Chapter 2

The video was real. It wasn't faked.

On that point, the floating messages had gotten it a little wrong.

"And what if I told you that was just everyone joking around?"

I was still perfectly calm. A video like that proved nothing on its own.

"There's one thing I'd like to ask you, actually. How did you get hold of this video?"

The meeting I'd attended that day was a closed-door one. My advisor, Professor Donaldson, the man in the video, lives in the campus back courtyard.

So that was where we'd held it.

"What's wrong? Guilty conscience? Afraid to say?"

Francis dodged the question and pressed in closer.

"Let me tell all of you something. Those people talking with Professor Donaldson just now happen to be executives at the same finance firm."

"And our own Annabel Henson took first place in the contest precisely by trading that same firm's stock."

He didn't say the rest out loud. But everyone had already filled it in.

I guessed at the filth going through his head and frowned before I could stop myself.

"If you don't have solid evidence, this counts as slander. I can call the police."

"Then go ahead, call them. I'd love to see what they make of insider trading and stock manipulation."

Francis didn't back off an inch. If anything, he looked eager for it.

【I told you to stop wasting words on him. Why won't you listen?】

【Why is our heroine so dense?】

【Actually Francis is the one who had his family manipulate the stock price. Too bad in the end he still couldn't beat you!】

"I don't believe for a second that a girl out there hooking up with random men can cover the whole sky with one hand here at school too!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when several security guards came trotting over, clustered around a heavyset man.

"What's everyone crowding around for? Who's causing trouble?"

Francis went to meet them with a smile and murmured a few words to the heavy man.

A moment later the man came striding up, big belly leading the way, and swept one hand through the air.

"You all know who I am. Get back to whatever you should be doing. Break it up, or you can worry about your credits."

The heavy man was Martin Finch, Dean of Student Affairs.

Once most of the students had drifted off, Martin turned to me with a frown.

"Did you do what young Pruitt says you did?"

What was that supposed to mean?

Was he really pinning it on me without a single investigation?

【Martin Finch is Francis's uncle. Of course he's going to take his side.】

【They're about to bring up your attendance record to use against you. Call the police, now.】

Seeing I wasn't going to answer, Martin's temper started to show.

"What kind of attitude is that from a student? I'm asking you a question. Didn't you hear me?"

"Young Pruitt says you not only rigged the trading contest, you also don't bother showing up to class…"

He paused, and his voice turned colder.

"I didn't believe it before. But looking at you now, I'd say it's true."

"Come on. Follow me to Student Affairs and explain yourself."

With that Martin turned to go. I stayed where I was and pulled out my phone to dial.

But the call never went through. Francis snatched the phone out of my hand.

"This is an internal matter for the school. What do you think you're doing, calling those random men out there?"

"Annabel Henson, I'm genuinely ashamed to have you as a classmate. And you call yourself a girl!"