Slowly, I turned around.

I only caught a glimpse of what she was wearing: a tailored coat, long dark hair, and part of her face as she walked past the glass doors. I was about to get a better look when my phone rang.

I reached into my handbag and pulled it out, still watching the woman as she headed toward the private elevators around the corner.

The screen showed: High School Administration Office.

I hesitated before answering.

By the time I looked up again, the woman had disappeared behind the marble partition.

“Hello?”

“Is this Sallie Evans? The mother of Kelly Evans?” a woman asked.

“Yes, this is she. Is everything okay?”

“Mrs. Evans, you need to come to the school immediately. Kelly was just involved in a physical altercation with another student in the hallway. We need you in the principal's office right now.”

“A fight?” I straightened. “Is she hurt?”

“She’s in the office, Mrs. Evans. Please get here as soon as possible.”

The call ended.

I lowered the phone and looked toward the elevators.

The woman was gone.

I couldn't stay there wondering who she was when my daughter was sitting in the principal's office after getting into a fight.

I turned and left.

The drive to the high school felt longer than usual. I kept thinking about the woman I'd just seen, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

My daughter needed me.

When I entered the administration office, I found Kelly sitting on a plastic chair in the corner.

Her hair was messy, and there was a red mark on her collar. Her shoulders were shaking.

As soon as she saw me, she jumped up and ran into my arms.

“Mom! I didn't do it, I swear!” she sobbed, burying her face against my shoulder. “She was the one who started it! She pushed me first into the lockers!”

“Shh, it's okay. I'm here.” I rubbed her back.

“Mrs. Evans, please take a seat,” the administrator said from behind her desk.

Her nameplate read Mrs. Vance.

A girl about Kelly's age sat across the room. Unlike Kelly, she looked fine. Her jacket was still neat, her arms were crossed, and she was staring at my daughter.

“Kelly is the one who needs to control her temper,” the girl said. “She threw my notebook on the floor. Don't play the victim now because you got handled.”

“That’s enough, Chloe,” Mrs. Vance said.

Her voice was much softer with Chloe than it had been with Kelly.

She turned to me.

“Mrs. Evans, several students saw Kelly throw the first punch. Physical violence is an automatic suspension, regardless of what happened before that.”

“She pushed me first!” Kelly shouted beside me. Her fingers tightened around my jacket. “Mom, she's lying!”

“I don't think she is,” Mrs. Vance said. “Chloe has a stellar record here, whereas Kelly has been increasingly distracted in class lately.”

I stared at her.

She hadn't even asked to see the security footage.

Chloe laughed.

“My mom is on the board of education. She's on her way here right now, and when she gets here, your daughter is going to be expelled, not just suspended.”

She looked directly at Kelly.

“You don't get to touch me.”

I pulled Kelly closer to me.

“If my daughter says she didn't start it, then she didn't,” I said. “You will not threaten my child, and you will not pass judgment until you pull up the security footage from that hallway.”

Mrs. Vance frowned.

“Mrs. Evans, let's not make this more difficult—”

The door opened before she could finish.

The woman looked around the room once before her eyes landed on Chloe.

“Who dares mess with my daughter?”

Chloe's face immediately brightened. “Mom!” She jumped out of her chair and rushed toward her.

The woman caught her by the shoulders, looking her over from head to toe. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Did she hit you?”

Chloe pointed straight at Kelly. “She attacked me for no reason.”

“That’s a lie!” Kelly shouted.

“Kelly,” I warned, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The woman slowly turned her attention toward us. Her eyes moved over Kelly first, then settled on me. She didn't look surprised to see me. If anything, she looked irritated.

“Are you her mother?”

“Yes.” I kept my voice calm, even though I was already tired of the way everyone in this room seemed determined to blame my daughter.

The woman folded her arms. “Then you need to teach your daughter some manners.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Excuse me?”

“My daughter doesn't get into fights. She doesn't have problems with other students. If Kelly attacked her, there must have been a reason.”

“You just said your daughter doesn't get into fights,” I countered, “so how did you decide my daughter was the one who started it?”

The woman's expression hardened. “I know my daughter.”

“So do I.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Chloe shifted closer to her mother.

“Mom, she threw my notebook first.”

Kelly immediately shook her head. “She pushed me!”

“She’s lying,” Chloe snapped.

“Enough,” I said. I looked at Mrs. Vance. “I asked for the security footage. I still want to see it.”

The administrator shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “We can review the matter after both parents have had a chance to calm down.”

“No,” I said firmly. “My daughter has a red mark on her neck, and you're already talking about suspending her without even checking the footage.”

The other woman gave a short laugh, shaking her head. “You're making this much bigger than it needs to be.”

I turned toward her. “Because your daughter isn't the one being accused.”

“She doesn't need to be accused. She has never had an issue here.”

“Neither has my daughter.”

Mrs. Vance cleared her throat. “Mrs. Evans, perhaps we should—”

“No.” The woman's voice cut her off flatly.

She stepped closer to me, her tailored coat rustling as she folded her arms again.

“You should be careful about how you speak to me.”

I stared at her. “And why is that?”

She gave me a slow once-over, almost as if she couldn't believe I had askd.

“Do you know who I am?”