Their Queen's Back - Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Jessica patted Emily on the shoulder and said, "Emily, tell them—we're not afraid of any of this. If they want to expel us, so be it. We couldn't care less, and we won't let anyone push us around."
Just as Emily was about to speak, the sound of footsteps echoed. As if by instinct, she whipped around—it was Skye.
Jessica glared at her with loathing. "What's she doing here?"
Skye strode into the office, her commanding presence instantly silencing the room. Everyone instinctively held their breath—the sheer intimidation of her aura was overwhelming.
"Who are you?"
"Sorry I'm late. I'm Skye, Emily's eldest sister. You must be her homeroom teacher. Our father couldn't make it due to prior commitments. Now, what exactly is going on here?"
Susan had been a homeroom teacher for years and carried herself with authority, but in front of this woman, she felt utterly insignificant—like a private standing before the Joint Chiefs.
She swallowed hard. "Hello, I'm Susan Fisher."
"Hello, Ms. Fisher. Emily, come here," Skye called out.
Emily was still thinking, "Why is she here?" but her feet moved toward Skye of their own accord.
Jessica clenched her fists so tightly they turned white, wishing she could tear Skye to shreds. They were this close to leaving!
"That bitch! That fucking bitch!" she seethed inwardly.
"Since you're her elder sister, then who is she?" the Class 1 homeroom teacher asked, clearly puzzled.
Skye gave Jessica a fleeting, contemptuous glance—the disdain in her eyes cut like a knife, making Jessica feel like a pathetic clown.
"Just some outsider," Skye replied dismissively.
"Since you're her real sister," the Class 1 homeroom teacher said, "how do you think we should handle this?"
Skye nodded slightly, noticing the love letter on the desk. "May I see that letter?"
Susan passed it to her. Skye saw through it at a glance. "This isn't my sister's handwriting, Ms. Fisher. If you don't believe me, you can compare the handwriting."
As the homeroom teacher, Ms. Fisher recognized it immediately.
"You're right, this definitely wasn't written by Emily."
One student shouted, "Even if she didn't write it herself, she might've had someone else do it for her!"
Skye turned to Emily and pressed, "Emily, did you write this letter?"
Emily froze, her anxious eyes darting repeatedly toward Megan, who stood by the door.
Megan's grip on the doorframe turned white-knuckled, cold sweat trickling down her back as she silently pleaded, "Please, Emily, don't say anything."
She begged Emily not to expose her.
Emily kept her head bowed, silent.
"Fine, if you won't talk, then don't. The fight barely relates to this letter. I've already pulled the surveillance footage from your school's security room. Homeroom teachers, you can decide for yourselves if these students deserved to be hit."
As Lauren walked in with the laptop, the girls paled, clutching their parents' clothes in panic and wailing, "It hurts so much! We need to go to the hospital!"
Skye said calmly, "If you're not in agony, then go to the hospital. The principal will personally handle your punishment, and soon, the police or court officials will come to your homes with summonses."
"What?!" The parents went pale at the mention of the police and court.
The footage clearly showed the girls sneering and blocking Emily from leaving.
Seeing this, both the parents and the homeroom teachers fell silent.
Skye said, "Class 1 is supposed to be the model class with the best academic environment. Yet ironically, it's now the very class where bullying has surfaced. I can't begin to imagine the helplessness and despair my sister must have felt in those ten minutes. And I've never heard of students being barred from leaving their own classroom by their peers."
The Class 1 teacher looked at the students she once took pride in, now shrinking into their parents' arms in shame.
Skye continued, "My sister was wrong to hit someone, and I'll pay ten times your medical expenses. But make no mistake—we're filing charges. The court hearing will be scheduled after your SATs, for the sake of your studies."
"We... we..." the students stammered.
"Mom, Dad, we..."
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!
Hearing this, each parent delivered a stinging slap to their daughter's face.
"You little brat! How dare you bully your classmate? Apologize this instant!" one parent snapped.
"Apologize to Emily right now!" another ordered.
"Emily, you see, this is just a little squabble between kids. There's really no need to take it to court—can't we just settle this privately? What do you think?" one of the parents pleaded.
"Yes, exactly! And please, don't worry about the medical bills—it was all their fault. Emily, as fellow parents, we sincerely hope you'll be understanding and let this go," another parent chimed in.
Skye turned to Emily, deferring to her judgment.
