The workday was an exercise in surrealism. Kaelen sat through a high-stakes budget meeting for the Bio-Synth division, her father's cold gaze periodically slicing toward her, while her mind was entirely occupied by a single, terrifying thought: 3 PM.
She was going to a parent-teacher conference.
The absurdity of it was staggering. She, the recessive Alpha heir to a cutthroat corporation, who used illegal stimulants to mimic dominance, was about to sit in a tiny chair and discuss the academic and social progress of a little girl who wasn't even hers. The original Kaelen would have rather set herself on fire.
At 2:55 PM, she stood by the sleek town car, her heart performing a frantic drum solo against her ribs. She'd chosen a suit that was severe but not intimidating a dark charcoal grey instead of her usual funeral black. It felt like another costume, but for a role she desperately wanted to get right.
Sera and Iris emerged from the building. Sera looked like she was walking to her own execution, her posture rigid, her face a carefully neutral mask. Iris, however, buzzed with a nervous energy, her hand clutching Sera's tightly.
The car ride was silent. Kaelen didn't dare speak. She just watched the city stream by, the -97% and 12% glowing like twin lifelines in her mind.
St. Ignatius Academy looked different in the afternoon light, less imposing and more… institutional. They were led to a classroom filled with the faint smell of chalk, disinfectant, and childlike creativity. Art projects lined the walls. Iris's, a watercolor of a rain-soaked cityscape viewed from a high window, was among them. It was surprisingly melancholic and skilled.
Iris's teacher, Ms. Evans, was a warm-faced Beta woman with kind eyes. She greeted Sera with a familiar smile, which then faltered slightly when she saw Kaelen.
"Oh, Ms. Vesper, hello! And…?"
"This is Kaelen Blackwood my Fiancé," Sera said, her voice devoid of inflection. "Iris's… aunt."
The hesitation was a tiny dagger. Ms. Evans's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. The Blackwood name had that effect. "Of course. Please, have a seat."
They sat in the ridiculously small chairs, Kaelen's knees feeling comically high. Iris fidgeted between them.
Ms. Evans began, her tone positive. "Iris is a wonderfully bright student. Her reading is years ahead of her grade level, and her artistic talent is remarkable." She gestured to the painting. "She's quiet, but very observant."
Sera nodded, a flicker of maternal pride breaking through her reserve.
Then Ms. Evans's expression grew more serious. "Socially, however, we've been having some… ongoing challenges. There have been a few incidents of teasing from some of the other children." She glanced apologetically at Sera. "We've addressed it, of course, but it seems to persist."
Kaelen's hands clenched into fists under the table. The memory of the two boys in the toy store flashed in her mind.
"What kind of teasing?" Kaelen asked, her voice coming out lower and sharper than she intended.
Ms. Evans flinched slightly at her tone. Sera shot her a warning look.
"Oh, you know how children can be," Ms. Evans said, trying to soften it. "Sometimes they pick on differences. Iris's… family situation is unique. And her presentation as a potential Omega…"
"They call her poor," Kaelen stated flatly, cutting through the teacher's diplomacy. "They call her hideous. They tell her she's going to grow up to be a useless Omega who crawls for Alphas. That's the 'teasing', isn't it?"
The room went utterly silent. Ms. Evans's face flushed. Sera had gone pale, her eyes fixed on the desk, a muscle in her jaw working. She looked… exposed. This was her deepest shame and fear, laid bare in a brightly lit classroom.
Warning: Causing significant distress to target "Seraphina Vesper".
A sharp, sudden pain lanced through Kaelen's temple. She ignored it.
"Miss Blackwood, that's a very harsh" Ms. Evans began, flustered.
"It's the truth," Kaelen interrupted, her gaze fixed on the teacher. "And 'addressing it' clearly isn't working. What is the school's actual policy on bullying? What are the consequences for the children saying these things? And more importantly, what are you doing to protect my soon to be daughter" she stumbled over the word, "to protect Iris now, today, while you're figuring it out?"
She wasn't performing. The anger was real, hot and protective. It was the same fury that had overtaken her in the toy store. The System's warning pain was a minor annoyance compared to the need to shield this child.
Ms. Evans was speechless. No one, especially not a Blackwood, had ever spoken to her like this.
Sera was staring at Kaelen now, her earlier humiliation replaced by something else shock, again. And something darker, more conflicted. The -97% in Kaelen's vision flickered, dancing between -96% and -98%.
Then, a small hand slipped into Kaelen's under the table. Iris, her face anxious, was looking up at her, not with fear, but with a desperate need for the confrontation to stop.
The touch was like a circuit breaker. Kaelen's anger evaporated. She took a slow, deep breath, unclenching her fists. She gave Iris's hand a gentle squeeze.
"I apologize for my tone," Kaelen said to Ms. Evans, her voice now measured and cold, the corporate heir taking over. "But the subject matter is… upsetting. I expect the school to provide a detailed action plan by the end of the week. My assistant will be in touch."
The meeting ended shortly after that, on a note of stunned professional deference from the teacher and shell-shocked silence from Sera.
They walked back to the car. The silence this time was different, charged and unstable. Sera didn't look at her. She helped Iris into the car and then turned to Kaelen before getting in herself.
Her eyes were a storm of emotions anger, shame, and that same bewildering confusion.
"Why did you do that?" Sera asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Kaelen met her gaze. "Because it was the truth. And she wasn't protecting her."
Sera searched her face for a long moment, looking for the angle, the manipulation. Finding none, she just shook her head slowly, got in the car, and shut the door.
As they drove away, Kaelen checked the metrics.
Seraphina Vesper. Approximate Approval: -95%
Iris Vesper. Approximate Approval: 15%
She had yelled at a teacher, caused Sera public humiliation, and received a System warning. And yet, the fortress wall had crumbled a little more. She was getting through. Not by being kind, but by being, in her own messed-up way, on their side.