For two seconds—The entire hall went silent.
Then it exploded.
“What?!”
“No way!”
“He BOUGHT the school?!”
Students turned to each other in disbelief.
Teachers looked stunned,even some staff members were whispering.
Chloe slowly turned toward Layla.
Her eyes wide.
“LAYLA.YOU DID NOT TELL ME HE COULD BUY SCHOOLS.”
Layla was too stunned to speak. She blinked slowly.
“I didn’t know he was going to do that.”
Chloe grabbed her arm.
“Your billionaire literally bought the school!”
Layla stared at the stage, still processing.
Elias stood calmly beside the principal, completely unfazed by the chaos.
Finally the principal raised his hand.
“Students, please!”
After a moment the noise slowly settled again. The principal gestured respectfully toward Elias.
“Mr. Thorne would like to s
