Chapter 3

Within hours, students unearthed multiple verified samples of Arthur’s actual handwriting. It didn't match the project manuscripts at all.

Social media relentlessly hammered him: [So professors deliberately switch their entire handwriting style just to write technical formulas? Wow, learning something new every day.]

[Can Professor Miller just replicate the damn experiment on a live stream? Or did he completely lose his memory?]

[He was so quick to throw stones on the campus board five years ago, and now he's hiding under a rock? Can't even run his own test to clear his name?]

Crushed under the mounting public outrage, the university issued an official statement placing him on unpaid leave pending an ethics committee review.

Panicked that I possessed the original drafts, Arthur scrambled to upload photos of other lab records.

[My original files and notes are safe with me. The truth speaks for itself. I will pursue full legal action against those defaming my character!]

That very night, he tracked me down at an off-campus diner. "Fifty thousand dollars. Take the cash, and I won't press charges for your slander."

I clutched my stomach, laughing until I could barely breathe. "What's this, Professor? Weren't you going to take me to court?"

"A lawsuit wastes time. You just want a payout, don't you? I'll wire the funds right now—just take it and disappear."

I sneered inwardly. To this man, academia wasn't just something to steal; it was something to buy and sell.

After decades as an educator, he had zero respect for truth or science.

"I don't want your filthy money."

Arthur slammed his coffee mug onto the table. "Then what the hell do you want?! You were expelled five years ago! How do you even have the nerve to show your face back here?"

I took a slow, deliberate sip of my iced coffee. "Do you really not know what I want, Professor?"

Arthur frowned, glaring at me with deep suspicion.

"Back then, you manufactured all those vile rumors just to ensure I could never step foot in a university again, right?"

"It's quite simple. I want the exact same thing for you: to ensure you never step foot on a campus again. And by that, I mean—"

"Every single institution in this country."

Arthur's eyes widened with fury. "You're insane, Elena! You think you can strip me of my professorship?! Keep dreaming!"

"I'm not asking you to quit. I'm making sure you are permanently blacklisted from ever teaching again. Those are two very different things," I murmured with a cruel smirk.

Arthur's face turned completely livid. "You really don't know what's good for you."

"Then we have nothing left to discuss. It seems getting kicked out didn't teach you your place. I guess I'll have to teach you how the real world works all over again."

As he got up to storm off, I raised an eyebrow.

"Not going to finish your meal, Professor? I'm afraid you won't have much of an appetite later."

He paused for half a second, then quickened his stride. "Begging won't save you now, Elena. Just wait."

"This is an elite institution. Any stray dog off the street thinks they can just walk in and spread lies? Not on my watch."

I scrolled through the files on my phone and casually sent a short text.

[The bait is taken. Drop the net.]

The moment Arthur got home, the real show would be waiting for him.