"What do you think?" he asked.
For the first time, Emily felt exhilarated by their apologies—"It's like a beam of light piercing through the dark fog in my heart," she thought.
Jessica meant well, but her approach was nothing like Skye's.
Jessica's way always left Emily feeling stifled and frustrated; those people would never bother to understand the real truth, let alone apologize to her.
But Skye's way was different—it was like clearing the storm clouds to reveal blue skies, leaving Emily feeling completely free and unburdened.
Jessica stepped forward and cut in sharply, "Weren't you just insisting on expelling Emily? Well, now we demand you expel every last one of them too. What do you say to that, Ms. Fisher?"
She fixed the Class 1 homeroom teacher with a defiant, almost threatening stare.
The sheer contempt and menace in her eyes made Ms. Fisher's face go pale—she was left speechless.
"Miss Clark, this is a Hughes family matter. It would be best for unrelated parties to leave," Lauren said coolly, instantly wiping the smug look off Jessica's face.
Jessica shot Lauren a venomous glare.
Lauren remained stone-faced, utterly unfazed.
Just then, Emily glanced at their bruised faces, their tear-stained eyes, and the pleading, humbled looks of their parents. She spoke in a heavy voice, "Just apologize!"
"What the hell, Emily! How can you let them off so easily? Have you forgotten what they just did to you? Didn't I teach you—never forgive anyone! If they dare to bully you today, they'll do it again tomorrow!" Jessica stared at Emily, practically burning holes through her with her eyes.
How could Emily suddenly start playing the saint? She was supposed to be unreasonable and vindictive.
She wouldn't allow Emily to change.
Not ever.
Skye instinctively ignored Jessica and pinched Emily's cheek affectionately.
Jessica, utterly ignored, trembled with rage.
"Alright, Ms. Fisher. Since Emily is your student, as her parent, I propose that these students write a 1,000-word written apology and read it in front of the entire school. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
Before Ms. Fisher could respond, the parents scrambled to agree. "Not at all! Absolutely not! If you want them to write 2,000 words, we're more than willing—it's all our fault."
"Absolutely, Ms. Hughes. Kids need to learn their lesson. Don't worry, I'll make sure she writes the apology as soon as we get home," another parent added in a rush.
They were terrified that any hesitation might get them into more trouble.
Skye gave a slight nod. "Come on, let's get you checked out at the hospital."
Just as Skye was about to leave with Emily, the principal rushed in with an ingratiating smile. "Ms. Sky, Ms. Sky! I had no idea you were visiting today. Is something the matter?"
Lauren replied politely, "Ms. Sky is here regarding her sister, Principal. No need for such formalities—she still needs to get to the hospital, so we'll be heading out now."
"Of course, of course. Safe trip, Ms. Sky," the principal said, bowing slightly.
Seeing how influential Skye's connections were—even the principal was kowtowing to her—the parents were terrified, but relieved they'd known better than to provoke her.
They were just glad things hadn't gotten ugly; otherwise, the consequences would have been far beyond what they could handle.
The Class 1 homeroom teacher glanced at the principal, curiosity in her voice. "Principal, who exactly is Emily's family member?"
The principal wiped the cold sweat from his brow and lowered his voice. "She's a VIP—someone far beyond our station to offend. Ms. Fisher, let me be clear: when it comes to Emily, treat her with respect. If something doesn't concern you, don't get involved."
Ms. Fisher nodded quickly. "Understood."
She never expected Emily's eldest sister to be so capable and fair-minded.
"I should find time to have a good talk with this parent about Emily's academic progress," she thought.
As for the impostor Jessica, who knows what her motives are? Her intentions were clearly malicious.
Claire had just gone to inform the Class 10 homeroom teacher when another teacher sent her upstairs with a stack of homework to hand out. By the time she got back to the office, it was already empty.
"Unbelievable!" she seethed, teeth clenched. "After all that, they're the ones who have to apologize to Emily?"
"So I got slapped for nothing?" she fumed, touching her stinging cheek.
"This isn't over, Emily," Claire vowed darkly.
As Claire was leaving, she noticed a letter on the desk—the handwriting looked like Megan's.
"Emily said she didn't write it... and she really didn't," Claire thought. "So it was Megan. But why wouldn't Megan admit it? And why didn't Emily say anything?"
Puzzled, she walked out of the office and happened to run into Megan coming in. Claire stopped in her tracks, watching as Megan nonchalantly took the love letter.
