“Yes.
And the department head who approved Nathan’s placement — he’s a close friend of Cassandra’s father.” He paused.
“Nathan’s position there wasn’t just about his scores.”
I looked at him.
“Are you telling me he may not have earned the placement on his own merits?”
“I’m telling you it’s worth asking the question.”
I sat down in the driver’s seat.
The envelope was on the seat beside me.
The brake pads still needed replacing.
The sun was coming through the windshield at an angle that made everything look slightly overexposed.
“Daniel,” I said.
“Do you still have contact with Mia?”
“Yes.”
“Ask her if she’d be willing to speak with me directly.
Not about the affair.
About the placement.”
He looked at me carefully.
“You’re not just going to sign the papers and walk away.”
“I gave up six years,” I said.
“I gave up my degree.
I gave up the version of my life I had planned before I loved him.” I started the car.
“I’m not walking away from anything until I understand exactly what was taken from me.”
Daniel stepped back from the car.
“I’ll call Mia tonight,” he said.
I pulled out of the parking space.
In the rearview mirror, the graduation building was still visible, the stone arch, the courtyard, the last few clusters of families.
I didn’t look for Nathan.
I didn’t need to.
My phone buzzed on the seat beside me as I reached the parking lot exit.
A text from an unknown number.
I pulled over two blocks from the campus and looked at the message again.
*You should have stayed in your lane.
This isn’t over.*
No name.
No contact saved.
The number had a local area code but nothing else I recognized.
I took a photograph of the screen, then forwarded the message to Daniel with a single line: *Do you know this number?*
His reply came in under a minute.
*No.
But I can find out.
Don’t delete it.*
I set the phone down and sat for a moment with the engine running.
