Beneath the PDF, there was an image of an outgoing email thread.

The recipient was the chief of research at Vanguard Chemical, our primary corporate rival.

The sender was Hunter’s private email address.

The message to Vanguard read: *Evelyn Hayes is falsifying her safety data to get approval. Here is the actual, lethal formula she is hiding from the board.*

My heart hammered against my ribs as I stared at the altered data.

I heard the heavy door at the back of the hall swing open.

I turned toward the sound.

The heavy oak door swung on its brass hinges.

Dr. Sterling walked into the lecture hall first.

His face was pale, and his hands were tucked deep into his trench coat pockets.

Behind him came two men in dark blue university security uniforms.

Then came Hunter.

He wore his charcoal wool coat, the one I had bought him for his last birthday.

He held a leather folder against his chest.

“Evelyn,” Dr. Sterling said.

His voice bounced off the tiered wooden seats of the empty hall.

“What is going on here?” my father asked.