Chapter 1

My son had his leg broken at school by the chairman of the school board's son, all because he accidentally spilled soda on his limited-edition sneakers.

To smooth things over, the school gave my son a suspension instead.

The other party's mother, that woman dripping in designer labels, pointed at me in the principal's office and said:

"Do you know how much those shoes cost? Forty-two thousand dollars! Your son's entire college fund couldn't cover it! The fact that we're not demanding his immediate expulsion shows how generous our family is being."

The principal nodded along beside her. "Mrs. Williams is absolutely right. We will handle this strictly according to school policy."

I suppressed my rage, looking at their self-righteous faces.

That woman pulled out her phone and contemptuously brought up a photo. "Take a good look. This is Commissioner Williams from the State Education Committee. My uncle. You think you can go against our family?"

In the photo, that commissioner was slightly bowing as he shook hands with my husband.

I pulled out my phone and called my husband.

"Honey, that Commissioner Williams in your committee—his niece just had someone break our son's leg."