Page 106 of Promises We Meant to Keep

“Yes, and me.” Kamryn tensed. “We can also talk about that in a minute.” Kamryn needed to make sure that everyone in this room understood what had happened. “It seems that when Heather was elected to the board late last school year, she came in with an agenda, which was to continue the plot against Elia Sharpe that began eighteen years ago when she and Yara had a mutual breakup.”

She hated that she was airing this all out in the open again, but most of it was knowledge they’d all have access to anyway.

“You can see the recantations in these files and read them for yourselves. All charges were dropped against Elia, and she was reinstated. It’s why she has remained a trusted member of the faculty at Windermere for the last eighteen years. I believe it’s unconscionable to have brought these accusations back up in the way they were.”

“She wanted more power,” Susy jumped in.

Kamryn shook her head and pointed at Susy. “What she wanted was respect. And the board here never gave her that. You refused her an interview for the Head of School position—one she’s most definitely qualified for—and not only did you refuse it, you ignored her entirely. You didn’t have the decency to even tell her that she wasn’t being considered. And then you forcedan ethics team that would look into her because you wanted her gone from this school.”

Susy paled. Which was exactly what Kamryn wanted. She needed Susy to be on the defensive.

“I want to add in to the fact that you breached confidentiality, repeatedly, where it concerns Elia Sharpe’s personal records and the business of this school.” Kamryn was about to go in for the kill. “I’ve had repeated reports of information that came directly from you about the conversations we were having in the ethics team meetings, and about Elia’s past records—which, as I’ve proven with this, have been expunged.”

“I haven’t—”

“Kamryn isn’t the only one who’s received these reports.”

Kamryn whipped her head around, eyeing Simone. She hadn’t expected that. Simone was usually so reserved, but she was glaring at Susy with everything she had.

“And I have to say, I find it appalling,” Simone added. “I’d move for a vote of no confidence if I thought that the board would accept a motion.”

Shock rocked through Kamryn again that evening. She couldn’t have asked for something better to have happened. She looked around the room, hoping against all hope that someone else would speak up. She didn’t have a vote, she only had a voice, but that didn’t mean the others there wouldn’t listen.

“I’ve never seen these before,” Yara murmured as she flipped through the photocopied papers that Kamryn had passed over. “I always thought…” She stopped speaking. “Felicity made a report?”

How had Yara not known about that? Policy was to contact the parents, especially in a situation like this. So how had they avoided that eighteen years ago? Kamryn was about to ask when Yara shoved the papers away from her.

“I don’t know what to say right now.” Yara pressed her lips together and stared at Kamryn. “You were right.”

“And you wouldn’t listen to reason.”

Yara nodded. “I wouldn’t.” She faced Susy. “I’m resigning from the ethics team. I’m not the person you need.” She rolled her shoulders and touched the edges of the papers again. “And I need to talk to Felicity.”

Kamryn was about to speak when Yara stood up and nodded toward her.

“Thank you.”

The room settled quietly after Yara left it. Kamryn stared at Susy. “And are you going to defend yourself?”

“No.” Susy frowned. “I did make the mistake of breaking confidentiality.”

“Then I move that you step down as president.” Simone wasn’t going to back down from this one, was she? “I can’t get behind a board president who isn’t going to keep the school integrity first and foremost in her mind. Do you know how bad this could have gotten if Elia decided to sue? You’re damn lucky she didn’t.”

Did Simone know that Elia had contacted a lawyer? Kamryn wasn’t sure what the outcome of the meeting had been, but Elia had mentioned it, and it would have been the wisest thing for her to do regardless of the outcome.

“Are you stepping down, Susy? Or are we forcing you to step down?”

Kamryn watched with awe as one after the other, board members stood up to Susy, and forced her hand to resign effective immediately. As soon as she walked out, that left Heather. Kamryn held her breath, the tension tight in her chest to see what Heather would do next without Yara and Susy there to back her up.

“Heather?” Kamryn asked. “I think it would be appropriate for you to resign as well.”

Heather’s jaw dropped. “I…I thought we were coming here tonight to fire Elia.”

“No, we’re not.” Kamryn stayed right where she was, feeling so much more confident with the support of the board behind her. “We’re proving that she was right all along, and that Elia is the true victim in what I would call a witch hunt against her.”

“So you just want me to leave?” Heather screeched.

“I think it’d be a wise decision if you did.”

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