Chapter 6: Revelations and Reverberations

Kelvin took a deep breath, his patience fraying at the edges. He turned to the secretary, his voice calm but firm. "Why are you treating us this way? We’re parents just like everyone else here."

The secretary barely glanced up from her computer and ignored Kelvin; she just hissed at Kelvin's question.

Sheena stepped forward, her voice trembling with suppressed anger. "We deserve the same respect as anyone else. You have no right to treat us like this."

The secretary glanced upward, her face showing disdain. "Does respect even matter? Who is it for? A man unable to afford his kids' education and a woman too oblivious to see she's wasting her time with a failure."

Kelvin's hands balled into fists by his waist. "What did you say?"

"I said," the secretary went on, her voice oozing with sarcasm, "That you are a disgrace as parents. Particularly you, Mrs. Brunette." She turned her attention to Sheena. "You, remaining with a man who cannot support his family, is a disgrace to womanhood and motherhood. Choosing to stay with him rather than leave and protect your children from all this humiliation is pure selfishness."

"That’s enough!" Kelvin’s voice echoed through the office. "You have no right to talk to my wife like that."

"Or what?" The secretary sneered. "Are you going to complain? Go ahead, it won’t change anything. You are still a poor wretched man."

Sheena’s phone rang, cutting through the tension. She glanced at the screen, her face paling. "It’s the office. There’s an emergency. Kelvin, I have to go."

Kelvin nodded, his jaw tight. "Go. I’ll handle this."

Sheena gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then knelt to hug Lily and Luke. "Be good for Daddy, okay? I’ll be back as soon as I can."

The twins nodded, their eyes wide with worry. Sheena hurried out, leaving Kelvin standing protectively over his children.

A few minutes later, the principal’s door opened. "Mr. Brunette, please come in."

Kelvin guided the twins to the principal's office. Mrs. Henderson, the principal, looked up and widened her eyes when she saw him, recognizing him as the person in the photo she had received the day before. She quickly rose to her feet, stuttering, "Mr. Brunette. I am so sorry for the delay. I didn’t realize it was you."

Kelvin raised an eyebrow. "You didn’t realize? We had an appointment."

Mrs. Henderson shot a nervous glance at the secretary. "Yes, of course. Please, have a seat." She motioned for the secretary to leave. "You can go now."

The secretary was a little surprised by the principal's reaction but ignored it and smirked at Kelvin one last time before leaving the office. Mrs. Henderson’s demeanor shifted immediately. "Mr. Brunette, I am so sorry for the misunderstanding. If I had known..."

Kelvin held up a hand to stop her. "I want things to remain normal, Mrs. Henderson. No one should know about the new owner of the school," he said, alluding to himself. "All I want is for my children to be treated with respect."

"Absolutely, Mr. Brunette. I assure you, we will look after Lily and Luke with the utmost care."

"And one more thing," Kelvin added, his voice hard. "That secretary of yours? I want her fired immediately."

Mrs. Henderson paled but nodded. "Yes, Mr. Brunette. I’ll take care of it right away."

Kelvin turned to his children. "See, kids? Everything’s going to be fine. Mrs. Henderson here is going to make sure of it."

Lily and Luke nodded, still a bit shell-shocked from the morning’s events and even more surprised by how the principal reacted to their dad. Mrs. Henderson smiled warmly at them. "You’re in good hands, I promise."

With that, Kelvin let out a sigh of relief that his children had now safely returned to school.