Chapter 186

The second the conference room door opened, Ashley was moving.

“Well?” she demanded before anyone had fully stepped into the hallway.

Megan stood up more calmly, but her eyes immediately searched their faces.

Abigail was the first one out.

Emma right behind her.

And for the first time since they had arrived that morning—

Neither of them looked like they were carrying the entire weight of the world on their shoulders.

Ashley narrowed her eyes immediately.

“That’s a good face.”

“No such thing as a good face,” Abigail muttered.

“There absolutely is.”

Ashley pointed at her.

“Your face yesterday? Bad face.”

Then she pointed at Emma.

“Her face this morning? Also bad face.”

Megan sighed.

“Ashley.”

“I’m just saying.”

Emma actually laughed.

That was all Ashley needed.

“Oh, we won.”

“We did not win,” Abigail said.

Ashley gasped dramatically.

“You laughed.”

She looked at Megan.

“She laughed.”

Megan smiled despite herself.

“That’s usually a good sign.”

The group started walking toward the exit together, the tension easing with every step away from the conference room.

Ashley lasted approximately thirty seconds before asking.

“What happened?”

Abigail looked at Emma.

Emma looked at Abigail.

Megan immediately noticed.

“Something happened.”

“Several things happened,” Emma admitted.

Ashley clapped her hands together.

“Excellent.”

Abigail rubbed her forehead.

“Professor Shields was placed on administrative leave.”

Ashley stopped walking.

“What?”

Megan blinked.

“What?”

Emma nodded.

“They’re opening a formal investigation.”

For a second, neither Ashley nor Megan spoke.

Then—

“HOLY—”

“Ashley,” Megan warned.

Ashley lowered her voice.

“Holy crap.”

They continued walking.

Ashley looked genuinely stunned.

“Wait. Like actual consequences?”

“Actual consequences,” Abigail confirmed.

Ashley looked toward the sky.

“Sometimes dreams do come true.”

Megan elbowed her.

Hard.

“What?”

“Be serious.”

“I am serious.”

The four of them stepped outside into the morning sunlight.

For the first time all day, Abigail felt like she could breathe.

Actually breathe.

Not the shallow, anxious breaths she’d been taking since yesterday.

Real breaths.

The kind that reached your lungs.

The kind that reminded you that you survived something.

Emma noticed immediately.

“You look better.”

Abigail glanced over.

“So do you.”

“That’s because I didn’t have to fight anybody this morning.”

Ashley nearly choked.

Megan covered her face.

“Please don’t encourage her.”

“I’m not.”

“You absolutely are.”

Emma looked entirely too pleased with herself.

A vibration against Abigail’s palm interrupted the moment.

Her phone.

She glanced down absentmindedly.

Then stopped walking.

Completely.

The color drained from her face.

Emma noticed first.

Immediately.

“Abigail?”

Ashley and Megan stopped too.

Abigail stared at the screen.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Just stared.

Emma stepped closer.

“What is it?”

Slowly, Abigail turned the phone around.

The message was from an unknown number.

But they all knew who it was.

The text read:

“I will make you love me. I will make you want me.”

The world seemed to stop for a second.

Emma’s entire expression changed.

Ashley looked ready to commit a felony.

Megan went completely still.

“What the hell?” Ashley said.

Abigail’s stomach dropped.

Not because she was scared of the words.

Because of what they meant.

Because even after the meeting.

Even after the investigation.

Even after everything.

Professor Shields still wasn’t letting it go.

Emma took the phone carefully, reading the message again.

Then again.

Her jaw tightened.

“Do not respond.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Abigail said quietly.

Megan was already pulling her own phone out.

“Screenshot it.”

Ashley nodded immediately.

“Right now.”

Emma handed the phone back.

“Send it to yourself. Send it to me. Send it to Megan.”

Abigail did.

Her fingers were shaking slightly.

Not from fear.

From disbelief.

Emma stepped closer, lowering her voice.

“She’s making this worse for herself.”

Megan nodded.

“Way worse.”

Ashley looked offended on Abigail’s behalf.

