Her expression carried no defensiveness now, only shame. "I gave them a statement," she said. Maya nodded. I heard I should have done it sooner. Yes.
Professor Collins absorbed the answer. No forgiveness was offered. Not yet. I was afraid. Collins said.
Maya looked at her. So was I. The words landed quietly. Collins lowered her eyes. Maya continued.
The difference is I didn't have authority. Professor Collins looked as though she might speak, then stopped. Daniel broke the silence. We have enough to challenge the suspension. Challenge, Denise said.
They should be apologizing. They may, Daniel replied. But Grant Whitmore has already brought counsel into it. Maya sat straighter. "Then what happens now?"
"A formal disciplinary hearing." Lena exhaled. "With all this?" Daniel nodded. "With all this?"
He slid a printed transcript across the table. Tyler's sentence was highlighted. "Don't let her leave until she gives us something useful." Maya stared at it. For days, the cameras had belonged to Tyler.
Now, the same recordings had become the thing he could not explain away. The evidence created to make Maya look dangerous had preserved the planning, the intimidation, and the deliberate attempt to manufacture a reaction. The trap had documented itself. Denise reached across the table and rested her hand over Mia's. You don't have to do this alone.
Maya looked at Lena, Daniel, Professor Collins, then her mother. For the first time since arriving at Riverton, she allowed herself to believe that standing beside other people did not mean surrendering her dignity. It might be part of protecting it. Daniel closed the file. There is one more thing.
Maya looked at him. What? He glanced toward the black sports bag beside her chair. The silver heron faced upward. "Last night, I went through some old boxes from Herren house."
Mia's attention sharpened. Daniel continued, "Meeting notes, photographs, redevelopment records, grant reports." Denise frowned. "Why? Because when I saw that patch, I remembered something I hadn't thought about in years.
Maya leaned forward. Daniel's expression darkened. Grant Whitmore likes to talk about how his company helped stabilize Jefferson Heights during redevelopment. Yes, Maya said. Daniel tapped the Herren House emblem.
He didn't do it alone. The room went quiet. Daniel slid an old photograph across the table. Marcus stood beneath the faded Herren House sign beside Walter, Ruth, Daniel, and several other adults. Behind them were folding tables covered with grocery boxes, bus vouchers, housing forms, and job applications.
Maya touched the edge of the photograph. Daniel said, "Your father and those people did work." Whitmore later took credit for in community impact reports. Maya looked up. What kind of work?