Chapter 1

The day the project I spent five years on won the top national award, I didn't give a standard acceptance speech.

Instead, I told a story.

"Five years ago, my thesis advisor completely trashed the preliminary data of Project Zephyr."

"The very next day, that exact project won a prestigious award—under someone else's name."

"And the only person who had ever seen that manuscript was my professor."

"When I confronted him, he turned it around on me, accusing me of offering him sexual favors just to get my name on the paper. The online harassment that followed almost destroyed my life."

"And now..." I paused, turning my gaze directly to a familiar face sitting in the VIP section of the auditorium.

"Project Zephyr's final phase is finally complete. Professor Miller, wouldn't you like to come up here and say a few words?"

A barrage of blinding camera flashes immediately swung toward Arthur Miller.

"Professor Miller, is this true? Did you really steal your own student's research?"

"Did you resort to this because you hit a wall in your own career and couldn't advance any further?"

"Did you honestly think your lack of talent wouldn't catch up to you? That even after stealing the foundation, failing to finish the final project would keep your secret safe forever?"

The reporters shoved their microphones right into his face, forcing Arthur to stumble backward.

He shielded his eyes from the glare, barely able to keep them open. "This is absolute nonsense!"

"Elena Vance was my student! It was my duty to mentor her! I let her observe my core lab trials strictly for her education!"

"Even after she blatantly plagiarized my work back then, I tried to protect her career by keeping it quiet. I never imagined she’d stand up here today and bite the hand that fed her!"

A female journalist pressed harder.

"Then tell us, Professor Miller: how could Ms. Vance replicate the entire experiment just by watching, and then successfully optimize and complete the final phase on her own?"

"While you, on the other hand, made zero progress over the past five years and never touched this research again?"

A cold sweat broke out across Arthur's forehead. His lips twitched nervously.

Standing on the stage, I stared down at him with cold detachment.

Back then, I had excitedly brought my finished paper to Arthur's office. He took the manuscript, and for a split second, sheer shock crossed his face before he masked it.

After skimming through it, he sighed heavily and patted my shoulder. "Your core algorithm and test models are completely flawed. You need to scrap the data and start over."

When I reached out to take the folder back, he pulled his hand away with a fatherly smile.

"Leave it with me. I'll review the technical specs for you this week. Check back later."

The next time I saw Arthur was a month later.

The department head summoned me to his office, holding the exact proposal I had handed my mentor.

After glaring at me for several agonizing seconds, he slammed the folder straight into my face. "How dare you plagiarize a study already published in a peer-reviewed journal?! And from your own advisor, no less!"

Every faculty member in the open office turned to look at me.

Arthur was sitting nearby. He looked up with a stunned expression, calmly shut his laptop, and walked over to pick up the papers scattered on the floor.

Looking down at me with pure disappointment, he sighed. "Elena, I never thought you'd take such an unethical shortcut."

I was completely lost. "Dean? Professor Miller? What are you talking about?"

The dean’s fury erupted again. "This is the groundbreaking breakthrough your advisor presented and won an award for over a month ago! It's already in print!"

"You copied it word for word and claimed it as your thesis! And now you're playing dumb?!"

Back then, I was the one sweating bullets, frantically trying to prove my innocence to deaf ears.

Now, the one choking on his own words was him.

I lifted my microphone and raised my voice. "The stage is already set up with all the necessary hardware. Why don't you come up right now, Professor Miller, and replicate that original prototype live?"

"Clearing your name under the cameras is the most convincing proof, isn't it?"

Arthur violently shoved away the microphones crowding him, his jaw clenched tight.

"As the old saying goes, a student can eventually surpass the master! I admit you improved upon the concept!"

"But I gave you everything! To weaponize this finished work just to slander my original findings... you're being completely unreasonable and unhinged!"

Leaving those words behind, he shoved his way past the reporters and bolted for the exit.

I watched his pathetic retreating figure and offered a slight, chilling smile.

Everything was unfolding exactly as planned.

By the next morning, the headline was already trending on X and blowing up on TikTok: [Prestigious University Professor Arthur Miller Accused of Academic Fraud].