Chapter 4 - THE PERFECT LIE
Dr. Lane placed a printed report in front of me.
The document claimed Ethan had begun developing Lighthouse eighteen months before I wrote the first line of code.
It contained planning notes.
Technical diagrams.
Email drafts.
Even early versions of functions I had designed alone in my apartment.
“This is impossible,” I said.
Dr. Lane folded his hands.
“The digital timestamps have been verified.”
“By whom?”
“Our internal technology department.”
“My father’s company provides software to that department.”
Dr. Lane’s expression remained calm.
“That is a serious accusation.”
“So is claiming I stole my own work.”
He closed the folder.
“You have two choices.”
“What choices?”
“You may withdraw from consideration for graduation while the university investigates.”
“And the second?”
“You may continue, but the complaint could become public.”
I finally understood why my father had chosen Dr. Lane.
He did not need the university to prove I cheated.
He only needed the accusation to exist long enough to destroy my credibility.
“When was this complaint filed?”
“Yesterday.”
“By Ethan?”
“I cannot reveal that.”
“You just showed me documents naming him.”
Dr. Lane stood.
“The meeting is over.”
As I left his office, Professor Hughes was waiting in the hallway.
She did not speak until we reached the stairwell.
“Do not trust him.”
I stopped.
“You know the evidence is false?”
“I know you showed me an early version of Lighthouse two years ago.”
“Then tell the committee.”
“I will.”
“That will not be enough.”
She glanced toward the security camera above the stairwell door.
“Your father donated the system that stores our academic records.”
My blood went cold.
Professor Hughes continued quietly.
“If someone with administrative access altered the timestamps, we need evidence from outside the university network.”
I thought about the remote code repository I had used during my first year.
It was private.
Old.
And completely disconnected from Bennett Technologies.
“I have backups.”
“Do not access them from your laptop.”
“Why?”
“Because your father knows where you live.”
I returned to my apartment and found Ethan waiting outside.
He leaned against the wall in an expensive navy suit.
“You look tired,” he said.
“What did you do?”
He smiled.
“I filed a complaint.”
“You know Lighthouse is mine.”
“You wrote the code.”
“That means it is mine.”
“No.”
He stepped toward me.
“It means you were useful.”
I took out my phone.
He grabbed my wrist before I could unlock it.
“You always thought being smarter made you better than me.”
“I never thought about you enough to compare us.”
His grip tightened.
“Dad is selling the company.”
I froze.
“To whom?”
“Halcyon Global.”
Halcyon was one of the largest defense logistics corporations in the country.
“What does that have to do with Lighthouse?”
“The sale depends on the patent.”
“And the patent depends on making people believe you created it.”
His smile returned.
“Now you understand.”
I pulled my wrist free.
“Students lost their scholarships to finance the project.”
“Those students will survive.”
“One of them dropped out.”
“That is not our problem.”
I stared at him.
He truly believed that.
“You are going to prison.”
Ethan laughed.
“Not if everyone believes you are a thief.”
He walked toward the elevator.
Before the doors closed, he looked back at me.
“Sign the contract, Emily.”
“Or what?”
“Or graduation day will be the most humiliating day of your life.”
He kept that promise.
May you like
But Ethan made one mistake.
He did not notice that my phone had already started recording before he grabbed my wrist.
