Chapter 330
The principal’s office felt like it was about to burst from the pressure.
“Charlotte, staying quiet doesn’t make this go away.” The guy in glasses slapped his hand on the desk, clearly losing his patience. “I’ll ask one last time. Where did you get the exam paper and answers? Did you cheat alone, or were you working with others?”
Eleanor was so anxious, her heart was pounding out of her chest. “Charlotte, if you didn’t cheat, just tell everyone what really happened. Please.”
The principal’s face went even more serious. “Charlotte, what’s going on here?”
With everyone talking over each other, Charlotte finally looked up. There was a chill in her eyes. “I said I didn’t cheat.”
The man in the suit leaned forward, frowning. “You didn’t cheat? Then why were the exam paper and answers in your email? Are you really going to say a hacker broke in just to frame you?”
“It’s possible,” Charlotte replied, her voice steady and cold.
The three school officials exchanged glances, about ready to explode. Seriously? Was that the best excuse she could come up with? They were convinced she was just making stuff up now.
“A hacker, really?” The man in glasses scoffed, clearly not buying it. “Fine. Let’s get someone from IT to check your email right now. We’ll see if your story holds up.” He’d never seen a student so stubborn, caught red-handed and still acting like
nothing was wrong.
“That’s not necessary.”
Charlotte’s voice was like ice. She pulled her hands from her pockets and stepped forward, suddenly radiating a confidence that made everyone take notice. “I can show you.”
“You can?” The three of them just stared at her, caught off guard. “Are you messing with us?”
The principal quickly explained. “Don’t worry. Charlotte actually knows her way around computers. She’s helped us with tech stuff before.” Eleanor nodded, remembering when Charlotte fixed the security cameras.
Still, tracking down a hacker was something else entirely… just being good with computers usually didn’t cut it.
Before anyone could say another word, Charlotte grabbed the laptop. Her fingers flew across the keyboard typing faster than anyone could follow. Lines of code zipped by on the screen. In seconds a map of Cabinda popped up, and with a few quick clicks, she zoomed in closer and closer.
Everyone in the room just stared, mouths hanging open. This was supposed to be “knowing a bit about computers”?
It took her less than two minutes to track the hacker’s IP address. The screen showed a spot not far from Vanguard High: “Pro Computer Repair.”
“That’s the hacker who got into your email?” Eleanor asked, unable to look away from the screen.
Charlotte sat down on the couch, looking completely unbothered. “Ask him.”
“Call the police,” the principal said,
his voice thick with anger. “Bring that
person here. I want to see who
thinks they can frame one of our students.” Framing the top student in the country could’ve ruined Vanguard High’s reputation.
Ten minutes later, Nancy was still waiting for word that Charlotte’s cheating had been confirmed. Instead, she watched in shock as her so-called “professional”
hacker was led onto campus in handcuffs by the police.
The cup she was holding slipped
through her fingers and shattered on
the floor, the noise snapping her back to reality. The guy had promised her he couldn’t be traced. That was the whole reason she’d worked with him. Did the authorities really track his IP?
Now he was caught… and what about her? What was she supposed to do next?
Nancy just sat there, completely frozen, her whole body shaking as cold sweat soaked through her clothes.