No one asked her to repeat the fourteen-second submission.
For the first time since the video went viral, she felt something close to relief.
She warmed up, stretched, and joined Melissa for the first drill.
"How are things?" Melissa asked.
"Complicated."
Melissa smiled.
"That's one way to put it."
They began practicing.
Nia made a small mistake in her first attempt, and Melissa corrected her.
"Your elbow's drifting."
Nia adjusted.
"You're right."
Melissa grinned.
"Look at that. Even you make mistakes."
"Occasionally."
They laughed.
But the moment did not last.
As class ended, Victor approached Nia with a printed email.
"I thought you should see this."
She took the page.
At the bottom was a sentence that made Nia's stomach tighten.
Nia read the sentence twice.
Then she looked up.
"Did you ask Thomas about Marcus?"
"Yes. He explained the dispute, but he was careful not to discuss details he couldn't verify."
"Did he mention anything that happened after Marcus withdrew?"
"Only that Marcus left the program and took time away from competition."
Nia folded the paper.
"I need to speak with him."
Victor nodded.
"Do you want me to arrange a meeting?"
"No. I'll call him myself."
As she walked toward the changing room, the fourteen seconds returned to her mind.
Then she learned that it was also about a training culture that had tolerated his behavior.
Then she discovered that the old dispute involving her mother had never been fully resolved.
Nia did not know whether the message was a genuine warning or another attempt to manipulate her.
But she knew what she had to do next.
Because the challenge she had refused was no longer Derek's invitation to another round.
Nia had spent years learning how to defend herself on the mat.
Now she would have to learn how to defend the truth without turning it into another fight.
Nia waited until Thursday evening to call Thomas Reed.
At 7:42 p.m., she finally called.
Thomas answered almost immediately.
"Nia. Everything all right?"
"I need to ask you something about Marcus."
Silence.
Not a long silence, but long enough for her to notice.
"What about him?" Thomas asked.
"Someone sent an email to Whitmore Academy. They said you never told me the whole story about what happened after he withdrew from Ironbridge."
"Who sent it?"
"I don't know."
"Did you keep the email?"
"Yes."
"Good. Don't delete it."
Nia closed her eyes briefly.
"Thomas, I'm not calling to investigate a stranger. I'm calling because I need to know whether there's something you haven't told me."
"I understand."
"Then please answer me honestly. Did something happen to Marcus after he left the program?"
Nia could hear a television playing faintly in the background. Somewhere in his house, a clock chimed.
Finally, he said, "Yes."
"What happened?"
"I need to explain it properly. Are you able to come over tomorrow?"
"Why can't you tell me now?"
"Because there are things I need to find before I can give you an accurate account. And because I don't want to tell you half the story and leave you with more questions than answers."
Nia gripped her phone.
"You're asking me to wait again."
"I'm asking you to give me until tomorrow evening."
She wanted to refuse.
Instead, she agreed.
Thomas opened the door before she knocked.
"Come in."
Nia followed him into the kitchen.
"Before we start, I want you to understand something. I didn't keep this from you because I thought you couldn't handle it."
"Then why?"
He sat opposite her.
"Because I believed I was protecting you."
Nia looked at the folder.
"That's what people say when they decide someone else doesn't deserve to know the truth."
"You're right."
He opened the folder.
Marcus, however, was not satisfied.
He wanted a written acknowledgment that the decision-making process had failed.
"They said the internal review had found no misconduct," Thomas explained. "Marcus felt they were asking him to accept a version of events that didn't reflect what had happened."
"What did you do?"
"I supported his right to challenge the findings. Evelyn did, too."
"And me?"
"You were eighteen. You were preparing for your own competitions. You were already dealing with the consequences of speaking up."
"We decided you had done enough."
Nia stared at him.
"You decided that for me."
"Yes."
"We should have discussed it with you. But your mother was worried that the dispute was taking over your life. I agreed with her. We thought that if we kept the remaining details away from you, you might finally be able to move forward."
Nia looked toward the window.
She remembered those months.
"What happened to Marcus?" she asked again.
"Several weeks after the review ended, Marcus contacted me. He had received a message from someone associated with Ironbridge suggesting that he should stop discussing the dispute if he wanted future opportunities in the sport."
Nia felt a cold sensation move through her chest.
"Who sent it?"