Chapter 4

The atmosphere in Ms. Morgan’s office was suffocating.

She sat behind her desk. Lily sat across from her, her shoulders still trembling.

I remained standing.

“Claire, explain what happened. What exactly is going on with that post?” Ms. Morgan asked sharply.

“My things were disappearing. I installed a camera to catch the thief. It caught Lily,” I said.

“That’s a lie!” Lily immediately protested. “I told you, I picked up the wrong order! She filmed me on purpose and used the video to threaten me!”

Tears spilled down her cheeks again.

Ms. Morgan frowned harder and turned to me. “Did you get permission from your two roommates before installing a camera?”

“No.”

“Then you were in the wrong,” she declared. “A dorm room is shared space. You have no right to install a private surveillance camera in it. That violates other people’s privacy. It’s illegal.”

She paused, softening her tone into something that suggested she was only looking out for me.

“Claire, I understand that you may feel wronged. But you mishandled this from the start. Public opinion is against you, and this has damaged the university’s reputation.”

“Here’s what we’ll do. Delete the video and apologize to Lily on the confessions page. Explain that this was a misunderstanding. We’ll handle it internally and keep a formal reprimand off your record.”

I listened, cold spreading through my chest.

There it was again.

No interest in right or wrong. Just make the problem disappear.

The truth didn’t matter.

The real victim didn’t matter.

Only the university’s reputation mattered.

“What if I refuse?” I asked.

Her expression darkened. “Think carefully, Claire. If you insist on escalating this, we’ll have no choice but to act under the student conduct code. You will face disciplinary action. It will go on your record and follow you for the rest of your life.”

Lily sat beside her, looking every inch the winner.

She had won.

Everyone was on her side.

I looked at Ms. Morgan’s uncompromising face and almost laughed.

“Ms. Morgan,” I said calmly, “do you know how much Lily has stolen from me?”

She blinked.

Lily’s expression changed too. “Stop making things up!”

I ignored her. “Everything from hundreds of dollars’ worth of skincare products to takeout orders. My paper. My design drafts. The total value is more than enough to warrant a criminal investigation.”

“You—”

“I came here today to resolve this. But resolving a problem starts with respecting the facts.” I looked Ms. Morgan straight in the eye. “If the university’s solution is to force the victim to apologize to the thief, then there’s nothing more for me to say.”

“I’ll call the police.”

I said those last words quietly, but they carried weight.

Ms. Morgan’s expression finally changed.

She hadn’t expected me to push back so hard.

An uneasy silence settled over the office.

Lily was clearly rattled too. She hadn’t expected me to bring up the police.

Once law enforcement became involved, this would no longer be something the university could bury.

“Claire, don’t do anything impulsive…” Ms. Morgan clearly didn’t want things to escalate.

“I’m perfectly calm,” I said. “I’m simply stating a fact. Lily needs to apologize to me and compensate me for everything I’ve lost. Otherwise, we can discuss it at the police station.”

I turned to leave.

My hand had just touched the doorknob when Lily jumped out of her chair and grabbed my arm.

Her grip was so tight that her nails nearly dug into my skin.

“Will you only be satisfied once you’ve ruined me?” she hissed, quietly enough that only I could hear.

“If I go down, you’re going down with me!”