The headmaster’s office at Saint Jude’s Prep smelled of old leather and discipline. William sat in the guest chair, bracing himself. He expected to hear that Leo, still quiet and intense, had been shoved into a locker.
“There was an altercation,” Headmaster Wells began, looking uncomfortable. “Between Leo and an older student, Marcus Thorne Jr.–no relation, I assume.”
“Is Leo hurt?” William asked, ready to call security.
“No, Mr. Croft. That’s the thing,” Wells sighed, sliding a file across the desk. “The other boy… had a breakdown. He was found crying in the bathroom, refusing to return to class.”
William frowned. “Leo hit him?”
“Leo didn’t touch him,” Wells corrected. “Leo apparently spent three weeks systematically isolating the boy. He mapped out the boy’s social hierarchy, turned his two best friends against him by planting rumors of betrayal, and then left an anonymous note in the boy’s locker detailing exactly how his academic cheating would be exposed.”
William stared at the file. It wasn’t bullying; it was a coup.
“The boy is terrified of your son, Mr. Croft,” Wells said. “Leo dismantled him socially and psychologically. It was… chillingly effective.”
William walked out of the school and saw Leo sitting on a bench, reading a book on game theory. Leo looked up, his face innocent but his eyes sharp.
“Did you handle it, Dad?” Leo asked.
“I think you handled it, Leo,” William replied, feeling a shiver of recognition. It wasn’t William standing there. It was Alistair.