Chapter 4

Derek stopped coming home entirely.

He said the review had entered a critical phase and he was staying in faculty housing to be "available for the team at all times."

I put everything into studying.

Mia noticed how fast I was improving and pulled me into her study group two other guys, both preparing for the CPA exam.

"Honestly, you should just start studying for the CPA now," Mia said. "You've got realworld experience, which gives you a huge advantage. As for the degree I know a way to fasttrack it."

"What kind of way?"

"There's an accelerated path for adult learners. Extra fees, extra exams, but you can finish in a year." She lowered her voice. "I have a contact. But it costs money."

"How much?"

"Thirty thousand dollars."

I thought about it all night.

The next morning, I went to Derek's office. No warning.

I knocked. There was a rustling sound inside. Half a minute passed before the door opened.

His expression went flat when he saw me. "You again."

"I need to talk to you." I walked in.

"Make it quick. I have a meeting." He didn't sit down.

"I need thirty thousand dollars," I said.

He stared at me. "For what?"

"Family matter."

His eyes narrowed.

"Sarah, you've been acting strange. Always out somewhere. And now you're asking for this kind of money." He paused, and suspicion crept into his voice. "Did someone tell you something?"

"Tell me what?" I asked.

He opened his mouth, closed it, waved his hand.

"Never mind. I can give you the money, but I'm tapped out right now. Wait until the promotion comes through the bonus will cover it."

"I need it now."

"Are you being reasonable?" His voice rose. "Do you have any idea how much I'm spending to manage this review? I don't have thirty thousand dollars to hand you."

"Stop making things harder, Sarah. Not right now."

I looked at him steadily.

"When you said you needed a laptop for your research, I pulled out everything I had saved four thousand eight hundred dollars. I gave you every cent. You said you'd pay me back when you were earning."

His expression shifted.

"When your mother needed surgery, the bill was fifty thousand dollars. I borrowed from every coworker I had, then took out a highinterest loan. You said she was as good as my own mother and you'd never forget what I did."

"When your paper got rejected and you needed money to get it placed, I worked three jobs for two months and lost fifteen pounds. You said that once you made something of yourself, you'd never let me struggle again."

"That's “enough”." He kept his voice low, but the edge in it was sharp. "You want to drag up the past? I'm “working” on it. Once the promotion goes through, everything gets better. That was always the plan."

"So. Thirty thousand dollars. Yes or no?"

He stared at me for a long moment. Then he grabbed his wallet, yanked out a card, and slapped it on the desk.

"The PIN is my birthday. There's twentyfive thousand in there that's everything I've got. Take it and go."

I picked up the card.

I turned and walked out.

As the door closed behind me, I heard him get on the phone, voice deliberately softened.

“"Nothing. Just a relative needing a loan. Took care of it..."“

I didn't take the elevator. I walked down the stairs.

At the landing, I called Mia.

"I have the money. Go ahead and start the paperwork for the accelerated degree. As fast as possible."

"On it! You just focus on studying, I'll handle everything else."

"CPA registration opens in April you'll make it no problem."

I hung up and pushed through the building's front doors.

I opened the campus forum app and checked my anonymous inbox.

“Academic Tea Spillers” had messaged: “Evidence received. This is explosive.”

“You're sure about 10 a.m. on the 15th? That's when he's midhearing. Maximum impact.”

I replied: “Confirmed. I want the exact moment it destroys him. Down to the second.”

“Understood. Final payment?”

“Thirty minutes before the hearing starts. In full.”

“Pleasure doing business.”

I logged out and cleared the cache.

Then I opened the encrypted audio file on my phone.

Derek's voice came through the speaker:

“"Sienna is just a student. Her father's on the board. I have to manage that."“

“"The other faculty wives are always comparing notes."“

“"Once I get the promotion, I'll take you shopping."“

I clipped several segments, opened “The Cost of Building a Professor,” and inserted the audio links into the final chapter with the note: “Additional recordings available in the attached archive.”

I compressed the file, encrypted it, and backed it up to three separate cloud accounts.

When that was done, I walked to the accounting department's administrative office.

"Hi I had a question about CPA exam registration. If someone is currently enrolled in an adult bachelor's program, can they register?"

The advisor pushed his glasses up. "Per current regulations, you need a completed bachelor's degree."

"However, if you can provide an enrollment verification and your transcripts, we can run a preliminary review. You'd submit the actual diploma once it's issued."

"What's the fastest timeline for getting a degree?"

He flipped through some paperwork. "Standard track is two years. Expedited..." He scanned the page. "Three to four months, but it requires additional coursework and fees."

"I want the expedited track," I said.

"You've got real drive," he said with a smile. "Bring in your documents and I'll submit the paperwork personally."

"Thank you."

Walking out of the office, I got a call from Derek.

His tone had done a complete oneeighty.

"Hey. I was pretty short with you earlier I'm sorry about that."

"Take whatever you need from the account. If it's not enough, just tell me."

"I've been under a lot of pressure. Don't take it personally."

A pause. "The fifteenth they're streaming the hearing live on the university site. You can watch from home." Another pause. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," I said. "You'll do great."

I hung up and stood outside the building in the open air.

I held my phone tightly.

Ten days until November 15th.

I just needed nothing to go wrong.