Chapter 3 - The Deal Behind Closed Doors
Charles Reed had spent thirty years entering rooms as if he owned them.
Sometimes he actually did.
Westbridge University had three buildings carrying his family’s name.
The Reed School of Entrepreneurship.
The Caroline Reed International Center.
The Reed Athletic Pavilion.
But as Charles stood inside the conference room facing his son, something in Mason’s expression told him his authority might not work this time.
“Mason,” Charles said. “Outside.”
“No.”
“This does not concern you.”
“The video is of me.”
Charles’s jaw tightened.
President Hale intervened.
“Perhaps we should postpone.”
Mason looked at him.
“Why? Because the edited footage isn’t working?”
The university attorney straightened.
“That accusation is serious.”
“So is destroying someone’s career.”
Evelyn remained silent.
She knew speaking too quickly could hurt her.
Mason pointed toward the laptop.
“That footage came from a classroom security camera.”
Nobody answered.
He continued.
“Students don’t have access to that system.”
Dean Collins looked at Hale.
“That’s true.”
Hale’s expression stayed composed.
“The university is cooperating with the investigation.”
“Then who released it?”
“We don’t know.”
“You’re president.”
“I am not the IT department.”
Mason laughed without humor.
Charles grabbed his son’s shoulder.
“Enough.”
Mason shrugged him off.
“What’s in the envelope?”
Charles glanced toward Evelyn.
“Settlement documents.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What settlement?”
Charles looked directly at her.
“A financial agreement.”
“For what?”
“To bring this matter to a private conclusion.”
Evelyn stared.
“You’re offering me money to resign.”
“Generous money.”
Mason turned toward his father.
“You knew this was coming.”
Charles ignored him.
Evelyn looked at the envelope.
“How generous?”
The attorney answered.
“Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
Dean Collins’s eyes widened.
Evelyn almost laughed.
“Three quarters of a million dollars?”
“In exchange for your resignation, confidentiality, and agreement not to pursue legal action against the university, Mr. Reed, or his family.”
Mason stepped forward.
“No.”
Charles’s voice hardened.
“You are not negotiating.”
“No one asked you to.”
Evelyn opened the envelope.
The language was polished.
Professional.
Cold.
She scanned the pages.
Then she saw one clause.
Her eyes narrowed.
“This says I acknowledge inappropriate conduct.”
The attorney shifted.
“A limited acknowledgment.”
“I would be admitting guilt.”
“It would not be public.”
Evelyn looked up.
“You want me to take money and sign a lie.”
Charles lowered his voice.
“I want this to end.”
“For whom?”
“For everyone.”
“No. For you.”
Charles’s expression changed.
Evelyn closed the folder.
“I’m not signing.”
“You should think carefully.”
“I already did.”
Charles leaned closer.
“You have student loans.”
Mason stared at him.
“Dad.”
“You support your mother.”
Evelyn’s face went still.
“How do you know that?”
Charles realized too late that he had said too much.
Evelyn stood.
“You looked into my finances?”
No answer.
“You looked into my family?”
“It is normal due diligence.”
“On a professor you claim is simply under investigation?”
Charles’s face hardened.
Evelyn slid the envelope back across the table.
“No.”
Charles’s eyes met hers.
“You may regret that.”
She held his gaze.
“I regretted staying quiet nine years ago.”
For the first time, President Hale reacted.
A tiny movement.
A glance toward Charles.
Mason saw it.
So did Evelyn.
“What happened nine years ago?” Dean Collins asked.
Nobody answered.
Charles turned toward his son.
“We’re leaving.”
Mason remained seated.
“I’m staying.”
“Mason.”
“I said I’m staying.”
Charles stared at him for several seconds.
Then walked out.
President Hale followed soon after.
The university attorney gathered his files.
Dean Collins waited until the door closed.
Then she leaned toward Evelyn.
“What are you not telling me?”
Evelyn looked at Mason.
Then back at the dean.
“Caroline Reed believed money was being stolen from scholarship funds.”
Collins frowned.
“How much money?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who knew?”
“Charles Reed.”
Dean Collins sat back.
