"Your mom totally lost her cool and marched right up to the other kid''s parent and pped them across the face. After that, things went off the rails.”

Elysia''s heart skipped a beat. "Is my mom hurt?!"

"No, no, she''s fine. I was there with the school security, we kept her safe. But, well, now the other parents are even more pissed off. The teacher said we''re not allowed to talk to the other family anymore. She wants you and Tarquin toe down."

Elysia asked, "Is Blossom not at school today?"

"No, she''s out at some conference at another school."

Elysia frowned. "We''re on our way back now. Tell the teacher we''ll be there in about forty minutes, okay? You and mom just keep an eye on the kids and don''t argue with the other parents."

"Alright, alright, I got it."

Once she hung up, Elysia immediately called the preschool teacher to get the details.

The teacher just said, "I''d rather talk in person."

When Elysia hung up again, Tarquin nced over. "Which kid got into a fight?"

"It was Punikon. The one who''s half Zhinora, half Thyania."

Their kids went to an international preschool. Most kids were from Zhinora, but there were also some mixed kids and a handful of foreign kids.

Tarquin frowned. He remembered Punikon—a little troublemaker, if ever there was one.

His family ran a martial arts studio. Dad and both grandparents were from Thyania; his mom was Zhinorian.

Punikon had been learning Thyanian boxing since he could walk and was known for being pretty aggressive-kind of like Evan, but with even less self-control.

The difference was, Evan never picked on regr kids or strutted around like he owned the ce. Punikon, on the other hand, always wanted to be king of the yground. If things didn''t go his way, he''d start swinging.

Tarquin shot off a text to Lowell, asking him to dig up whatever he could on the Punikon family.fnedc4 Official source is find?novel/fnedc4

Elysia chewed her lip, worry etched all over her face. "At thest parent meeting I overheard

I overheard some moms

talking-Punikon''s family is a big deal, especially in Thyania. They''ve got serious connections."  s

"And the parents are impossible to deal with. Even the school doesn''t want to cross them."

Tarquin kept his eyes on the road,

reassuring her, "Look, everyone at that school has

connections nobody wants to on any toes. But if the school doesn''t want to get on the wrong side of Punikon''s family, they definitely don''t want to tangle with us. Trust me, I''ve got this."  s

If he couldn''t protect his own kid in Jindale City, what business did he have being here? This was his turf.

Elysia spent the whole drive on edge. When they finally pulled up, she rushed over to the teacher waiting at the entrance.

"Where are my parents and the kids?"

The teacher led them inside, speaking quickly. "They''re all in the lounge. Don''t worry, everyone''s calmed down now."

Elysia pressed, "How did this even start? Weren''t there any teachers around?"

The teacher exined, "Usually there''s always someone in the ssroom. But today, one of the kids suddenly got a stomach ache, so our staff took him to the nurse''s office."

"The other teacher hadn''t arrived yet. That''s when it all happened."

"There''s no camera near the bathroom, so we don''t know exactly what went down. All we can do is ask the kids."

"I talked to Punikon, Evan, Emmett, and Elijah."

"Punikon said he wanted to be friends with Elijah, but Elijah ignored him. He got

mad and decided to try and scare him."

"Then, out of nowhere, Emmett ran over and started hitting him!"

"He says Emmett threw the first punch, so he fought back. He also ims he didn''t go too hard, but when Evan came back from outside. he pinned Punikon down and just kept wailing on him."  s