Elijah was huping through his tears.

"I don''t like Punikon. He''s always messing with my stuff, and he calls me ''Little

Mute.""

"Today he tried to force me to talk to him. I wouldn''t, so he got mad and tried to hit me. He knows karate, and neither Emmett nor I could fight him off."

Emmett piped up, "I don''t like him either. He''s just mean!"

Baby wailed, "He... he knows about my bunny. He said he''d kill my bunny and make soup out of it. Waaaah..."

Evan clenched his tiny fists.

"I''ve never liked that kid. He''s always flipping me off and trying to start a fight. I''ve ignored it, but today he hit Elijah and Emmett. I''m done letting it go!"

Elliot looked serious. He hadn''t been in the ssroom when the fight happened, otherwise none of this would''ve gone down.

But he knew Punikon started it.

"Mom, I asked around. Everyone in ss said it was Punikon who threw the first punch. He even threatened to poke Elijah''s eyes out!"

Elysia''s brows knitted together as her breathing grew shaky, chest heaving with anger.

Who was the real troublemaker here?!

Suddenly, chaos erupted outside the room. The sharp voice of a woman ripped through the hallway:

"Get them out here! The whole family''s nuts-old and young! My son gets hurt and now you''re all hiding like cowards? Not happening!"

"If the kids are too young for thew, then arrest the parents! Let them do the jail time!"

"I know you''re in there, Evan Thorne''s mom! Don''t you dare hide from me!"

There was no mistaking it-Punikon''s mother was here, and she was gunning straight for Elysia.

yton''s face was thunderous.

"That woman doesn''t listen to reason. She doesn''t even understand in English!"

Pam''s eyes shed. "She''s a baddy!"

Elysia said, "Mom, Dad, watch the kids for me. I''ll handle this."

The little ones wanted to follow, but Elysia shook her head firmly.

Tarquin reassured them, "You stay here. Don''t worry, I won''t let anything happen to your mom."

In the hallway, a woman with heavy makeup and wild clothes was shouting at the top of her lungs.

Behind her stood a dozen hulking guys-obviously some kind of gym rats or amateur fighters.

Teachers and security were doing their best to keep things calm, urging everyone to take a breath and not get violent.

As soon as she spotted Elysia, the woman gave her a once-over, sneering, "So, you''re the one?!"

Elysia stepped up. "That''s right. I''m the mother of Evan, Emmett, and Elijah."

The woman folded her arms across her chest, strutting like she owned the ce.

"Your kid put my son in the hospital! What, is he some kind of super freak? Mean as a snake, just like his mama, I bet!"

Tarquin''s face darkened and he started to speak, but Elysia stopped him with a look.

No way was she letting a man argue with this woman.

Elysia''s voice was icy. "Does Punikon have any family members who can actually hold a normal conversation?"

one

The woman bristled, eyes zing. "Excuse me? Who are you calling

abnormal? keep youth

ap

your

see what happens!"  s

A man by her side shoved past the school security frowning as he Estalked over to Elysia the dozen muscle-heads falling in behind.  s

With a thick ent, he said, "I''m Punikon''s dad. What do you people want to do about this?"

Tarquin stepped forward and shielded Elysia.fn0e10 Original content can be found at f?ndnovel/fn0e10

He red coldly at the man, the names Punikon, Thyania Dojo, and Bernard spinning through his mind.

After a tense moment, Tarquin finally asked, "Are we handling this privately, or are we making it official?"

The man sneered, eyeing Tarquin''s sharp suit and clearly thinking he was no threat.

"What do you want to do about it?"

Tarquin''s voice was steely. "If you

want to settle this privately, let''s take

it somewhere else, If you want to make it public, I''ll call the police right now."  s