Her life! GxG! Intersex! (Book 1)

185

The good feeling lasted exactly three days.

Three days.

Three days of talking about music.

Three days of dreaming about studios.

Three days of pretending life was starting to return to normal.

Three days where Abigail almost forgot that the investigation was still happening.

Then her phone rang.

And everything changed.

She was sitting at the kitchen table working on lyrics when she saw the caller ID.

Dean Carter.

Immediately, her stomach dropped.

Across the room, Emma noticed.

"What is it?"

Abigail stared at the screen.

"The dean."

Emma sat up straighter.

The room instantly became quieter.

Megan looked up from her laptop.

Ashley paused halfway through a bag of chips.

"Answer it," Emma said.

Abigail nodded.

Then answered.

"Hello?"

"Abigail."

The dean's voice sounded professional as always.

But something about it felt different.

More serious.

More cautious.

Immediately, Abigail knew she wasn't going to like whatever came next.

"Hi."

The dean sighed.

"We wanted to give you an update before you heard it from someone else."

Abigail's chest tightened.

"What happened?"

Silence.

Then—

"Professor Shields has retained legal counsel."

The room froze.

Emma's jaw tightened instantly.

Megan stopped typing.

Ashley lowered the chips.

"A lawyer?" Abigail asked.

"Yes."

The dean paused.

"Her attorney has formally challenged portions of the investigation."

The knot in Abigail's stomach tightened.

Of course she had.

Of course she wasn't going quietly.

The dean continued.

"They've requested additional review of witness testimony."

Abigail closed her eyes briefly.

"What does that mean?"

"It means she's attempting to dispute the findings."

The call lasted another ten minutes.

By the time it ended, the atmosphere in the house had completely changed.