldn’t touch, and if the students didn’t look out for themselves, no one else could do much.
Claire didn’t really care about Vera’s situation. She just let it go.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Vida was finally discharged. Her parents were beyond grateful to Claire, but instead of reaching out directly, they went through the police. They
SOL wanted to
ask the school if it was okay to publicly thank Claire, maybe even give her a banner of appreciation. The police had warned them to keep things quiet, just in case the kidnappers tried to take revenge, so the family didn’t want to stir up too much attention without permission.
When the school found out Claire had helped the police catch a group of kidnappers and saved a little gir they actually wanted to celebrate her. Even though Claire heiress of the James family anymore, everyone agreed her actions deserved recoghain. The principal was especially impressed by her. Teachers knew about the rumors swirling around Claire. Whenever they overheard gossip, they tried to shut it down, but the talk never really stopped.
If the kidnappers wanted to find Claire, they probably could. So why not let the rescued family come to school and clear the air? The school suggested they could keep the details vague, just say Claire saved the girl. With a public thank you and help from the police, maybe the rumors would finally die down.
They reached out to Edison first, just to be safe, and only after he agreed did they ask Claire what she thought. The dean of students was so wary of Edison that he wouldn’t make any decisions without his go-ahead.
When Claire heard Vida and her family wanted to come thank her, she didn’t feel much. “Tell them thank you for me,” was all she said. She could tell the school wanted her to accept this gesture both for her own reputation and for the schoo If she refused, the teachers would probably just keep pushing her, so she figured it was easier to go along with it.
On Friday afternoon, the police and Vida’s family arrived at the school. The little girl still had bandages on her face, but she looked braver than ever. When they found Claire’s classroom, Vida spotted her right away. Class hadn’t started yet, and Vida ran straight to Claire as fast as her little legs could carry her.