The sound cracked through the quiet like a gunshot.
"How dare a filthy homewrecker like you flaunt yourself in front of me?" Her voice was shrill, pitched for the audience, every syllable rehearsed. "Did you really think having a bastard child would let you take my place as Mrs. Ferraro?"
My cheek burned. Emilia pressed her face into my leg and held on.
I didn't touch my face. I didn't step back.
I looked at Luna Caruso, and I let her see exactly what was behind my eyes. Not anger. Not hurt.
The patience of a woman who has already decided.
The slap echoed off the academy's limestone facade and hung in the air like a gunshot.
For a moment, I couldn't move. My cheek burned, and the world tilted sideways. Around me, the other parents closed ranks, their voices rising like a chorus of jackals who'd caught the scent of blood.
"You look decent enough, so why stoop to being some man's side piece and having his kid?"
"Some women play innocent. The second they see a powerful man, they go wild. Desperate to spread their legs."
"Mistresses are the shame of all women, and their kids are even worse."