Chapter 13 - THE DREAM I THOUGHT WAS DEAD
I read the letter three times.
The words still didn’t feel real.
Conditional reinstatement.
Full tuition support.
Academic placement review.
Clinical transition assistance.
An opportunity to return.
Nathan stared at the paper in my hands.
“You’re not seriously considering that.”
I looked up.
Of everything he had said that day, somehow that sentence hurt the least.
Maybe because I finally understood him.
My success had always frightened him.
Not because he hated me.
Because he needed to feel superior to me.
“You told me medicine wasn’t right for me,” I said.
Nathan lowered his voice.
“Emily, you’ve been out for years.”
Professor Carter answered before I could.
“Her original scores were higher than yours.”
Nathan turned red.
Carter continued.
“And if she completes the review program successfully, she can reenter.”
“You can’t just—”
Thomas interrupted.
“Your own future is currently under investigation, Mr. Cole. I’d be cautious about commenting on hers.”
Nathan’s confidence cracked.
He looked around the lobby.
Then back at me.
“Can we speak privately?”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“No.”
It felt strange how easy the word became once I finally used it.
Nathan sat down again.
His voice softened.
The old voice.
The one that once convinced me to sacrifice everything.
“I made mistakes.”
“You made plans.”
“I was under pressure.”
“So was I.”
“You don’t understand Victoria’s family.”
“I understand enough.”
Nathan reached toward my hand.
I moved it away.
That tiny motion seemed to destroy something inside him.
Then he whispered:
“If you cooperate, I can make sure you’re protected.”
Melissa laughed once.
“From what?”
Nathan said nothing.
Melissa leaned closer.
“That sentence is exactly why my client will not meet you without counsel again.”
Nathan stood.
For a second, I thought he would leave.
Instead, he looked at me with desperation.
“Emily, the money in that account wasn’t all mine.”
“I know.”
His face changed.
“What do you know?”
“Enough.”
He swallowed.
Then he made another mistake.
He said:
“Charles will destroy both of us.”
Thomas Reed’s expression sharpened.
“Interesting choice of words.”
Nathan realized too late that he had spoken in front of a foundation executive.
He grabbed his coat and walked away.
But he didn’t get far.
Two men were waiting near the hotel entrance.
Not police.
Investigators representing the foundation’s outside counsel.
They handed Nathan a legal notice requiring preservation of all financial records, devices and communications connected to Project Northstar.
Nathan read the first page.
Then looked back at me.
For the first time since I had met him, he looked powerless.
I thought that would feel satisfying.
It didn’t.
What felt satisfying was looking down at the reinstatement letter.
My future had returned.
But the next morning, Professor Carter called with news that changed everything again.
May you like
Someone had already tried to cancel my reinstatement.
And the request had been submitted using my name.
