Chapter 143

143 Who Is Innocent?
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After finishing her shift at the café, Emma would often stay behind, using the soft glow of the overhead lights to continue studying.
The person who recorded her didn’t realize that the thesis she was working on was confidential, so the footage wasn’t blurred.
At that time, Emma couldn’t afford a laptop, so she handwrote everything.
What the camera captured were clearly pages of her original thesis, filled with technical material.
As Alice played the footage, clip by clip, she was able to reconstruct how Emma had written her entire
paper.
Seeing this unfold, Emma finally broke down. The injustice hit her too hard to hold in. She couldn’t even stay on her feet and collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I told you–I didn’t do it! I’m honest! I’m not a thief!”
Her voice was hoarse from crying, but she kept repeating herself, trying to defend her name.
Alice looked over at Nelson, whose expression had darkened.
She said calmly, “Professor Clem, I understand you might think these videos could be edited and that they wouldn’t stand up in court.”
That was exactly what Nelson had been thinking.
But now, the words caught in his throat.
If everything shown in those clips was real, then he had grossly misjudged a gifted student.
Pandora hadn’t expected Alice to pull together so much evidence from so many sources. She was visibly shaken.
“Professor Clem, these … these don’t prove anything. I swear, I didn’t lie to you.”
Alice let out a cold laugh and clicked open another video.
She said, “This one was from a damaged surveillance camera at the university. I managed to recover the missing footage.”
She smiled faintly, but it carried a sharp edge.
“Tell me, Professor Clem—do you think you can handle the truth? Do you still want to keep watching?”
After the plagiarism accusations/first surfaced, Nelson launched his own investigation.
That was when he learned that Pandora’s grades weren’t exactly stellar.
But sometimes, talent shone through in one specific area.
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143 Who Is Innocent?
Holding onto that belief, he reviewed the evidence Pandora submitted.
She had handwritten notes and calculation logs–things that weren’t easily forged.
So, he ended up believing her.
$$ Frae Cons
Pandora had claimed she used to be a slacker but always had a passion for biomedical engineering.
Once she realized how far behind she’d fallen, she vowed to change.
She started working relentlessly, sleeping only four hours a night, to try and crack the problems that haunted her.
Eventually, she succeeded.
She shared her joy with her roommate.
But people weren’t always kind.
Not everyone wanted to see another person win.
According to her, Emma shamelessly stole everything and almost managed to become Nelson’s prized student because of it.
Now, with Alice presenting this evidence, it felt like a harsh slap across Nelson’s face.
His wisdom suddenly felt like a cruel joke.
For a long moment, he was speechless .
Then, in the heavy silence of the office, the sound of quiet crying broke through.
Everyone turned to look.
Pandora covered her mouth, trying to muffle the sobs–but as the attention turned toward her, she lost. control.
“So just because of her influence as Mrs. Nolan, you’re going to let all my hard work go to waste? You’re going to let me take the fall?”
Her voice cracked with emotion, rising higher with each word.
“I’m just a regular person. I don’t come from money like Emma. I don’t know powerful people like Mrs. Nolan.
“This thesis … It’s all I have.
“Every word I wrote–every formula, every diagram–was built with my blood , sweat, and tears.
“This thesis is like
my
child.
“And now, you’re no better than child traffickers, trying to take it from me!”
She grew more and more agitated.
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143 Who Is Innocent?
Tears poured down her face, and the rawness in her voice made her look heartbreakingly small
Nelson, who’d just moments ago been questioning everything, now felt his resolve shaking once more
He said with a clenched jaw. “Pandora, do you have any other evidence to prove your innocence?
“Don’t worry. If you can prove you’re telling the truth, I’ll stand by you–even if it costs me everything”
Pandora wept harder, her voice barely holding together.
“Professor Clem, these numbers, these pages… It’s all my handwriting. I did all this work myself.
“Oh! And isn’t there a way now to test how long ago handwriting was done?”
A flicker of hope lit her face.
“If we can get someone to run an analysis, we can compare my notes with Emma’s. That would prove who’s lying.”
Nelson’s eyes lit up. “I know someone who can do that.”
At that point, he and Pandora had completely forgotten what Alice had just shown them.
Alice didn’t interrupt. She simply stood by, watching them dig their own grave.
The footage she had restored was quite revealing.
She could only hope Nelson’s heart was strong enough for what was coming.
Then, Nelson turned toward her.
He said firmly, “Ms. Spencer, I don’t care who you are or how you managed to recover that surveillance footage.”
His voice rang with conviction.
“I only believe what I see.” –
Alice suddenly smiled.
In the tension–filled room, her smile–calm, unhurried, and unnervingly sharp–sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
C
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09:51 Sat , 12 Jul u ✪ G