Chapter 3

Chloe visibly shrank under my fury.

She knew better than anyone that she had thrown herself at Julian while knowing full well he was engaged to me.

She wouldn't dare face an official inquiry!

Under the scorching stares of our coworkers, Chloe’s shoulders caved. Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Evelyn... I just..."

She sobbed into her hands, mumbling so softly nobody could hear.

"Louder!" I snapped. "You didn't have any trouble speaking up when you were spreading lies!"

Chloe flinched violently. Just as she was about to choke out an apology—

"Enough!"

A furious roar echoed from the hallway. Julian charged in, out of breath. He yanked a weeping Chloe behind him, glaring at me like I was a monster.

"Evelyn, do you have to bully her like this? If you have an issue, take it out on me!"

Catching sight of my flushed, furious face, Julian forced his tone to soften, trying to play the reasonable mediator:

"Evelyn, Chloe is young and naive. We've been working closely on this project lately, and she got jealous and spoke out of turn. We're all colleagues here. Why turn a molehill into a mountain? Let it go."

The moment he spoke, a few sycophantic coworkers who always sucked up to him chimed in:

"Yeah, Dr. Vance, it's just a misunderstanding."

"Chloe was just making a dumb joke, don't take it to heart."

"We've got to maintain team harmony. She apologized, so let's move past it."

Listening to their pathetic chorus of peacemaking, I scoffed. My cold gaze raked over Julian and Chloe, and I delivered one final warning:

"This is the last time. Consider yourselves warned."

Without looking back, I turned and walked out.

I assumed that after this public embarrassment, Julian and Chloe would keep their heads down.

Yet barely a week of peace had passed before Sarah slammed open my lab door, panting heavily.

"Evelyn, disaster!"

"Chloe just filed a formal whistle-blower report accusing you of academic fraud! And Julian signed off on it, claiming the allegations are 'substantially factual'!"

Before I could even process the words, two stone-faced agents from the Ethics and Compliance Division appeared at my doorway.

"Dr. Evelyn Vance, we have received a signed report alleging research misconduct on your part, and preliminary checks have corroborated several discrepancies.”

“Under institute policy, you are placed on immediate suspension pending formal investigation. Please cooperate."

My world was turned upside down in an instant.

My workstation was sealed. My phone was confiscated. My lab access badge was revoked on the spot.

I was escorted directly into the interrogation room.

An investigator slid a thick dossier across the table—a copy of the whistle-blower complaint alongside the "incriminating" data.

"Dr. Vance, please explain why the Phase Seven computational data for the Galaxy III Project contains non-systemic deviations from the raw experimental logs, indicative of deliberate manual falsification."

I took a deep breath, forcing my heart to steady, and flipped through the alleged "evidence."

Within seconds, the trap became glaringly obvious.

Several critical parameters differed completely from my memory and the raw calculations scribbled in my lab notebook.

"This data is forged!"

I leaned forward, my voice urgent.

"This is not the raw data I generated! The model I completed used an entirely different computational framework and yielded completely different results. Someone tampered with this during the submission or archiving process!"

The investigator opposite me remained unfazed, having clearly anticipated my denial.

"Your raw datasets were submitted directly to our office by your lead systems architect, Chief Engineer Julian Brooks."

"We found zero evidence of external alteration. Furthermore, Chief Engineer Brooks has verified under penalty of perjury that this file is the exact version you submitted to him."

My stomach plummeted into an icy abyss.

Another investigator added:

"Regarding the file repository, we reviewed the surveillance footage outside the secure archives. Aside from yourself and Chloe Miller entering for authorized duties, no unauthorized personnel accessed the physical servers."

"The system access logs also show zero unauthorized breaches."

A sharp throb hammered behind my temples.

It was a seamless, airtight setup. For a moment, I couldn't even find a thread to pull to defend myself.

I looked at the investigators, feeling the weight of helplessness creeping in.

"That's impossible! This is completely manufactured!"

"Something went wrong in the system! You can verify the hash values of my local drafts, you can check—"

"We checked," the investigator replied coldly.

Every piece of evidence had been fabricated to trap me.

A few days later, I was called in for the final inquiry.

Inside the room, Julian was already seated at the long table, his eyes cast downward to avoid looking at me. A chilling dread washed over my skin.

The lead investigator cut straight to the chase:

"Dr. Vance, regarding the data discrepancies, Chief Engineer Julian Brooks is here to give his formal testimony in your presence. We expect full honesty from both of you."

I stared at Julian, my voice shaking from days of exhaustion and bottled-up rage.

"Julian Brooks, look me in the eye!"

"Look at me and swear on your conscience that this is the data I gave you! You reviewed my raw models with your own eyes!"

Julian kept his head down, his knuckles white against his knees.

He didn't make a sound.

The investigator pressed: "Chief Engineer Brooks, please answer the question. Is this the original, unaltered dataset Dr. Vance submitted?"

The room went dead silent.

Slowly, agonizingly, Julian lifted his head.

His lips twitched. Avoiding my pleading, burning gaze, he turned toward the investigator and gave a firm, deliberate nod.

"Yes."

"This is the exact dataset Evelyn Vance submitted to me."