A/N: I'm back! Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I really appreciate it. I also greatly appreciate all of you, more than you know. This chapter picks up a few months after where the last one left off and revisits the storyline surrounding Tessa and the other gymnasts. I want to warn you upfront that this storyline could have some triggers because it does deal with a sensitive topic. Remember what work the Miranda Center does before proceeding. This chapter is on the shorter side, but I wanted and needed to post something. Please read the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoy this update!

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Marissa glanced up when she heard the knock on her office door. "Come in."

Nora poked her head inside. "Hey. Long time, no see."

"I saw you last week, Nora." Marissa grinned and waved her friend inside.

"I know, but I thought you might miss me."

"Surprisingly enough, I did."

"I knew it! I come bearing coffee."

"Bless you." Marissa took the offered cup and sipped gratefully. It was just how she liked it.

Marissa and Nora had been working together for several months now with them alternating working in Pine Valley and Llanview, and in that time, they had become good friends, and the working rapport they had developed was fascinating to watch. If you asked any member of either of their staffs, they would've sworn the two lawyers had been working together for years. It was no surprise then at this point that they knew how each other liked their coffee.

"You're welcome." Nora sat down, and the two took a few minutes to talk as they enjoyed their coffee. It was their routine before they dove into the ugliness that was the Landry case. "So, how are plans coming for your vacation? Have you and Bianca decided what you're going to do?"

"Yes, we have. Bianca found a house on Kincaid Lake that we're going to rent for a week." Kincaid Lake was located about an hour outside of Pine Valley, and it was the perfect getaway for the family. They could go out on the lake and swim or rent a boat. They could also hike or go horseback riding. Everyone had a good time when they went. "That's all we can do right now. We'd like to do another week or two, but it's not going to work out for us. With everyone's schedule, Bianca could only find three weeks that the house was available that might work. We were going to go for it, but then, the dates for baseball camp were changed. AJ had his heart set on attending it, and well, we couldn't tell him no. He was already signed up for it, and it wasn't his fault that the organizers changed the dates."

"Been there and done that. So, I understand. You know, Matthew has never played baseball, but he's a die-hard Phillies fan."

"AJ is a die-hard Cincinnati Reds' fan."

"Where did that come from?"

"Me. My dad was a Reds' fan. He passed that love onto me, and I, in turn, passed that on to the kids."

"Ah, that explains Danny wearing the Reds' baseball cap in that picture." Nora pointed to the picture Marissa had on her desk from Danny's first birthday party. "Did you get him that?"

Marissa shook her head. "Nope. That was from his brother and sisters. They were so excited to give it to him, and Danny loves it. We have to take it with us whenever we go out, no matter where we're going."

Nora smiled. "That's sweet. I miss Matthew being that age. Enjoy it."

"Oh, I know, and trust me, I am." Marissa knew all too well how precious this time was. AJ, Miranda, and Gabby were older when she had come into their lives so she missed a lot from their early years which made her cherish this time with Danny all the more.

The two chatted for several more minutes before they got down to work. They found early on that those chats were necessary to help them get through the ugliness of this case. The initial allegations had been awful enough, but recently, the investigation had expanded and taken an even uglier turn when facts came to light. Not only had more college age women come forward, but now, high school and middle school aged girls had as well. It was hard enough for Marissa, but talking with girls who were Miranda's age who had been assaulted took every ounce of strength she had to not lose it. Marissa was more determined than ever to get justice for her clients, and Nora was the perfect ally in this fight.

"So, what's the latest on your end?"

"Bo is now working with the FBI."

"Really? Why?" Marissa knew it had to be big for federal authorities to have been brought in.

"LPD's tech department was finally able to crack the encryption that Landry had on his computers. There was some nasty stuff on there, and it wasn't just with our victims. Landry is a sick son of a bitch, and the stuff that Bo found is best investigated by the FBI because it involved an international network that peddles in that as well as the dark web."

"Wow. Since the FBI is involved, have you heard from the U.S. Attorney General's office?"

Nora shook her head. "Not yet, but I'm expecting to any day now. Landry doesn't have to just worry about us now. He'll have local, state, and federal investigations to deal with."

"What about Vincent Turner?"

"Oh, Vince? I know the state is looking at him, and I have no doubt the Feds will soon as well. I plan on helping them as much as I can."

Marissa smiled. "I have no doubt that you will. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy." Sarcasm dripped from Marissa's words.

"Yeah, I agree. Vince is … something."

"Speaking of something." Marissa handed a file over to Nora. "Mitch has been checking into Pritchard. There is something interesting stuff in there, and he's only just begun to scratch the surface." Stephen Pritchard was the coach of the Llanview Gymnastics Team, and he had remained suspiciously silent since things started to break. Tessa and other victims had stated in their depositions that they had reported incidents to Coach Pritchard who in turn had promised to look into reports of what was going on. Nothing changed however, and there was no indication that the coach had ever done anything.

