Chapter 921

Noreen’s carefully constructed emotional defenses began to waver under his blatant, predatory gaze.

Never mind insiders like Dylan Wilder.

Even Principal Shaw, who was completely out of the loop, picked up on the tension, eyeing the two of them with curious suspicion.

“Do you two know each other?”

“Not really,” she said.

“We do,” he replied.

They delivered completely contradictory answers simultaneously.

Principal Shaw was a smart man and instantly caught the drift, teasing Seth, “It’s rare to see you take such an interest in the opposite sex.”

Seth didn’t deny it. His gaze slid lazily over Noreen.

The look in his eyes felt as though he had just undressed her.

Noreen finally breathed a secret sigh of relief when the gala officially commenced and Principal Shaw stepped up to deliver his speech.

As a special guest invited by Principal Shaw, Seth was also slated to give an address.

He was there to share his entrepreneurial experiences with the bright-eyed students.

While Seth was on stage, Principal Shaw purposely took Seth’s seat to strike up a conversation with Noreen.

Having recently transferred from another city, the principal was eager to expand his network, which Noreen completely understood.

After a few pleasantries, Noreen casually asked how he and Seth knew each other.

Principal Shaw chuckled. “Oh, Seth and I go way back. Probably twelve or thirteen years ago. I was the dean of students at a vocational high school in the city-the Vocational High School right next to Rivercrest Academy.”

“Back then, the school had a lot of problem students. They slacked off all day, hung out with street thugs, got into fights, stole things, and even followed young girls around to harass them. The biggest headache was that they were all underage.”

Twelve or thirteen years ago, Noreen was a student at Rivercrest Academy.

There had indeed been a lot of deadbeat punks hanging around outside the school back then.

The reason it was burned into her memory was that she had been targeted by them.

In those days, she had to rush to the hospital every night after late study hall to take care of Rosalind Gilmore.

To catch the last bus to the hospital, she had to take a shortcut through a deserted, narrow alley.

The streetlights were dim, and the path was suffocatingly tight.

A few times, she had spotted a group of thugs crouching in the shadows, smoking and drinking.

Whenever they saw her, several

them would catcall terrifying None

so much that she would sprint away. Gontent

The punks would chase her, laughing with malicious intent.

“Hey gorgeous, why are you running so fast? Afraid we’re gonna eat you?”

“Don’t run, sweetie! Let me treat you to a hotdog.”

“Why a hotdog? Wouldn’t you rather have a popsicle?”

Noreen was a fast runner, but she was no match for a relentless pack of guys.

One of them grabbed her backpack, dragging her into a nearby men’s public restroom.

“Legs this long aren’t meant for running. They’re meant for playing.”

Noreen trembled violently, tears of sheer terror streaming down her

face it felt as if her heart had

stopped and her blood had turned to

ice.

Panic paralyzed every inch of her body; the more she wanted to run, the harder it was to even stand.

All she could do was scream for help in blind panic.

The thugs daughed sadistically.

“Scream all you want. Nobody walks down this street at night. You could

no on

scream yourself hoarse and no

would come to save you.”

Their words drowned Noreen in despair.

Because she knew they were telling the truth.

That street was utterly dead at night.

Just as they started tearing at her clothes, one of the punks let out a bloodcurdling

scream.

What followed was a series of agonized wails.

A hoarse male voice barked at her, “Run!”

Noreen didn’t even have time to see the man’s face before she scrambled to her feet and bolted.

She ran in a single breath to the nearest convenience store, begging the owner to call the police!