"Principal, please send the surveillance footage to my phone," Claire said evenly. "I'll take it from here."
She had no intention of relying on the school. If left to them, the matter would drag on endlessly, buried under apologies and red tape. But Hilary still had to attend classes every day. She was young, sensitive, and shaken. Letting that kind of fear linger would only deepen the trauma. Claire knew what her daughter needed, a swift, clean break from this nightmare.
The principal, clearly relieved to be excused from any further responsibility, nodded quickly and allowed her to record the footage directly from the security system.
Without wasting another second, Claire took Hilary home. She didn't want her daughter associating the school with more pain than she already had. Once they were outside, she stood by the roadside and made a call.
