Chapter 37 #2
“We’ve received statements from two former Westbrook teachers corroborating patterns of behavior described in your article. Would you be willing to connect us with Mr. Hollis for his perspective?”
My grip tightens on the phone. “Mr. Hollis isn’t doing interviews at this time. But I’d be interested in speaking with those teachers, if they’re willing.”
After arranging to receive their contact information via email, I end the call and rejoin the others. Three new notifications have appeared on my screen in that short interval.
“More reporters?” Emily asks.
“Yes, but also...” I scroll through the notifications, scanning subject lines and previews. “Former colleagues from Westbrook are coming forward. Teachers who witnessed Carson’s behavior but stayed quiet at the time.”
Leif’s head lifts. “Who?”
“Bradford from the English department. And Peterson, the vice principal.” I continue scrolling. “There’s an email from someone named Daniels who says he was forced to resign after filing a complaint about Carson three years before you arrived.”
Leif sets down his mug on the coffee table. “I never knew about Daniels. The teachers who supported me never mentioned him.”
I forward the email to my contact at the school board and open another message that just arrived. “Parents are weighing in now. A mother whose daughter had accommodations for anxiety says Carson threatened to review them when she complained about his behavior toward female staff.”
Jared’s jaw tightens. “Send that one to the board, too.”
“On it,” I say, already composing the forward with a brief note highlighting the pattern.
The notifications continue through the afternoon. Shock, outrage, and denial. The predictable churn of people trying to reconcile Carson’s reputation with the evidence in front of them.
I explain as much when Leif flinches at a vicious comment beneath the article.
“People resist evidence that forces them to reconsider their judgment,” I tell him. “Especially when it comes to figures in power that they’ve been taught to trust.”
Emily abandons the window seat to go to the kitchen and start dinner, and Jared tries to distract Leif with a movie.
The hours stretch, marked only by the silent vibration of my phone and the gradual shift of sunlight across the hardwood floor.
At half past four, an email notification comes in with the school district’s official letterhead appearing in the preview.
“It’s from the superintendent,” I say, opening the message as the others gather around me.
Leif stands behind my chair, his breath warm on the top of my head as he reads over my shoulder. Each sentence of the letter is constructed to minimize liability while acknowledging the seriousness of the situation.
“Administrative leave pending investigation,” I read aloud, highlighting the key phrase with my cursor. “Effective immediately.”
“That’s standard procedure,” Emily says with skepticism. “Doesn’t mean they’ll actually do anything.”
I scroll down to the second paragraph. “Emergency board meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning to review the allegations and evidence.” My finger taps the screen at the next line. “And they’re bringing in an independent investigator from the state education office.”
Jared’s hand settles on Leif’s shoulder. “That’s more than they did last time.”
“Because they can’t bury it this time,” I say, closing the email and opening another from the parent association president. “The audio is already public. Every parent with a child at Pinecrest has heard Carson speak by now, threatening a student’s accommodations to manipulate a staff member.”
More emails arrive as the district’s damage control machine spins into high gear. A press statement attempts to distance the board from what they can no longer deny. The principal’s separate message to faculty stresses that student welfare remains the top priority.
The same system that once protected Carson now moves to distance itself from him. The speed with which they move now, after months of inaction, tells its own story about the power of public scrutiny.
“Will it be enough?” Leif asks as I lower my phone. “Will this actually stop him?”
I consider the question. “His power was never in his position. It was in the story he controlled, the one where he was the dedicated administrator, and you were the unstable Omega. That story is gone now. No matter what the investigation concludes, he can’t rewrite the narrative. You took it from him forever.”
Leif rubs a hand over his face, exhaustion claiming him as the adrenaline of the day ebbs away. “It doesn’t feel like a victory.”
“It’s not,” I agree, turning off my phone for the night. “It’s only the beginning. But he can’t touch you anymore, Leif. And that’s worth holding onto.”
Leif nods, exhaustion dragging at him as he sinks deeper into the couch.
Across the room, Emily remains quiet, her attention fixed on him.
But the distance between them remains.
Carson may have lost his hold on Leif, but that doesn’t mean the damage he caused has disappeared.