Before long, we were taken to the police station.
The school principal arrived soon after. Then, my parents followed.
Finally, Valerie's parents arrived.
The moment they stepped inside, Lucas suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Principal! Uncle Harry! Uncle Victor!"
"If Marcus hadn't just stood there and done nothing, Valerie wouldn't have been hurt at all!"
"Mr. Lancaster!" the principal barked furiously. "Is this what the school taught you?"
"Marcus, are you trying to disgrace me completely?!"
My father jabbed a finger at my face, his voice sharp with rage as he hurled the words at me like a curse.
"You're cold-blooded, selfish, and heartless," he continued, his eyes burning with disgust. "Sometimes I really wonder if you're even my son. Why don't you just go die?"
"If anything happens to my daughter, I'll take your life!" Valerie's father, Victor Hale, strode forward and slapped me hard across the face.
Behind the crowd, Lucas shrank back and flashed me a dark, mocking grin.
When I was struck, my parents did not lift a finger to stop it. Instead, their faces were filled with nothing but disgust and contempt.