The scene before them was undeniable—cold, hard proof. The moment the students who had been charging at Arthur saw the police and school officials standing at the door, their rage and panic instantly turned to ice. A chilling dread swept over them. Only two words echoed in their minds. We’re done. Completely done. No, why had the cops shown up so fast? Shouldn’t they have had to ask around to even find this office? The speed at which the police arrived was beyond anything they expected. But once they saw Ashley standing there at the door, they understood. It was Ashley. Ashley had brought them here. The officers moved quickly; the moment they saw what was happening, they raised their shields and charged into the room. Some of the students tried to resist on instinct, but they didn’t stand a chance against trained officers. Within two minutes, every single person in the room—aside from Arthur—had been subdued. Those who had once been begging for mercy now found tears falling again. But this time, it was pure despair. They regretted it now. They should have kept begging Arthur. They’d seen it—when they were on their knees, Arthur’s expression had started to soften. They shouldn’t have gambled on a chance. Shouldn’t have stood around watching. No, we never should’ve followed Henry here. We never should’ve tried to take advantage of the situation! Arthur, after watching the officers take control, collapsed to the ground at just the right moment. “Arthur!” Ashley cried out. She rushed forward, catching him before he could fall. “Arthur, are you okay?” she asked frantically. Her eyes were already turning red with worry. Arthur gave her a subtle pinch. Ashley looked at him, startled. What is he doing, touching me like that in front of everyone? Arthur winked at her playfully. There wasn’t a trace of pain on his face.Ashley suddenly got the message. For a second, she was caught off guard. Arthur had always been so steady, so careful. She hadn’t expected this side of him. But she quickly played along. Still worried, she lifted his shirt to check his injury. When she saw the bandages soaked through with blood, her eyes welled up again. “Arthur! You’re bleeding so much!” she cried. Her outburst instantly sent a ripple of panic through the crowd. At that moment, Hugo arrived. Just as he reached the office door, he heard Ashley’s cry. His heart clenched. He pushed through the crowd. “Arthur! Are you alright?” When his eyes landed on the blood seeping from Arthur’s side, his pupils shrank. He snapped his head toward Mateo. Hugo’s voice was sharper and colder than ever, “Mateo! You’d better have an explanation!” Mateo was still reeling from the fact that his entire group of students had just been arrested. Hugo’s words hit like a hammer. He straightened, just as serious, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure this is handled properly.” Hugo didn’t look at him again. He turned toward the hallway and shouted, “Quick! Get a doctor!” Arthur couldn’t be moved right now. The school had a medical center, staffed with certified doctors; they could treat his injury there. The students—every single one of them, including Henry—had gone pale with fear. They never imagined this would happen. They’d just come to join the crowd, to try their luck, and now the police had them in handcuffs. How had it gotten to this point? Each of them was being held down tightly. They saw the blood on Arthur. How?How could this have happened?They didn’t know Arthur was already injured. They hadn’t even landed a hit on him. Outside the office, teachers and students stood frozen in shock. When they heard that Arthur had lost a lot of blood, they realized just how serious this situation was. Too many people had gathered to watch. The police, once inside, blocked the doorway to keep out anyone who didn’t belong. Arthur was lying on the floor. They couldn’t see what was happening—they could only hear Ashley’s cries. Arthur had gone down. Arthur was bleeding badly. They stared in disbelief at the classmates they could still see. “Oh my! This is Governance University! How could they break the law like this?” “They actually had the nerve to trap Arthur in the student council office and extort him? And when that didn’t work, they beat him like this?”