“That is an extraordinary allegation.”
“It gets worse.”
Mason placed the old photograph on the table.
“My mother died while trying to bring evidence to the university.”
Collins looked at the image.
“When?”
“Nine years ago.”
The dean slowly removed her glasses.
“I was associate provost then.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“Did you know Caroline?”
“Everyone knew Caroline.”
“Did she ever contact you?”
Collins’s expression became distant.
“Yes.”
Mason leaned forward.
“When?”
“Two days before she died.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked me whether scholarship accounts could be audited without the president’s approval.”
Evelyn’s heart began pounding.
“What did you tell her?”
“That theoretically, yes.”
“And?”
“She said she believed foreign-student grants were being diverted through vendors.”
Mason looked toward Evelyn.
“It matches.”
Collins nodded.
“She wanted to meet me.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“She died first.”
Silence.
Then Collins whispered, “I thought the issue died with her.”
Evelyn looked at the closed door.
“Maybe somebody wanted it to.”
That evening, Mason met Sabrina at a small coffee shop near campus.
She sat across from him wearing sunglasses despite the cloudy weather.
“You’ve got five minutes,” she said.
“Give me the full video.”
She stirred her coffee.
“No.”
“Sabrina.”
“You humiliated me.”
“I broke up with you privately.”
“For her.”
“No.”
“You looked at her like she was the only person in the room.”
Mason leaned forward.
“That doesn’t matter. She told me no.”
Sabrina’s expression shifted.
“You really care whether she loses her job.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she did nothing wrong.”
Sabrina looked away.
Mason lowered his voice.
“Who told you to post the clip?”
Her hand stopped moving.
“What?”
“You didn’t upload it from your account.”
“I sent it to someone.”
“Who?”
“No one.”
“That’s a lie.”
She stood.
Mason said one name.
“Victor Hale.”
Sabrina froze.
People around them continued talking.
Milk steamed behind the counter.
A door opened.
Then closed.
Sabrina sat back down.
Mason stared.
“It was Hale?”
“No.”
“You just answered me.”
“I said no.”
“He contacted you.”
Her eyes filled.
“Mason, stop.”
“What did he promise?”
“Nothing.”
“What did he threaten?”
That broke her.
Sabrina looked down.
“My father represents Westbridge.”
Mason knew that.
“Keep going.”
“He said if I gave him the original recording, nobody would need to know I had been outside the classroom spying on you.”
“Why were you there?”
Sabrina looked ashamed.
“I followed you.”
Mason exhaled.
“I thought you were seeing someone.”
“So you recorded us.”
“Yes.”
“What happened after the kiss?”
“You know.”
“Say it.”
“You pushed him away,” Sabrina said softly, as if Evelyn were sitting there. “You were angry. He apologized.”
“And the video online?”
“Hale’s office asked me to email the file.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Thursday night.”
Mason went still.
The viral clip had appeared before the official investigation had begun.
“Do you still have the original?”
Sabrina shook her head.
“I deleted it.”
Mason felt sick.
Then she added, “But my phone automatically backed up to the cloud.”
He stared at her.
Sabrina looked toward the window.
“I checked this morning.”
“And?”
“The full video is still there.”
For the first time in two days, Mason felt hope.
“Send it to me.”
She shook her head.
“Why?”
“Because Hale knows.”
“How?”
“I got a message.”
She handed him her phone.
One sentence.
Delete everything, or your father’s firm loses Westbridge tomorrow.
Mason took a screenshot.
“Send me the video anyway.”
Sabrina looked terrified.
“My dad could lose his biggest client.”
“Evelyn could lose her life’s work.”
Sabrina’s eyes filled.
Mason waited.
Finally she unlocked the cloud folder.
“Fine.”
She pressed Share.
Then stopped.
Her face changed.
“What?”
Sabrina refreshed the screen.
The folder was empty.
Every backup from Thursday had vanished.
Mason stared.
“That’s impossible.”
Sabrina whispered, “Someone got into my account.”
Then a new email appeared.
From an unknown sender.
May you like
The subject line contained only four words.
WE WARNED YOU ONCE.
