Chapter 4 — The History No One Checked
Robert found the file first.
It was inside Caleb’s study drawer.
Hidden beneath engineering notebooks and technical sketches.
A printed university incident report.
Beatrice Lang.
Grace read the document slowly.
Suspended pending academic integrity review.
No official fault assigned.
No criminal action.
But one handwritten note in the margin changed everything:
“Primary contributor: Caleb H.”
Grace looked up.
“This says he was responsible.”
Robert shook his head.
“No,” he said slowly. “It says he was involved.”
Frank leaned over.
“That’s different.”
Robert nodded.
“It means there was more than one person.”
Grace turned pages.
Emails.
Meeting notes.
A faculty warning.
Then a final line from a supervisor:
“If this data leak is confirmed, both students may face disciplinary removal.”
Grace froze.
“Both?” she whispered.
Robert looked grim.
“That means Katherine may not be innocent in his mind,” he said.
Grace felt a slow dread rise in her chest.
“Or,” she said quietly, “he thinks she was part of it.”
Frank exhaled.
“This is why he did what he did tonight.”
Robert shook his head firmly.
May you like
“No,” he said. “This is why he believes what he did was justified.”
And that was worse.
