Chapter 8 - The Letter from the LawyerThe legal letter arrived on Tuesday morning.
It was addressed to Kayla personally.
Inside was a cease-and-desist demand from an attorney representing Julian Mercer.
The letter claimed Kayla had made false public accusations against him during graduation.
It demanded that she withdraw her statements and stop implying that Julian participated in criminal conduct.
It also warned that continued defamatory statements could result in a lawsuit.
Kayla read it twice.
Then she laughed bitterly.
"He posts three videos calling Grandpa a thief, and now he wants to sue me?"
Walter took the envelope.
"Don't answer this yourself."
"I'm eighteen, Grandpa. I can answer a letter."
"Being able to do something doesn't mean it's wise."
She wanted to argue.
Instead, she called Rebecca.
Rebecca explained that the foundation's attorney could advise the organization, but could not automatically represent Kayla or Walter personally.
She gave them the number of a local civil attorney who handled employment disputes and defamation claims.
By afternoon, Kayla and Walter were sitting across from attorney Angela Brooks.
Angela was direct.
"The first thing I need you to understand is that truth matters, evidence matters, and precision matters."
Kayla showed her the graduation recording.
Angela watched without interrupting.
Then she replayed the portion where Kayla accused Julian of placing the envelope.
"Can you identify him from the reflection with certainty?"
"I believe it's him."
"That's different from knowing."
Kayla lowered her eyes.
Angela turned toward Walter.
"Do you have the original document you signed?"
"Yes."
"Good. That's important."
She examined both versions.
"These differences warrant investigation. But we need to establish the source and authenticity of each document."
Kayla leaned forward.
"So what do we do?"
"Preserve evidence. Stop arguing with strangers online. Don't make new accusations you can't substantiate. And let me respond to the legal demand."
Walter nodded.
Kayla felt frustrated.
Everything sounded slow.
Careful.
Procedural.
Meanwhile, people were still laughing at her grandfather.
Angela seemed to understand.
"Kayla, the people who hurt your grandfather may be counting on you to lose your temper."
Kayla looked up.
"If you make one reckless claim, they can use it to distract from everything they did."
That evening, she received another message.
It came from a former classmate who said Julian was circulating a screenshot of Kayla's old scholarship application.
He was claiming she had received special treatment because the award carried her mother's name.
Kayla opened the image.
Her essay appeared beneath a mocking caption.
Funny how the janitor's granddaughter always gets picked.
Her face burned.
The essay was personal.
She had written about the night her mother died.
About Walter sitting beside her hospital bed afterward, unable to explain why good people sometimes disappeared.
About learning that grief could either close a person's heart or teach them to recognize suffering in others.
Only the scholarship committee had received it.
Kayla called Rebecca immediately.
"How did Julian get my essay?"
Rebecca sounded alarmed.
"That application was supposed to remain confidential."
"Did Aunt Denise have access?"
"As foundation treasurer, she had access to the application system, though she should not have used applicant materials for personal purposes."
Kayla closed her eyes.
Another piece.
Another line crossed.
"Please preserve that record too," she said.
Rebecca agreed.
Then she told Kayla something important.
The foundation's independent directors had voted to commission a preliminary review of the scholarship account.
They also directed that disputed documents be preserved and that the scholarship award remain reserved.
"Denise and Henry participated in neither vote," Rebecca added.
"Did they agree?"
"They objected to the process. The other directors proceeded under the foundation bylaws."
It was the first meaningful institutional decision that hadn't gone Denise's way.
But the backlash came quickly.
The next morning, Kayla's phone filled with calls from local parents.
A post attributed to Julian claimed she had deliberately humiliated her elderly grandfather to gain social media attention.
Someone had reposted a photograph of Walter crying during graduation with the caption:
Some families will do anything for money.
Kayla nearly threw her phone.
Walter took it gently from her hand.
"Don't read any more today."
She stared at him.
"How are you so calm?"
His lips trembled.
"I'm not."
He sat beside her.
"I just don't want anger deciding what happens next."
At that moment, Angela called.
Her voice was unusually serious.
"I've received a response to my request for preservation of the school security footage."
Kayla sat straighter.
"Did they agree?"
"The district says the relevant cameras experienced an equipment failure."
Kayla looked toward Walter.
He had heard those words before.
Angela continued.
"But the maintenance records submitted with that response show no reported camera malfunction."
May you like
A pause.
"Someone has now supplied two contradictory explanations for the same missing footage."
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