The room seemed to shrink. Lucas stared at his own signature, the sharp blue ink suddenly looking like a physical barrier he could never cross again. The rage drained out of him, replaced by a hollow, sickening weight in his stomach. He tried to speak, to invoke his high-powered corporate legal team, but the words caught in his throat. Dr. Vance quietly informed him that the court order had already been processed through the district, and as of forty-eight hours ago, Lucas Sterling was officially removed from the emergency contact list, the pickup authorization roster, and the administrative portal.

Before Lucas could process the finality of the words, the office door clicked open behind him. He spun around, a spark of hope flaring up that maybe Anna had walked in to resolve this, but it was only the security guard, standing quietly in the doorway with a polite but firm expression. The academy was protecting its student, and for the first time in his life, Lucas Sterling was being escorted off a property he thought he owned.

He walked out into the chilly autumn air, his phone buzzing repeatedly in his pocket. He pulled it out, half-expecting a message from Anna, but the screen displayed another notification from Bella asking when he would be back in Miami for the weekend. Lucas dropped his hand to his side, looking back up at the imposing stone walls of the school. The bell rang in the distance, signaling the start of the morning classes, but for Lucas Sterling, the lesson had already ended, leaving him completely alone in the quiet center of his own empty kingdom.