Chapter 14 - The Offer
Avery stood behind Voss's desk.
The dean closed the door.
No security rushed in.
No alarm sounded.
Voss simply walked toward the window.
Below them, the football field glowed beneath stadium lights.
“You know what your problem is?” Voss asked.
Avery said nothing.
“You think truth automatically wins.”
Voss smiled faintly.
“It doesn't.”
“People win.”
“Institutions win.”
“Money wins.”
“And truth is whatever survives afterward.”
Avery kept one hand near her pocket.
Her phone was recording.
Voss noticed.
“You can record me if you'd like.”
Avery's stomach tightened.
The confidence was terrifying.
Voss opened a drawer.
She placed an envelope on the desk.
Inside was a letter.
Avery's suspension reversed.
Her scholarship restored.
A statement clearing her of wrongdoing.
There was also an employment offer.
A graduate assistant position worth nearly seventy thousand dollars over two years.
Voss spoke softly.
“Take your life back.”
Avery stared at her.
“And Lila?”
“Her family receives protection.”
“Mercer?”
“She retires quietly.”
“Vale?”
“He becomes the scandal.”
Avery understood.
Vale would be sacrificed.
The university would claim one corrupt assistant coach manipulated everyone.
Keene and Voss would survive.
“And Brooke?”
Voss looked almost amused.
“Brooke understands survival.”
Avery's jaw tightened.
“You destroyed my reputation.”
“I can rebuild it by breakfast.”
“You almost got Lila killed.”
“That was not the intended outcome.”
“But you approved it.”
Voss's smile disappeared.
“You have no proof.”
Avery lifted her chin.
“Maybe I do.”
Voss stepped closer.
“No, Avery.”
“If you had proof, you wouldn't be standing here alone.”
Avery looked toward the hallway.
“Who said I was alone?”
For the first time, Voss's expression shifted.
Hannah's voice whispered in Avery's earpiece.
“We got everything.”
Then the connection died.
Avery's blood froze.
The office lights went out.
A second later, emergency lights came on.
Voss smiled.
“You should have taken the offer.”
The door opened behind Avery.
Athletic director Keene entered.
May you like
He took the phone from her pocket.
Then he crushed it beneath his shoe.
