Chapter 2

The next day, I understood the meaning of that smile.

My capstone project.

Three months of hard work, a thirty-thousand-word draft, and over two hundred cited data points.

All of it was completely gone.

My laptop's trash bin was empty. The cloud backup had been wiped clean. My USB drive was missing.

I frantically searched the entire classroom and finally found my USB drive in the trash can. There was a clear footprint stamped right on its plastic casing.

As Chloe walked past my desk, she leaned in and whispered, "Elena, you have no proof. What can you possibly do to me?"

At the school's end-of-term academic showcase, Chloe stood on the stage, presenting her capstone project.

"Microplastics Distribution in the San Francisco Bay Area and Its Ecological Impact on Aquatic Life."

At least half of the core concepts and data points in her slides were things I had discussed with her three months ago.

And my name was nowhere to be found, not even in the acknowledgments.

I stood up right there in the auditorium and challenged her.

"What are the criteria for the Best Capstone Project? My research was awarded a perfect score by the District Academic Review Committee and won the school the Annual Academic Innovation Award, leading the runner-up by over fifty points—while Chloe can't even explain the basic methodology of her experiment because she stole it from my laptop!"

The entire auditorium fell dead silent.

The dean and the department head looked at each other, neither of them daring to speak.

Chloe looked down at me from the stage with pure arrogance. "Of course your so-called research was disqualified."

She let out a cold laugh. "Do you think we don't know how you got that data? Last Friday night, someone saw you on the West Side bar street, dressed... very provocatively."

"The school will not tolerate academic dishonesty or inappropriate behavior. For now, we are only stripping you of your award. If you continue to ruin this school's reputation with such filthy methods, expulsion will be next!"

I was shaking with anger, my eyes scanning the school board and faculty on the stage.

The very same teachers who used to praise my sharp mind and academic potential were now dodging my gaze, pretending to be deaf and blind.

Just then, a deep voice echoed from the back of the auditorium.

"What is going on here?"

Everyone turned around.

Principal White walked in with a dark expression.

He was only invited to present the awards, so he clearly didn't expect to walk into such a mess.

The dean rushed over to him and whispered in his ear.

As Principal White listened, his frown deepened. His eyes flickered with relief when he looked at Chloe, but turned icy cold when they landed on me.

He walked onto the stage and took the microphone.

"Elena, the school's reputation comes first. Cooperate with us for now. Once the showcase is over, I will give you an explanation."

"Cooperate?" My eyes welled with tears, and my voice trembled.

"By 'cooperate,' do you mean I should just stay quiet while the project I spent a month staying up until 2 a.m. to write, verify, and perfect gets handed over to someone else?"

"And you're going to erase all my hard work just because of a baseless accusation she made?"

"Let me ask you, where is the fairness? Where is the justice? Aren't you ashamed of doing this to a student who actually brought glory to this school?"

Principal White was left speechless by my questions, but Chloe didn't show a single shred of shame. She raised her chin at me.

"Fairness?" She scoffed. "Elena, don't be so naive. In this world, whoever has the power defines what's fair."

"If you want justice, go find a billionaire dad to buy it for you. Too bad you don't have one."

With undisguised contempt, she sneered, "Meanwhile, my status as the daughter of the Vance Group’s CEO is enough to keep you crushed under my feet for the rest of your life!"

I stared at her, a strange, uneasy feeling growing in my chest.

She was so confident... Could my dad really have...?

No, impossible.

My mom is far too smart and powerful. My dad wouldn't dare.

But I didn't realize that my palms were already sweating.

I suddenly spoke up. "I heard that Mr. Vance only has one daughter. I wonder where you popped up from, Chloe?"

Chloe's expression stiffened for a second, then she rolled her eyes.

"That's my older sister. Of course I've met her. But she lives abroad and rarely comes back to the States. A low-class commoner like you would never get to see her anyway."

I sneered. "Really? If you're so high-class, why did you have to steal someone else's research and grant money? Are you sure you're not a fake?"

"You!"

Chloe's face turned pale with rage as she glared at me. "Elena! Don't push your luck. Your award was revoked because you don't deserve it. I won this fair and square!"

"Fair and square?" I took a step forward, locking eyes with her.

"Do you mean by sleeping through classes, playing on your phone, saying absolutely nothing during group discussions, and not even knowing how to write a basic literature review?"

"Or do you mean the talent of staring at a blank Google Doc all day and only typing the words 'Capstone Project'?"