Chapter 142: Completely Void

NORA’S POV

The Monday morning air was cold as Knox and I walked toward the Briar Athletic Administration Building.

Around us, students in winter coats were hurrying across the quad toward early classes, but my focus remained locked on the stone steps ahead.

Forty-eight hours ago, we had stood in Coach Brennan’s office with Pierce on the speakerphone, facing suspension and public disgrace over a leaked study contract.

Now, the clock had finally run out.

Knox held my hand tightly, his warm palm comforting me against the cold. Wearing a dark wool coat and a crisp button-down shirt, he looked calm, strong, and confident. "You ready for this, Bennett?" he asked softly, glancing down at me as we reached the double glass doors.

"More than ready," I replied. "Let’s finish it."

Inside the third-floor administrative lobby, the air smelled of floor wax and fresh coffee.

Standing beside the leather waiting couches was Madison Carter. She wore a tailored beige trench coat, her short blonde hair neatly styled and her silver hoop earrings catching the fluorescent light.

"Morning, guys," Madison said, giving us a brisk, confident nod.

"Morning, Madison," I said, offering her a grateful smile. "Thank you so much for being here."

"Are you kidding?" Madison adjusted the strap of her bag, a sharp gleam in her eyes. "I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I’ve listened to Chloe’s entitled nonsense for three months, and it ends today."

"The audio file is queued up?" Knox asked.

"Saved to my phone and backed up to my cloud drive," Madison confirmed, tapping her jacket pocket.

Before Knox could answer, the frosted glass door to the corner office clicked open.

Pierce’s administrative assistant peeked out, holding a manila folder. "Mr. Sheridan, Miss Bennett, Director Pierce is ready for you now."

She paused, noticing Madison. "And you are?"

"Madison Carter," Madison replied with composure. "Roommate of the complainant, and direct material witness."

The assistant blinked in surprise, then stepped aside. "Right this way."

We filed into the spacious corner office.

Behind the desk sat Athletic Director Pierce, his wire-rimmed glasses resting low on his nose as he reviewed a stack of compliance documents.

Coach Brennan stood by the large bay window with his arms crossed over his Briar Athletics pullover with a hard-to-read expression.

Sitting in one of the leather armchairs in front of the desk was Chloe.

She wore an oversized blush-pink knit sweater and pearl earrings, holding a crumpled tissue in her lap. Her head was bowed and her posture gave off that victim vibe.

The moment she heard our footsteps on the carpet, Chloe lifted her head, dabbing at her dry eyes with the tissue.

Then her gaze shifted past Knox, landing squarely on Madison standing beside me.

Chloe froze.

The performative grief vanished from her face in an instant, replaced by a flash of sheer panic that drained every drop of color from her cheeks. "Madison?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I live in your room, Chloe," Madison said coolly, taking a seat in the empty chair beside her without offering a glance. "Remember?"

Pierce cleared his throat, setting his gold pen down onto the desk blotter.

"Take your seats, please," Pierce instructed, looking over his spectacles at Knox and me.

We sat in the remaining leather chairs, Knox shifting his seat slightly so his shoulder brushed mine.

"It is nine o’clock on Monday morning," Pierce began flatly. "The forty-eight-hour grace period regarding the leaked Briar Buzz document and the academic integrity inquiry has officially expired."

Pierce opened the manila folder before him, glancing between Knox and me.

"Furthermore," Pierce continued, gesturing toward Chloe, "Miss Davenport lodged an urgent student conduct complaint on Saturday afternoon, alleging that Mr. Sheridan and Miss Bennett cornered, threatened, and harassed her outside her dormitory room."

Chloe sniffled softly, clutching her tissue. "They ambushed me, Director Pierce. Knox used his size to intimidate me, and Nora accused me of crimes I had nothing to do with."

"Cut the theatrical routine, Chloe," Knox said, his voice dropping into that icy register that made the room temperature plummet. "You know damn well why we were at your door."

"Mr. Sheridan," Pierce warned, raising a hand. "You will address the chair."

"Gladly," Knox replied, leaning back in his chair without an ounce of hesitation. "On Saturday morning, Nora and I told you the truth. That paper was an old study contract from October, drafted before I registered my learning difference with the university."

"It was completely void," I spoke up, holding Pierce’s gaze. "And it was locked inside a drawer in Knox’s private bedroom at the SinBin."

Chloe scoffed loudly, shaking her head. "This is ridiculous! What does their bedroom drama have to do with me?"

"Because you were in that bedroom on the night of the Western game party," I stated calmly, pulling a folded printout from my bag and sliding it across Pierce’s desk.

"That is the Briar Buzz server metadata obtained from the platform administrator," I explained. "The photo of our study paper was taken on Saturday, October twenty-second, at eleven-thirty-eight PM. The upload to the server was routed through the Kendall Hall second-floor network node."

Chloe let out a high, defensive laugh. "So what? Kendall Hall has hundreds of students, and anyone could have been on that network."