Claire followed her quietly and saw Megan tear it up and fling it into the bin.
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the shredded letter in the trash, lost in thought.
My cheek was still stinging from that slap. "Emily, you maniac!" I fumed inwardly.
As if hitting me wasn't enough, she shoved me into the desk and I was stuck there for ages.
Ugh, she's making me furious!
Emily obediently followed Skye to the hospital, nerves on edge the whole way. "Does she think I'm just some good-for-nothing delinquent too?"
"What am I even worrying about? I am a good-for-nothing delinquent."
"My grades are terrible—I'm literally at the bottom of the class."
"Teachers can't stand me,"
"and my classmates avoid me like the plague."
But that letter wasn't even mine.
Right before stepping into the doctor's office, Emily mumbled,
"That letter... I was just passing it along for a friend. I didn't write it myself."
Skye didn't expect her to explain herself—she was no naive teenager; she saw right through what happened today.
"I never doubted you. That wasn't your handwriting," Skye said gently.
Hearing this, Emily, who had just been slouching in defeat, suddenly sat up straight, energy crackling through her.
"Please, like I'd ever write something that ugly—as ugly as sin, looks like a total train wreck. And that so-called genius? He's hideous and couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. No way I'd ever like someone like that," Emily scoffed.
Skye watched her sister's fighting spirit return and smiled faintly.
"Alright, get in there. The doctor's waiting for you."
Chin held high, Emily strode into the office with confidence.
"Lauren, go give Jessica a little lesson."
"Yes, Ms. Sky. One more thing—Jessica has contacted several company directors and managers, requesting meetings about Hughes Corporation's core secrets. We previously lost a proprietary technology dossier; I believe that's what she has. If she leaks it now that the project's underway, it could compromise the entire operation..."
Skye gave a razor-thin, mirthless smile.
"So that's her trump card. No rush—let's see how far she'll go. Have Rowan maintain 24/7 surveillance on that project."
Skye simply replied, "Yes."
Lauren kept her head bowed, hesitating. "There's one more thing to report, Ms. Sky... though I'm unsure whether to mention this now."
"Speak," Skye commanded.
"Mr. Hughes is also at this hospital. He called earlier, asking if we've identified the perpetrator behind the attack on him."
"I'll visit him with Emily shortly. You're dismissed."
Skye simply replied, "Yes."
Claire was fuming as she trudged alone to the hospital. "If Emily hadn't shoved me, would my butt have gotten stuck in that stupid seat?"
The throbbing pain told her it was definitely bruised.
"Emily!"
"Just wait till I see you again. I'll make you pay for messing with me."
Claire hissed through gritted teeth, massaging her throbbing backside as she hobbled into the examination room across from Emily's.
"Ah!" Claire yelped in shock, then snapped, "What are you doing!"
"Quit the hysterics. What's with all the fuss? Didn't you say your butt hurts? How am I supposed to know what's wrong if I don't check? You're just a young girl—why so dramatic? We're all women here. It's not like you're the only one with a butt."
Claire's face turned ashen, jaw clenched in humiliation as she stood stiffly in place.
With a sharp smack, Dr. Young delivered a slap to her backside.
Claire cried out again, "Ow, that hurts!"
Dr. Young yanked at her clothes impatiently and barked, "I've never seen anyone as whiny as you. Are you here for treatment or not? If not, get out! Stop making a scene, acting like you're the only one with a butt. And you reek of something awful. If I didn't feel sorry for you, I wouldn't even bother treating you."
"You—!" Claire's eyes widened, feeling as if she'd just been slapped in the face. She clenched her fists and stiffened her posture.
"What, you got something to say? Assume the examination position—bend over and spread your legs slightly. If you want to scream, save it for your boyfriend at home. Don't make a scene in front of me. Nurses, come over here and watch her."
"Yes, Dr. Young."
"Look at these bruises—clearly from being hit. At your age, you should know better. You look old enough, but modern youth, honestly, I don't even know what to say."
Claire wasn't stupid; she could hear the implication in Dr. Young's words.
"That's nonsense! I just bumped into something by accident."
"Fine, have it your way. Stand still and pull your pants down a bit more. What are you doing? Didn't you hear me? I said pull your pants down. This is a hospital, and there are plenty of patients waiting. Do you think I have all day to waste on you? Honestly!"