Chapter 14 - The Broadcast
The St. Jude Academy student portal homepage glowed brightly on every classroom monitor, dormitory computer, and administrative terminal across the entire campus. It was 3:00 AM, the hour of absolute silence before the morning bell, when the override script Chloe initiated finally executed its payload.
Instead of the usual institutional crest featuring the school’s golden scales of justice, the main screen flashed black.
Then, high-definition video footage began streaming live across every connected device in the building. It showed Mrs. Gable forcefully cutting Clara’s hair in Room 204. It showed the systematic psychological abuse logs from the basement archives. It showed Principal Vance signing financial payoff agreements with corporate donors.
In her office on the third floor, Principal Vance bolted upright from her leather desk chair, her face turning pale as she stared at her computer monitor broadcasting the school's darkest secrets to every student, parent, and faculty member currently logged into the network.
"Shut it down! Cut the main server power!" Vance screamed, bursting out into the hallway and running frantically toward the IT control room.
Down in the parking lot, Arthur sat in the idling pickup truck with Clara, watching the upper-floor windows of the St. Jude administrative building light up one by one as teachers and staff woke up to the digital mutiny.
"We did it, Dad," Clara whispered softly, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through her exhaustion as she watched the glowing screens from afar. "Everyone can see what they did."
"We're not done yet," Arthur said, shifting the truck into drive and pulling out onto the main access road leading directly toward the front gates of the academy.
As they approached the wrought-iron gates of St. Jude, flashing red and blue lights appeared in the rearview mirror, followed by the wailing sirens of multiple state police cruisers heading straight for the administration building.
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Arthur pulled the truck to a stop by the curb outside the main entrance, watching as federal investigators in dark jackets stepped out of their vehicles and marched purposefully up the stone steps toward Principal Vance’s office.
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