Nora raised an eyebrow after skimming the file's contents. "Do I want to know how Mitch was able to find some of this?"

Marissa grinned. "Don't worry. He didn't do any illegal. You know I wouldn't allow that. Mitch just knows where to look, and he doesn't have to worry about subpoenas, like Bo does."

"True."

"And unlike Landry, Vince, and Coach Pritchard, he knows that texts and emails are never truly deleted."

"Again, true. Nothing on the internet is ever truly deleted." Nora flipped back to the first page of the report and began to read more in-depth. "This is good. I mean, it's bad what he did and didn't do, but this, what Mitch has here, is good in that it will help nail Pritchard, Turner, and Landry. This is the smoking gun."

"Don't forget Angleton." Marissa noted. Terrance Angleton was the president of Llanview University. He had remained silent in public, offered no comment of any kind on any of the allegations. No one could make any sense of his silence. There was some speculation that he was trying to be fair and impartial to all parties involved, but that didn't feel right to Marissa and Nora. The texts and emails that Mitch had uncovered told the lawyers that they were right to trust their instincts.

Nora raised an eyebrow. "Angleton? Really? I haven't gotten to him yet."

"You will, and you're going to love it."

Both lawyers continued to read their respective files until there was a knock on the door.

/

"Come in."

Ellie walked in and closed the door. "Marissa, Tessa Mendes is here, and she said she needs to talk to you. She seems a little upset."

"Send her in, Ellie."

"Right away." With that, Ellie nodded and left to retrieve the young woman.

"I wonder what's up." Nora pondered.

"I'm not sure, but we're about to find out."

Tessa appeared a moment later slightly out of breath. "Hi, Marissa. Hi, Nora. I'm sorry to interrupt, but something just happened. And you told me to let know right away if something like this happened."

"Slow down, Tessa. Have a seat, take a breath, and tell us what happened." Marissa said as she guided the younger woman to a chair while Nora handed her a bottle of water.

"Thank you." Tessa said before she took a drink. As suggested, she took a deep breath and then began. "I got a call from Angleton."

"Wait. You're saying that Terrance Angleton, the president of Llanview University, called you?" Nora asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, he did."

Marissa thought for a moment. "Hmmm. How does he have the number to your cellphone? Why was he calling you and not me, like I've instructed the school to?"

Tessa shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't want to talk to anyone there."

"I know. That's one of the reasons why I told them not to contact you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Good. What did he say?"

"He wanted to talk about what happened. He said I misunderstood what happened. I told him that I didn't misunderstand anything. I knew damn well what happened. He said that I was wrong. Landry's a doctor. It was a medical procedure, pure and simple. I told him that I might not be a doctor, but I told him that I sure as hell knew that what Landry did was no medical procedure."

"Good for you. I'm sure he didn't like that." Nora said.

"You would be correct. He didn't say anything for what felt like forever. Then, he said that I needed to be careful. That they had everything covered, and that there were certain risks involved if I continued with the lawsuit. That if I knew what was best for me, I should keep that in mind before proceeding further. He also said that I shouldn't tell you about the call."

Marissa was pissed. "He threatened you. That son of a … Did he say anything else?"

"No, he didn't."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I am. I think he thought he scared me, but he didn't. He just made me mad. I mean, what the hell?! I didn't misunderstand anything. What he did was wrong. It was no medical procedure. That son of a bitch assaulted me. I don't want him to do this to anyone else. He needs to be stopped and to go to prison. I want justice for me and for everyone else he abused. And the ones that did nothing, that stood by and turned their heads after we begged them to help us, they need to face the consequences as well."

"Atta girl." Marissa said proudly. "I have an idea. Are you up for a conversation with Vikki?"

Nora chuckled. Angleton had no idea who he was dealing with. "Oh, remind me to never make you mad."

Tessa smiled. "Yeah, I am. Let's call her. It's time to show them that I'm not afraid of them."

"I couldn't agree more." Marissa said as she grabbed her cellphone to call the publisher of The Banner.

/

A/N: The last couple of weeks have not been the easiest, and not only just because of the loss of my mom. There has been family drama, the kind that always seems to come out during the worst of times. I ended up taking a day to just unplug, and that was the best decision I've made in a long time. It helped me regroup which was something I really needed in order to get through everything. My sisters were able to get their acts together, and we had a nice service for our mom, one I think she would have liked very much.

What also helped me was my friends. I am lucky enough to have some amazing ones. There is a core group of us that have known each other since college and have been through a lot together. They've been there for me and so have all of you. I'm truly touched by your kind words. I have to say that I'm not surprised. In the 7 plus years that I've been writing this story, all of you have shown me nothing by kindness and support. Thank you doesn't seem quite enough, but I can't find any other words to say. So, thank you, my friends. See you soon!