"True," Madison’s voice cut through the air. "Except none of those two hundred students ran into our room on Saturday afternoon, threw the deadbolt, and had a full screaming meltdown on FaceTime."

Chloe’s breath hitched in her throat, her knuckles whitening around her tissue. "Madison, shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about!"

"I was sitting two feet away on my bed, Chloe," Madison said, pulling her phone from her pocket and unlocking the screen. "And I recorded every single word."

Pierce leaned forward. "Recorded what, Miss Carter?"

"Right after Knox and Nora knocked on our door on Saturday," Madison explained, looking directly at the athletic director. "Chloe slammed the door, locked the deadbolt, and immediately called whoever put her up to this. She was screaming so loud the walls were vibrating."

Madison placed her phone on the desk, right between Pierce’s hands, and tapped the play button.

The office went dead silent.

A second of static hissed from the speaker, followed by Chloe’s unmistakable, hysterical screech: I screwed up! I mentioned Knox’s bedroom nightstand and Priya is pulling the router logs! What am I supposed to do?

A muffled voice on the other end responded, and Chloe shouted again: They know, okay? They know I took the picture! If they match my phone’s address to Kendall Hall, I’m expelled!

The recording cut off with a sharp beep.

The silence that followed was complete.

Coach Brennan let out a breath by the window, shaking his head in cold disgust.

Chloe sat frozen, her mouth slightly open, her skin the color of chalk. The tissue slipped from her trembling fingers and fell onto the carpet.

Pierce slowly removed his glasses, his expression hardening.

"Miss Davenport," Pierce said in a dangerously quiet voice. "The Briar Buzz post only showed a piece of paper on a dark wooden surface. The caption made no mention of a bedroom, and it certainly made no mention of a nightstand."

Chloe swallowed, her throat bobbing as her eyes darted frantically around the room. "Director Pierce, that recording is completely out of context! She took that without my permission!"

"Under university conduct regulations," Pierce replied coldly, "audio evidence documenting an admission of theft, academic sabotage, and false filing is fully admissible."

Pierce closed the manila folder with a loud snap.

"You broke into a student’s private quarters, stole personal property, disseminated it to defame student-athletes, and then filed a malicious, fabricated intimidation complaint with this office," Pierce stated with fury.

Chloe began to tremble, genuine tears of panic welling in her eyes. "Please... Director Pierce, I was just..."

"You will report to Dean Hastings’ office at ten o’clock sharp," Pierce cut her off, pointing toward the door. "This office is referring you for immediate disciplinary suspension pending formal expulsion hearings. You are dismissed."

Chloe sat motionless for a second, looking around the room for an ally she would never find.

When nobody moved, she grabbed her designer bag, scrambled out of the leather chair, and fled through the office door in tears.

The door clicked shut, leaving the office blanketed in sudden, weightless peace.

Pierce turned his gaze back to Knox and me, the tension in his face softening into professional respect.

"Mr. Sheridan, Miss Bennett," Pierce said, picking up his pen. "The compliance inquiry regarding your academic standing is officially dismissed."

"Knox, your captaincy and athletic eligibility remain in full, flawless standing," Pierce added with firm finality.

"Thank you, Director Pierce," Knox said.

Coach Brennan walked over from the window, clapping a firm, proud hand onto Knox’s shoulder. "Get to the rink at two, Cap. We have ice time to run."

"See you at two, Coach," Knox nodded.

Ten minutes later, Knox, Madison, and I pushed through the front glass doors of the administration building, stepping out into the brilliant Monday morning sunshine.

The campus was alive with students chatting between classes, but for the first time in days, the air felt clear, light, and completely free of shadows.

"Madison," I said, stopping on the wide stone steps and turning to face her. "I don’t even know how to thank you. You saved our lives in there."

"Don’t thank me," Madison smiled warmly, adjusting her trench coat. "Watching Chloe face real consequences was payment enough."

"Knox... take care of her," Madison added with an encouraging wink.

"Always," Knox replied sincerely, giving her hand a firm squeeze. "Thanks, Madison."

Madison gave us a final wave and headed down the brick path toward the business school.

I turned back to Knox. The golden morning light caught the sharp lines of his jaw and the gentle, radiant warmth in his gray eyes.

Knox stepped closer, catching both of my hands in his and pulling me gently toward his chest.

"It’s over, Bookworm," Knox murmured, his voice dipping into that private rasp that made my heart race. "No more leakers, no more compliance threats... we won."

A breathless laugh escaped my lips as the last lingering knot of tension dissolved from my shoulders. "We won."

Knox smiled down at me, his thumb tracing the soft curve of my cheek. "Now," he said softly, leaning down until his lips brushed against my temple. "About that date."

A rush of sweet heat flushed my cheeks as I looked up into his steady gaze. "Tonight, Captain?"

"Tonight," Knox promised with a slow smile. "Just you and me."