Chapter 7 - THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE
The school was pitch black when I arrived.
The rain had turned into a torrential downpour, masking the sound of my footsteps as I ran across the empty parking lot.
I bypassed the main entrance. I went to the side door near the cafeteria—the one Emma had told me was always broken and wouldn't latch properly.
I pulled it hard. It opened with a rusty squeal.
I stepped into the dark hallway. The only light came from the emergency exit signs, casting an eerie red glow across the lockers.
I walked silently toward the administrative wing.
A light was on under the door of the principal’s office.
I didn't knock. I didn't hesitate.
I kicked the heavy wooden door open.
Coleman was sitting behind his mahogany desk, a leather briefcase open in front of him.
He didn't jump. He just looked up, a cold, arrogant smile on his face.
“Right on time, Daniel.”
I looked frantically around the office. “Where is she?”
“She’s perfectly safe,” Coleman said, resting his hands on the desk. “She’s in the basement electrical room. Locked from the outside. You give me the account numbers, I give you the key, and I leave for the airport.”
“You’re a monster,” I breathed. “You’re a school principal. You’re supposed to protect children.”
“I’m a pragmatist,” he sneered. “Do you know what my salary is, Daniel? While you billionaires write off forty-thousand-dollar donations for a tax break, I manage a decaying building with no budget. Marcus offered me a way out. All I had to do was make sure the books disappeared and point the finger at you.”
I walked slowly toward the desk.
“You made Mrs. Carter destroy Emma’s book,” I said.
“It was necessary,” Coleman said dismissively. “Your daughter was drawing attention to the shortage. I needed her quiet.”
“Give me the key.”
Coleman held up a small brass key.
“The passwords first, Daniel. Write them down.” He slid a notepad toward me.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.
I pretended to look at a file.
But I wasn't looking at passwords.
I pressed a button on a recording app I had started the second I stepped out of my car.
“You know what’s funny, Coleman?” I asked quietly, leaning over the desk.
“Enlighten me.”
“You thought you were the smartest guy in the room.”
I slammed my fist downward, not onto the notepad, but directly onto Coleman’s hand, pinning the brass key to the mahogany wood.
He yelled in shock, trying to pull away, but I grabbed his collar with my other hand and hauled him halfway across the desk.
“I don't have the passwords,” I growled directly into his face. “Marcus locked those accounts yesterday. You’ve got nothing.”
Coleman’s eyes widened in sheer panic. He reached for a heavy brass paperweight with his free hand.
He swung it at my head.
I ducked, the heavy metal missing me by an inch. I twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop it, and shoved him hard against the filing cabinets.
He collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
I grabbed the brass key from the desk.
I ran out of the office and sprinted down the hallway toward the basement stairs.
“Emma!” I yelled, my voice echoing in the empty school.
I reached the heavy steel door of the electrical room. I fumbled with the key, my hands shaking.
I unlocked it and threw the door open.
“Emma!”
The room was dark.
“Daddy?”
A small, terrified voice came from the corner.
I hit the light switch.
Emma was sitting on the floor, her knees pulled to her chest.
I fell to my knees and pulled her into my arms, burying my face in her hair.
“I’ve got you,” I choked out, tears finally breaking through. “I’ve got you, baby.”
She hugged my neck tightly. “He told me you were going to jail.”
“He lied,” I whispered fiercely. “He lied about everything.”
Suddenly, the heavy steel door slammed shut behind us.
The deadbolt clicked into place.
I spun around.
Through the small wire-mesh window in the door, Coleman’s bruised face stared back at us.
He had a second key.
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“If I can't have the money, Daniel,” Coleman sneered through the glass, “then you can both sit in the dark until I’m out of the country.”
He turned off the hallway lights, plunging us into total darkness.
