My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182 My Father Takes My Keys

RYDER’S POV

The rain hit the windshield in heavy, relentless sheets. I gripped the steering wheel of the truck. The worn leather creaked under the pressure of my hands. I stared at the rearview mirror. I watched the small, faded house on the East Side disappear into the gray mist.

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Leaving her behind went against every instinct in my bones.

I wanted to turn the truck around. I wanted to kick her front door open, pull her into my arms, and shield her from the massive fallout. She walked out of the principal’s office with a blank expression, but I felt the tremor in her fingers. I saw the devastation in her dark eyes when she surrendered her student identification card. She spent four years building a flawless academic empire. She dismantled it to keep

an expulsion off my record.

I failed to protect her. The realization chewed a massive hole in my chest.

I pressed my heavy boot down on the gas pedal. The diesel engine roared. I navigated the cracked, uneven asphalt of the city limits, heading toward the affluent hills. I needed to face the threat waiting at the end of the paved road.

I reached the base of the long, winding drive leading to my father’s property.

A barricade blocked the route.

Two black SUVS sat parked across the double yellow lines. Their headlights cut through the dark afternoon, casting a harsh glare on the wet road. The Steinmann corporate security team:

I shifted the engine into park. I did not turn the ignition off.

The driver of the lead SUV stepped out into the rain. Marcus. He wore a dark tailored suit. He possessed the broad shoulders and rigid posture of a former military operative. He walked to the side of my truck and tapped his knuckles against the driver’s side window.

I rolled the glass down. The cold air rushed into the cab.

“Mr. Steinmann, Marcus said. His voice carried zero emotion. “Your father canceled his afternoon board meetings. He expects you at the

estate.”

“I know where to find him, Marcus,” I replied. I held his cold stare. “Move the vehicles.”

“We will escort you up the hill. Protocol.”

‘I am not a corporate asset.”

“Today, you are a security risk,” Marcus countered. He gestured toward the SUVS. “Drive’ your truck between our vehicles. We will secure

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Chapter 182 My Father Takes My Keys

the front and the rear. Do not attempt to deviate from the route.”

🙂

I clenched my jaw. I possessed the size and the fighting experience to break Marcus in half, but a physical altercation on a public road invited police intervention. A police report gave the school board more ammunition to use against Raisa. I needed to keep the collateral

damage contained.

I rolled the window up.

Marcus returned to his vehicle. The lead SUV moved forward, clearing a narrow path. I pulled the truck into the gap. The second SUV pulled up behind my bumper. They boxed me in. We drove up the winding hill in a tight, controlled convoy.

We reached the towering iron gates of the estate.

The dark metal bars stood closed. A security camera mounted on the stone pillar tracked our arrival. The heavy gates rolled open on their

tracks. We drove onto the property.

The gates shut behind us. The loud, metallic clang echoed in the damp air.

It sounded like a prison door locking into place.

I parked the battered Ford near the massive front steps of the mansion. I cut the engine. I grabbed my truck keys. I stepped out into the freezing rain. The security team flanked me on both sides. We walked up the marble stairs. Marcus opened the heavy oak front door.

We stepped into the grand foyer. The air inside felt sterile. The crystal chandeliers cast a cold, unforgiving light over the antique oil

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