Julian and Art were both afraid of Alex, but after he slapped Julian in the face, they felt sure that he was going to let them go. The club was part of their business empire but the fact that he was going to let them off with just a slap showed that he didn't suspect that the Steadman family were behind what had happened to the girls. He must have realized that they didn't know anything about it and would never have condoned it.
Art was convinced that he was right.
"Clear the room," Alex ordered abruptly.
Art waved his hand and his men ensured that everyone left. They all happily retreated down to the first floor where people were still partying.
Of course, Devon and his men stayed behind in the private room. Seven people were remaining.
Alex tore down the curtain from the window and wrapped it around the shoulders of three girls to cover them up where their clothes had been torn from them.
The three girls and Eric didn't know what to say. Nervously, but excitedly, one of the girls said, "Thank you for saving us, Master Alex." Her voice was full of admiration.
"Call me Mr. Ambrose," Alex said softly. He always lowered his voice and spoke gently with his students.
Eric and the girls nodded.
"Students, are you ready to go home?" Alex turned and gestured toward the exit.
Then he turned and scowled at Art and Julian.
Art lowered his head. The truth was that he always kept a low profile and had never set foot in any of his family's entertainment venues. That day was the first time that he had ever been inside the Night Banquet. He couldn't have known anything about what was happening there. He was about to explain all that when Julian stepped in and said hurriedly, "Master Alex, I really didn't know anything about this. I would never let anyone touch the students. Devon arranged all of this behind our backs."
"All right. Stacy, I want you to take the girls out for a minute," Alex said. It was clear that something was about to happen that he didn't want them to see.
The girls went out obediently and Eric went with them. But Alex followed Eric and grabbed his arm. He said, "Eric, you stay. There's something you need to learn."
"Spare me, Mr. Ambrose, I know I did wrong." It was clear to Eric that he was in trouble.
Alex didn't say anything. He simply held Eric by his shoulders and gave him a stern look. The others gave them space, and no one could hear what it was that Alex said to Eric.
After five minutes, Alex and Eric returned to the rest of the group. Julian nodded to Alex out of respect.
"Okay, I'm done," Alex said to Art and Julian. "I'm going to leave you to deal with the rest. This club belongs to your family. But you need to think carefully about the consequences of something like this happening to my students in one of your venues."
Art said respectfully, "Don't worry, I assure you that it will never happen again. In the future, I'll make sure that all our businesses are respectable and treat everyone well. If I find out that anything untoward is happening in any of our clubs, I will deal with it immediately."
Art was very pleased with how things had gone. He felt that he had taken full advantage of the situation to win respect from Alex.
Eric followed Alex out of the door dejectedly.
Stacy didn't dare to ask him what had happened with Alex, but she gave Eric a questioning look.
Eric nodded desperately.
"Are Devon and the others dead?" she asked.
"Badly beaten," Eric replied. The girls all became very pale.
Once they were outside the club, Alex patted Eric on the shoulder and said, "Eric, I understand what you were trying do. But try to remember that things are not always as they seem. Take my advice. Try to be a decent and respectable man, and always do what is right."
Eric was feeling a bit dazed. He knew how stupid and naive he had been, and he made sure that he memorized every word that Mr Ambrose said to him.
He knew that Master Alex could never be conquered by people like them. The idea was ridiculous.
It wasn't until that moment that he and the girls realized that the person that was most deserving of their admiration was the one who had stood by their side. They were incredulous that anyone would want to fight against Master Alex.
Now, they fully understood what Mr Ambrose had done at school and they realized that he had intentionally been keeping a low profile.
"Let's go back and apologize to Mr. Ambrose. We're lucky that he was still willing to save us after the way we've been fighting against him recently," Eric suggested.
Alex had already found them all a taxi, so they had a good opportunity to express their feelings in the car on the way back to the school.
**
The next morning, Billy got up before dawn. He and Leonard waited outside the school gate to see if the parents of Class 6 really would turn up for the meeting.
As they waited, they could see plenty of students arriving but no parents.
"So this is the great parents' meeting that Alex boasted about! It really is impressive," Billy said sarcastically. His smile was cold and cruel. Before walking into the school, he told the security guard to let him know immediately if any parents arrived.
Then, Billy called his uncle and asked him about one of the parents, Ronald Cartwright, and what his schedule was supposed to be like that day. When his uncle read out the council member's schedule, Billy laughed. Mr Cartwright was not in the Central district at all that day. He was away from Baltimore with his work and there was no mention of a meeting at the school on his list of engagements.
Judging by his schedule, Billy estimated that if Mr Cartwright made it back to the Central district at all that day, it wouldn't be until the afternoon.
Alex's talk about forcing all the parents of Class 6 students to come to a meeting must just have been bragging. It was completely impossible.
Having found out that information, Billy felt very smug and a little relieved.
**
After chatting for a while with Alex, Lynne went to Class 6. But when she walked in, she questioned whether she had gone to the wrong classroom.
Usually, when she made her way to Class 6, she could hear the bedlam from right down at the end of the corridor. Once, she even walked into the classroom to find Lance Cartwright and a group of his friends smoking with their feet up on the desks.
Lynne had always managed to swallow her anger and put up with their rebellious behaviour. She was too afraid to get on the wrong side of them, but she did find herself questioning her desire to continue working within education. She had continued to muddle through her lessons with the students paying her little attention.
But that day, she was stunned when she pushed open the door.
"Stand up for the teacher," Eric yelled, and then all the students stood up and looked at Lynne respectfully as she walked in.
Everyone was wearing their school uniforms, and even Stacy, who always wore full make-up, was plain-faced. They looked just like ordinary students.
Eric even called out, "Good morning, Ms. Bowen."
A long-lost feeling of passion for teaching returned to Lynne and she sniffed, feeling that she was about to cry.
However, she was also cautious and didn't take anything for granted. She was afraid that it was just another prank or that she was walking into a trap. The good behaviour from Class 6 was just too strange.
Ten minutes into the class, she started to relax because everyone was still on their best behaviour. They were listening to the class with sincere and attentive faces.
But although the whole morning was peaceful at the school, there was no sign of the parents who were meant to be attending the meeting.