Chapter 1 - WHO TOOK YOUR LUNCH?
“Who took your lunch?”
Elliot’s voice remained calm.
Lila’s eyes immediately moved toward the floor.
“No one.”
Peyton laughed under her breath.
Elliot turned his head.
“You find something funny?”
Peyton’s confidence weakened.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I didn’t ask whether you did.”
The teacher near the drink station finally approached.
Her name tag read MRS. CARTER.
“Mr. Mercer, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
Elliot stood.
“My daughter was about to eat food off the floor beside a trash can.”
Mrs. Carter swallowed.
“It may look worse than it is.”
Lila suddenly grabbed Elliot’s sleeve.
“Dad, please.”
He looked down.
There was fear in her face again.
Not fear of Peyton.
Fear of what would happen after he left.
That told him everything.
Elliot crouched again.
“I’m not leaving.”
Her lips trembled.
“They’ll say I caused trouble.”
“Who will?”
Lila said nothing.
Peyton folded her arms.
“She always causes trouble.”
Elliot looked at her.
“How?”
“She acts like she’s better than everybody.”
One of Peyton’s friends muttered something.
Peyton elbowed her.
Elliot noticed.
“What did she say?”
The girl’s face went pale.
“Nothing.”
“Say it again.”
The girl looked toward Mrs. Carter.
That look mattered.
“She said scholarship students aren’t supposed to complain.”
Elliot slowly turned toward the teacher.
Mrs. Carter’s face drained of color.
“Where did they hear that?”
“No one teaches them that.”
Peyton answered before the teacher could stop her.
“My mom says it.”
Silence.
Elliot knew exactly who Peyton’s mother was.
Victoria Hargrove.
Chair of the Ashbury Hall governing board.
Wife of Senator Charles Hargrove.
A woman who had personally thanked the Mercer Foundation for its annual seven-million-dollar education grant.
Elliot looked at Lila.
“Did someone take your lunch today?”
Lila nodded.
“Who?”
“Peyton.”
Peyton snapped.
“She gave it to me.”
“I didn’t.”
Lila whispered.
“You said scholarship kids don’t need hot lunch because the school already pays for us.”
Peyton rolled her eyes.
“It was a joke.”
Elliot’s jaw tightened.
“How long has this been happening?”
Lila did not answer.
He waited.
“Lila.”
“Three weeks.”
His stomach dropped.
Three weeks.
He thought about the hollow cheeks.
The loose sleeves.
The unopened snacks she devoured after coming home while claiming she simply loved the chef’s cookies.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lila’s eyes filled.
“Because you would do this.”
“Do what?”
“Become Elliot Mercer.”
The words stopped him.
“I wanted to handle it myself.”
He glanced around the cafeteria.
Teachers.
Students.
Monitors.
Adults who had watched his daughter become smaller every day.
He understood what she meant.
She had wanted a normal life.
He had promised to let her try.
Elliot stood.
“Fine.”
Lila looked confused.
“I won’t fix this because I’m Elliot Mercer.”
He turned toward Mrs. Carter.
“I’ll fix it because I’m her father.”
A voice came from the cafeteria doors.
“You will do no such thing.”
Everyone turned.
Victoria Hargrove entered wearing a cream suit and a smile that never reached her eyes.
She looked at the sandwich in the trash.
Then at Lila.
Then at Elliot.
“Mr. Mercer.”
She said his name like an inconvenience.
“If your daughter cannot adapt to Ashbury culture, perhaps Ashbury is not the right place for her.”
Elliot stared at her.
Then something inside him became very still.
“What exactly is Ashbury culture?”
May you like
Victoria smiled.
“You’re about to find out.”
