Colton took a step back, panic seeping through his tough guy facade. Troy stared, stunned. What the hell? Nia didn't answer. She didn't need to.
Her posture, her precision, her calm, all of it spoke louder than words. This wasn't a fluke. This wasn't desperation. This was training. Bryce stammered, the camera still recording.
She She broke his wrist. Dude, she actually But he didn't stop filming. He wanted evidence to show school authorities that Nia was dangerous. He wanted proof she fought back. What he didn't know was that he was recording his own downfall.
Reed writhed on the floor, moaning in pain. Troy, do something. She's insane. Nia took one step forward, then another. Each movement measured, each breath calm.
Troy clenched his fists, trying to regain the dominance he had lost. "You don't scare me. " But the tremor in his voice betrayed him. Nia's eyes narrowed. "You should be.
" The boys finally realized too late that Nia Carter was not just a victim. She was someone who had been trained to fight back. Bryce kept filming, thinking he was capturing proof of her violence, never realizing every second he recorded was building a case against them. Brick by incriminating Brick. Dominance flipped so fast it left the air trembling.
The bathroom door was still locked, trapping all four boys inside with a girl they no longer understood. Reed lay curled near the sink, cradling his broken wrist. His groans filled the space like a warning the others ignored too late. Colton lunged next, driven by panic rather than courage. You're dead, freak.
Nia stepped aside with fluid precision, her body shifting like she'd rehearsed this a thousand times. She caught his arm mid swing, pivoted, and locked his elbow behind his back in a tight arm bar. The movement was fast clinical. Colton cried out, collapsing to his knees. "Let go, " he gasped.
Nia applied just enough pressure to hold him still without causing permanent damage. "Stop fighting, " she said calmly. "You're not winning this. " Bryce rushed forward anyway, more out of fear than bravery. "Don't touch him.
" He never finished the sentence. Nia whipped her leg around with surgical accuracy, sweeping his feet out from under him. Bryce hit the floor hard, the thud echoing across the tiles. His phone flew from his hand, clattering across the ground, but the screen stayed bright. The camera kept rolling.
Bryce scrambled toward it. "No, no, no. Turn off. " Nia stepped on the phone before he reached it. You wanted to film?
She said, voice low. Keep filming. Bryce froze, his face blanching. For the first time, Troy Maddox, untainted king of the school hallways, looked rattled. He stared at Nia, trying to mask the tremor crawling into his posture.
"Back off, " he spat. "Don't think you're tough just because you caught us off guard. " Nia tilted her head, reading him perfectly. If you were sure of that, she said, you'd already be attacking. Troy stiffened, his jaw tightened, but his feet didn't move.
She was right. He wasn't stepping forward. He wasn't charging. He was calculating like someone realizing the animal he poked wasn't actually caged. On the floor, Colton wheezed.