Maya POV
"The board meeting was at 9 AM. Rebecca and I arrived early with our files. The hallway buzzed with whispers, every face tense and serious.
Remember," Rebecca murmured as we approached the conference room doors, "stay calm, stick to facts, and let me handle the legal arguments. We've got them cornered."
I nodded, my hand on my stomach where the baby had been moving all morning. Today would decide more than my future at school ,it would decide if I could give my child a stable life.
Dean Morrison sat at the head of the long table, six board members lined up beside him. I knew them from fundraisers rich, older, and clearly wishing they were somewhere else. At the far end was a man I didn’t know. Mid-fifties, sharp suit, eyes like a shark.
"Miss Collins,” Dean Morrison said in a
