Barbara stood up so fast her chair scraped loudly against the floor.

“This is absurd, Arthur,” Barbara snapped. “You cannot barge in here with fabricated papers to protect your daughter’s failure.”

“I also have security footage from the chemistry lab,” Arthur added coldly.

“It shows Hunter entering the facility with your keycard, Barbara. He contaminated the physical control samples.”

Dr. Sterling adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses and opened the folder.

He flipped through the pages, his expression hardening with every second.

The silence in the room was absolute, save for the ticking of the wall clock.

“This is highly irregular,” Dr. Sterling said. “But the digital signatures on these logs are authenticated by our IT department.”

He looked up, his gaze shifting from Hunter to me.

“Evelyn, your original thesis files were restored from our secure offline backup this morning,” Dr. Sterling said.

“The committee has reviewed them. Your biochemical synthesis is complete, and your defense is successful.”

The tension in my chest snapped, leaving me lightheaded.

“Thank you, Dr. Sterling,” I whispered.

The security guards stepped into the room, gesturing toward the exit.

“Mr. Vance, Mrs. Vance, I must ask you to leave the campus immediately,” Dr. Sterling said.

Barbara glared at me, her mouth twisted in rage, before she turned and marched out.

Hunter lingered for a moment as the guard took his arm.

He broke away from the guard’s grip and stepped closer to my podium.

“You think your father did this to save you?” Hunter whispered.

His breath smelled of stale coffee, and his eyes were wild.

“Ask him why he paid for the new campus lab, Evelyn,” Hunter sneered.

“Ask him who actually owns your biochemical patents now.”

The guard grabbed Hunter’s shoulder and pulled him out of the room.

The door clicked shut behind them.

I stood frozen at the podium, Hunter’s words echoing in my mind.