Chapter 2

The judges at the panel table already looked like a row of storm clouds.

I stood onstage, the target of every eye in the hall.

"Expel her!"

"Expel her!!"

The shouts, the contempt in every stare, came rolling at me from all sides.

I glanced at the cameras mounted around the auditorium, then turned to Leona. "You say I seduced a teacher. So which teacher, exactly, did I seduce?"

Leona froze for a second, as if this wasn't going the way she'd planned.

But the swelling noise from the floor steadied her, and she pushed on. "Mr. Lawrence from the design department, of course. Everyone knows the two of you were the closest!"

"Leona, do you understand that slander is a crime?"

She gave a scornful little laugh. "I'm telling the truth, and I have proof!"

"Oh?"

She arranged her face into a show of reluctance. "I wanted to spare you some dignity, but since you insist on this, I'll just have to show everyone the evidence."

Then she pulled out her phone and cast it to the screen. On the giant LED wall was a stretch of security footage: me walking out of a teacher's office, the timestamp showing it was very late.

"What does that prove?"

"You're a student. What right do you have to pull security footage?"

A flicker of guilt crossed her eyes. "That's none of your business."

"The point is, coming out of Mr. Lawrence's office that late, dressed like that, is already suspicious!"

Lester jumped in right behind her. "Yeah, Leona's right. I've seen the flirty chat logs between you and Mr. Lawrence on your phone!"

That line dropped like a bomb.

"When did you ever get hold of my phone?"

"That day at the hotel. I used your face to unlock it."

"Do you understand that reading someone else's private messages is also against the law?"

Lester's eyes darted away. Leona picked up the thread. "Don't change the subject. Everything we've said is fact, and I'm demanding right now that the teachers strip you of your first-place prize in the design competition!"

"And that you publicly apologize to me, admit you came between us, and apologize to every single person whose work you plagiarized!"

She said it with such finality, never once considering that if I actually did it, the label of plagiarist and homewrecker would be stamped on me for the rest of my life.

Then again, wasn't that exactly what she wanted?

Watching the red light blinking on the camera, I asked her again. "Leona, can you swear that everything you've said today is true?"

Her expression curled with disdain. "Of course it's true. Why would I need to frame you? You're just rotten to the core!"

I let out a small laugh. That admission was all I needed.

"What are you doing?!"

Leona's disbelieving shriek came at my ear.

I lifted my phone.

"Calling the police."

She lunged to grab it, and I simply stepped clear.

"What are you panicking about?"

"You dared to say it out loud, so why be scared of me calling the police?"

Leona hesitated, then, catching people watching her, snapped straight into righteous mode. "What, you think the officers will show up and take the side of a plagiarizing little thief like you?"

I was about to say the police would verify whether her claims held up, when the comments streamed across my vision again.

【Don't tell her your plan, or she'll destroy the photos and evidence on the spot.】

【Some of the school's leadership are on her side. The administration can't be trusted either.】

I thought it over for two seconds, then spoke calmly.

"Fine, call the police. As soon as the officers get here, you submit your evidence, and I'll voluntarily give up the first-place prize money."

Doubt slid through Leona's eyes, quickly buried under a wave of glee. She probably hadn't expected me to fold so fast.

"Ha, and you'll admit you're the other woman, and apologize to me publicly, all over the internet!"

As if afraid I'd take it back, she dialed the police herself.

"Hello, is this the police station? I've got a campus case here that needs handling..."

Watching the smug looks on her and Lester's faces, the corner of my mouth curved into a cold smile.

There was no way the two of them could have thought all this up. So who, exactly, was pulling the strings behind me?