Lucy's POV
The boardroom was too polished, too quiet, too cold. I sat at the end of the long mahogany table; twelve board members lined up on either side like judges waiting to deliver a sentence. My fingers dug into the edge of my chair, holding me in place.
The Dean was across from me, looking worn, shoulders heavy as if he carried my fate along with his own disappointment in this process. He had tried; I could see it in his eyes. But his sympathy was the only mercy in the room.
The Chairman leaned forward, his clasped hands resting on a stack of files. “Miss Hale,” he said, his voice calm but carrying the weight of finality, “before we proceed with our deliberations, you may make a final statement.”
My pulse thundered. This was it. The last chance before they decided whether my scho
