Chapter 7 - The Final Legal Blow

Two security guards grabbed Robert by the shoulders, lifting him cleanly off his feet as he struggled and cursed.
"You can't do this to me!" he hollered as they dragged him backward toward the exit. "I'll sue! I'll take every cent—!"
Mr. Bell stepped out from the crowd, holding a crisp manila envelope. He didn't even raise his voice, but his words cut through Robert's rant like a scalpel.
"Mr. Carter, pursuant to the civil settlement filed this morning by Whitmore Holdings, any further attempts to contact Miss Whitmore-Carter or approach her place of education will result in an immediate violation of your restraining order, triggering the activation of your remaining corporate debt liabilities. In plain English: if you speak to her again, you go to prison."
Robert stopped struggling. The fight completely drained out of him. The guards hauled him out the doors, letting them swing shut with a heavy, final thud.
The gallery remained dead silent for three long seconds.
Then Julian Vance cleared his throat, adjusting his lapels. "Well. That was certainly dramatic. Now, as I was saying... I am doubling my bid. Twenty thousand for The Lockout."
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The room erupted into polite, enthusiastic applause. Chloe Vance slipped out a side exit, completely humiliated, while Headmaster Sterling beamed as if he had personally taught me how to paint.
Margaret pulled me into a rare, fierce hug. "Your mother is watching from somewhere very happy, my dear," she whispered in my ear. "You survived the winter."