“She literally just got put on leave.”

“And immediately sent evidence,” Megan added.

For the first time since reading the message, Abigail let out a breath.

Because Megan was right.

The message wasn’t just creepy.

It was proof.

More proof.

The kind administration would take seriously.

Emma slipped an arm around Abigail’s shoulders.

Careful.

Protective.

“We’re forwarding that to the investigator the second we get home.”

Abigail nodded.

This time, she didn’t argue.

Because looking down at the message one last time, she realized something.

The meeting wasn’t the end of this.

Not yet.

But for the first time—

Professor Shields had started making mistakes.

And mistakes left evidence. 

The ride home from campus felt very different than the ride there.

Not because everything was fixed.

Far from it.

But for the first time since the practice room incident, Abigail felt like somebody had actually listened.

The investigation was moving forward.

The administration had heard her.

Professor Shields had been placed on administrative leave.

And for a few brief moments walking out of that building, Abigail had allowed herself to believe things might finally calm down.

Then the text arrived.

And suddenly none of them were feeling very calm anymore.

The moment they got home, Megan and Ashley followed them inside while Emma immediately took Abigail’s phone.

“Send me that screenshot,” Emma said.

Abigail didn’t argue.

Within seconds the screenshot was sitting in all of their phones.

The message looked even worse now.

Cold.

Obsessive.

Unhinged.

“I will make you love me. I will make you want me.”

Ashley looked ready to throw the phone across the room.

“What is wrong with her?”

Nobody had an answer.

Because honestly?

The question was becoming harder and harder to explain.

Megan sat down at the kitchen table and immediately shifted into problem-solving mode.

“Forward it.”

Abigail looked up.

“What?”

“Forward it to administration.”

Emma nodded immediately.

“Now.”

Abigail didn’t hesitate.

A few hours ago she might have.

A few weeks ago she definitely would have.

But not anymore.

Not after everything.

Not after the practice room.

Not after the hospital.

Not after the meeting.

She opened her email and attached the screenshot.

Then another.

And another.

She included the number it came from.

The timestamp.

Everything.

Emma stood beside her the entire time.

One hand resting lightly on the back of her chair.

Grounding.

Protective.

Present.

When Abigail finally hit send, she felt strangely relieved.

Like she wasn’t carrying it by herself anymore.

“There.”

Ashley looked satisfied.

“Good.”

Megan nodded.

“Very good.”

Emma kissed the top of Abigail’s head.

“Now we wait.”

Unfortunately, they didn’t have to wait long.

Less than thirty minutes later, Abigail’s phone rang.

Everyone looked at it.

The caller ID showed university administration.

The entire room went quiet.

Abigail answered immediately.

“Hello?”

“Abigail, this is Dean Carter.”

Her stomach tightened.

“Hi.”

“We received your email.”

The tone in his voice made everyone in the room pay attention.

Emma moved closer.

Ashley stopped pacing.

Megan looked up from her laptop.

“We need to ask a few questions.”

Abigail nodded automatically before realizing he couldn’t see her.

“Okay.”

“To your knowledge, has Professor Shields attempted to contact you at all since being placed on administrative leave?”

“No.”

The answer came quickly.

“This is the first thing.”

A pause.

Then—

“Thank you.”

Another pause.

Longer this time.

Long enough to make Abigail nervous.

Finally the dean spoke again.

“Abigail, I want to be very clear.”

Something in his tone made Emma immediately look up.

“Okay.”

“Professor Shields was instructed not to contact you.”

The room went completely silent.

Abigail’s grip tightened around the phone.

“What?”

The dean’s voice remained calm.

“Following today’s meeting, temporary restrictions were put in place pending the investigation.”

Emma’s expression darkened instantly.

Ashley mouthed, What did he say?

Abigail held up a finger.

Still listening.

“The message you received concerns us.”

A lot.

Those words weren’t spoken.

But everyone could hear them anyway.

Abigail swallowed.

“So she wasn’t supposed to contact me?”

“No.”

The answer came immediately.

“No, she was not.”

Across the room Emma muttered something under her breath.

