Chapter 6: The Walls Begin to Close In
The university’s disciplinary hearing notice arrived via certified mail early Tuesday morning. The official envelope, stamped with the imposing seal of the academic senate, summoned Chloe to an emergency inquiry scheduled for Thursday at noon. Her parents sat at the kitchen table with her, reviewing the dense legalistic phrasing that outlined the charges against her. The university was moving with terrifying speed, eager to sweep the potential scandal under the rug before it leaked to external academic journals or mainstream media outlets. Every procedural loophole seemed designed to strip her of adequate defense time.
“They are railroading you,” her father stated, slamming his palm flat against the table. His face was weathered with stress, the lines around his eyes deepening over the past forty-eight hours. “They want this closed before anyone outside the department starts asking uncomfortable questions about where Vance Laboratories got the baseline data for their federal bids.” Chloe nodded slowly, looking down at the printed correspondence. She knew her father was right, but panicking would only play directly into their hands. She had spent the entire previous night organizing her digital evidence onto the offline flash drive, creating an unassailable timeline of her research methodology.
Her mother placed a warm, trembling hand over Chloe’s clenched fist. “Do you have enough to prove you wrote every line of that code yourself, honey?” Chloe took a deep, steadying breath. “I have the raw version histories, the initial statistical regression outputs, and timestamps that predate their corporate patent filing by over three months. If the committee is even remotely impartial, the data speaks for itself.” However, deep down, Chloe harbored a chilling doubt. An impartial committee required members who weren’t financially or professionally beholden to Dr. Vance’s lucrative grants and corporate sponsorships.
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That afternoon, Chloe made a discrete visit to the campus library to meet with Professor Evelyn Vance—no relation to Richard, despite the shared surname—who had served as an objective reader on her undergraduate thesis committee before the scandal broke. Professor Vance was a senior tenured historian known for her fierce integrity and unwavering defense of student rights. Sitting in the quiet corner of the faculty lounge, Chloe laid out the timeline, presenting the offline flash drive and explaining the corporate connection to Vance Laboratories without overstating her case.
Professor Vance listened in absolute silence, her sharp grey eyes studying Chloe’s face for any sign of deception. When Chloe finished, the older woman sighed heavily, removing her wire-rimmed glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Richard Vance wields an immense amount of influence over the board of regents, Chloe. Many of our department's ongoing infrastructural grants are funded through his private firm.” She looked up, her gaze steady and sympathetic. “I believe you. But bringing this to the official board without external leverage is like bringing a knife to a drone strike. We need someone outside the university bubble to look at these digital timestamps before Thursday.”
