Chapter 1

At the award ceremony, my faculty advisor, Quinn Whitney, put the trophy in my hands, chuckled, and said, "Congratulations, Leah. Only, this thesis of yours, I feel like I've seen it somewhere before..."

"Be honest with me, Leah. Did you plagiarize this thesis?"

The entire hall went silent in an instant.

From his seat below, Professor Norris let out a scornful little laugh. "I've always said her regular coursework was nothing special. No way she could've written a thesis this good."

I was shaking with anger.

Just as I was about to fire back, I caught the two of them exchange a glance, looking utterly pleased with themselves.

I froze for a moment, took a deep breath to steady myself, then turned and dialed 911.

"Hi, yes. My thesis appears to have been stolen and published somewhere else without my knowledge, which violates my rights. Yes, that's right, I have people here who can serve as witnesses. I'd appreciate it if you could get here as soon as possible."

When the officer arrived, Quinn produced the so-called evidence of my plagiarism.

My heart leapt straight into my throat.

The crowd below was pointing and whispering, and the officer, too, looked at me differently now.

I let out a long sigh and handed the trophy back to Quinn.

I shook my head and said, "Professor Whitney, you really have seen this thesis before."

1.

Whispers rippled through the hall almost at once.

I could feel countless eyes turning toward me.

Unhurried, I took out my phone, opened the voice recorder, and said, "Professor Whitney, Professor Norris, would you mind repeating what you just said?"

"And I'll also need you to tell me exactly when and where you saw it."

"I wrote this thesis on my own. If what you're saying is true, then there's only one possibility. Someone stole my thesis and published it without my knowledge."

"That violates my rights, and I have every right to hold that person accountable. So I'd like the two of you to be very clear about this."

At those words, Quinn's and Professor Norris's faces turned ugly.

Professor Norris gave a cold snort. "Quinn, this student of yours is really something. I made one offhand remark, and now she wants to send me straight to jail?"

Quinn forced a smile beside him. "Clive Norris, she's young, hot-blooded. Don't take it to heart."

Then he shot me look after desperate look, willing me to apologize to Professor Norris.

I gave a cold smile.

If I didn't clear this up today, the label of thesis plagiarist would be nailed to me for good.

Even though I wrote this thesis myself, no one would believe it.

Seeing that I stayed silent, Professor Norris's face went from black to a sickly green, until at last he waved a hand with put-on magnanimity.

"Forget it, forget it, let's just let this go! I won't hold it against her."

"But, Professor Norris, you still haven't made it clear. Where did you see it, and when?"

Bang! Professor Norris slammed the table and shot to his feet, jabbing a finger in my face as he cursed at me.

"Leah Henson, don't push your luck. I already said I'd let this go, so what are you still clinging to?"

"Fine, fine, fine, say I misspoke. I apologize. Are you satisfied now?"

Quinn chimed in from the side, frowning.

"Leah, that's enough. Professor Norris just said it in passing. Don't take it to heart."

I corrected him.

"Professor, I'm protecting my own lawful rights."