The Top Score That Brought The Army Chapter 02

The Top Score That Brought The Army Chapter 02

I rolled my eyes and mumbled a few vague replies, telling them I would head home on my own.

It took quite a bit of persuading to talk my parents out of coming to fetch me.

I hung up and sighed. My parents were just far too flashy.

If they found out I was being bullied and locked in a dark room, they would blow the whole campus off the map.

I was just an extra, but this was a melodrama after all.

My grandfather was an underworld don.

My father ran the family empire.

My mother was the top assassin on the global hit list, charging a cool hundred million dollars per job.

Two chaotic souls found each other, fell in love, and produced me, their only child.

According to my dad, Norton Caine, ten generations of criminals had finally birthed one real scholar.

I remembered when I brought home my first report card with straight top marks in elementary school.

My parents looked terrified.

They thought I cheated. They thought I bribed the teachers. They even wondered if I was swapped at birth.

They refused to believe I earned it myself.

Eventually, they realized I hated violence, had zero interest in their world, and just wanted to read books all day.

By the time I mastered eight languages at a young age, they gave up trying to turn me into a criminal.

And when I wound up valedictorian at my middleschool graduation, my parents went absolutely wild with excitement.

Dad celebrated by blowing up a dozen rival hideouts as fireworks.

Mom wiped out the top ten targets on the bounty board just to bring me a lucky victory gift.

But my only request to them was simple: keep my identity a complete secret in high school and let me study in peace.

Every time anyone learned who my parents really were in the past, they trembled from sheer fright.

I had finally secured my quiet life as a normal student, and I wasn’t going to let them ruin it.

With that thought, I crouched down in front of the storage room lock.

A few quick twists, and it popped open.

Growing up around my family, picking a cheap lock was child’s play.

That afternoon, I showed up to class right on time, opened my textbook, and sat down as if nothing had happened.

When Yana saw me, her eyes turned red.

She stared at me through the entire period, her gaze filled with hurt and defiance.

When the bell rang, she marched up to my desk, gripping the hem of her skirt.

“Angie, I know you’re smart, but remember this: the top spot belongs to me, and I will take it back.”

I looked up at her calmly. “Then you have eighty-two other people to beat first.”

Yana froze for a moment, covered her face, and ran off crying.

I shrugged and went back to my problems.

Moments later, Amon walked over, his face dark.

He wore a custom-fitted shirt, looking every bit the wealthy prince.

“Angie, I understated you. Looks like you didn’t learn your lesson.”

He reached out to grab my arm.

Before I could dodge, another hand reached out from the side and stopped him.

Wayne Hartley.

The heir of the Hartley family.

He smiled politely, though his eyes were sharp and calculating.

Wayne looked down at me. “Angie, name your price. Step down and let Yana have the top spot.”

I tilted my head, curious. “How much are you offering?”

Wayne’s smug look deepened. “Whatever you want. The Hartleys have endless money.”

I thought about it for a second and held up five fingers.

Wayne raised an eyebrow, his smile widening. “Five million? Done.”

He turned to Amon with a dismissive smirk. “Amon, don’t rely on brute force for everything. Use your head. Why use your fists when money solves the problem?”

I didn’t take the offer. Instead, I asked, “First place only comes with a five-thousand-dollar scholarship. Why don’t you just give the five million directly to Yana? Isn’t she after the money anyway?”

Amon let out a cold laugh. “Yana isn’t a gold digger like you. Her earning five thousand dollars through hard work means more than anything. You have no idea how upright she is.”

I nodded. “Fair point. But I wasn’t asking for five million.”

Wayne frowned. “What do you want then?”

“I want…”

I slowly folded four of my fingers down, leaving only my middle finger raised.

I silently mouthed the words: get lost.

Wayne’s face flushed bright red. His polite smile vanished instantly, replaced by a dark glare.

“Angie, don’t push your luck.”

I took a step back, catching sight of our counselor walking down the hallway out of the corner of my eye.

I took a deep breath and shouted at the top of my lungs, “Mr. Sullivan! Wayne tried to bribe me with five million dollars to give my first-place spot to Yana!”