It wasn’t complimentary.

Megan closed her eyes briefly.

Ashley looked like she was trying very hard not to volunteer for another assault charge.

The dean continued.

“We’re documenting this communication immediately.”

Abigail looked down at the screenshot again.

The words felt different now.

Heavier.

More serious.

Because this wasn’t just another unwanted message.

This was someone ignoring direct instructions.

Someone escalating.

Someone refusing to stop.

The realization sent a chill through her.

The dean must have heard something in her silence because his voice softened slightly.

“Abigail?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

For a second she didn’t know how to answer.

Then she looked around the room.

At Emma.

At Megan.

At Ashley.

At the people who had spent the last twenty-four hours making sure she wasn’t facing any of this alone.

And somehow the answer became easier.

“I will be.”

The dean was quiet for a moment.

Then he said, “Good.”

Another pause.

Then—

“Please save every communication you receive.”

Abigail nodded again.

“Okay.”

“We may need additional information from you soon.”

Her stomach dropped slightly.

“Additional information?”

“Based on this latest contact, there are several things we now need to review.”

Emma’s eyes narrowed.

She knew exactly what that meant.

Things had changed.

Again.

The dean continued.

“We take violations of university directives very seriously.”

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.

Long enough that Abigail knew the dean was choosing his next words carefully.

When he spoke again, his voice was calm but noticeably more serious than before.

“Abigail, what I’m about to say is a recommendation, not a university requirement.”

Abigail sat up a little straighter.

“Okay.”

“We are handling the university side of this matter. However, based on everything we’ve reviewed so far—the witness statements, the reports you’ve provided, today’s meeting, and now this message—I strongly recommend that you go to the police station and request information about obtaining a restraining order immediately.”

The room went completely silent.

Emma’s head snapped up.

Ashley froze.

Even Megan stopped moving.

Abigail tightened her grip on the phone.

“A restraining order?”

“Yes.”

The dean didn’t hesitate.

“The text message itself is concerning. Combined with the pattern of behavior that’s been reported, I believe it would be wise to explore every option available to protect yourself.”

Abigail didn’t know what to say.

A restraining order.

Until now, everything had felt like a university problem.

Campus.

Administration.

Policies.

Investigations.

But hearing those words made it feel bigger.

Much bigger.

The dean continued carefully.

“I cannot tell you what decision to make, but if I were advising a member of my own family, I would tell them to speak with law enforcement immediately.”

Emma’s jaw tightened.

Ashley looked like she was seconds away from grabbing her car keys.

Megan simply listened.

The dean let the silence sit for a moment before speaking again.

“Abigail, this individual was instructed not to contact you.”

A pause.

“And she contacted you anyway.”

Another pause.

“The fact that she chose to do so only hours after being placed on administrative leave concerns me.”

Abigail swallowed hard.

“Okay.”

“Please understand,” the dean continued, “I am not trying to alarm you. I simply want to make sure you take this seriously.”

Abigail looked around the room.

At Emma.

At Megan.

At Ashley.

Then back down at the screenshot.

“I will make you love me. I will make you want me.”

The words felt different now.

Not pathetic.

Not desperate.

Threatening.

Possessive.

Obsessive.

And for the first time, Abigail realized the dean wasn’t just worried about a policy violation.

He was worried about her safety.

“I understand,” she said quietly.

“Good.”

The dean’s tone softened slightly.

“If you decide to file for a restraining order, please let us know. We will cooperate fully with any requests for documentation.”

“Thank you.”

The call ended a few moments later.

The second Abigail lowered the phone, nobody spoke.

Then Ashley broke the silence.

“A restraining order?”

Megan looked at Abigail.

“He wouldn’t suggest that unless he was genuinely concerned.”

Emma’s expression had gone completely serious.

No jokes.

No teasing.

No sarcasm.

Just concern.

She reached for Abigail’s hand immediately.

“We’re going.”

Abigail looked at her.

“To the police station.”

Emma didn’t blink.

“Today.”

And judging by the look on her face—

There wasn’t going to be an argument about it.