Chapter 4

The next day, I went to the department as usual.

The first thing I did in my office was to export all evidence of my support for Eliot's ascent to Alpha over the years.

This included the votes I secured for him when he ran for Alpha, the chat logs of me handling the Pack's opposition, proof of my financial contribution to the villa, and records of my mother's medical information being managed by him.

I uploaded each file to the cloud, making encrypted backups.

Eliot sent me a message.

"Don't make a big fuss. Let's talk tonight at home. I'll make Lila apologize to you."

I didn't reply.

At ten in the morning, Lila came to my lab.

She handed me an experimental data report for her graduation thesis.

"Seren, this is my thesis data. Can you fast-track the review for me? The defense is next week."

The students in the lab instantly fell silent.

I said according to procedure, "Get your supervisor's signature, follow the department's normal review process, and queue up."

Lila's eyes welled up.

"Seren, are you still mad at me? I really know I was wrong."

I handed the report back.

"This is a lab, not your living room. Follow the rules."

She bit her lip and left.

To avoid any appearance of impropriety, I personally handed her report to the department secretary, ensuring every step was logged.

The review results came out at noon.

All her experimental data was fabricated!

Lila's face changed instantly when she received the results.

Half an hour later, news came from the department.

Lila had fallen in the lab, bleeding from her lower body, possibly a miscarriage.

A little while later, Lila appeared at the lab door, holding her stomach, supported by a classmate.

"Seren, you can hate me. But the child is innocent."

The students' gazes at me changed.

The Dean also rushed over.

"Seren, please suspend your work and cooperate with the joint investigation by the university and the Elder Council."

I said, "Check the lab surveillance, the data audit logs, all operations are traceable."

Eliot interrupted me.

"Lila fell and miscarried because you provoked her. You knew she was pregnant, yet you deliberately made things difficult for her and rejected her thesis."

I looked at him:

"How can someone who isn't even pregnant have a miscarriage?"

Lila cried, trembling all over.

Eliot threw a stack of documents in front of me.

The papers scattered.

It was my mother's supplementary payment notice for organ suppression therapy.

And an application to adjust her treatment ward.

He looked at me coldly,

"Kneel down and apologize to Lila right now. I guarantee your mom will still have access to top-tier treatment tonight, and I'll still write you a recommendation for your full professorship review."

Everyone in the lab was looking at me.

My full professorship.

My mom's life.

My eight years of dedication.

All pressured into one apology.

I bent down to pick up the documents.

At the bottom was one of Lila's medical reports.

It read:

"No signs of pregnancy, no fetus present."

I looked up at Eliot.

Panic finally appeared on his face.

Lila screamed, "That's not mine! It's my classmate's!"

The next second, the Dean's office door was pushed open.

Representatives from the University Academic Committee and the Elder Council stood at the entrance.

"Associate Professor Seren, you are suspected of academic suppression, fabricating experimental data, and causing a student's miscarriage. Please immediately accept a suspension for investigation."