Meanwhile, the professor trembled, fumbling for his phone. “You’re slandering a faculty member in public. Do you know how disrespectful that is? I’m calling the police.”
“Go ahead. Call them.” I smiled faintly and answered before he could press the dial. “Maybe they can look into the bribe you took for stealing my article and claiming credit. And while they’re at it, they can check the rumors about me, the nude photos and ‘special job’ stories, so people stop throwing dirt at me.”
The professor’s face showed a flicker of guilt, and he didn’t push the button in the end.
Amid the murmurs of everyone watching, I quietly gathered my things and stood. “My work is mine and mine alone.”
The red paint on my clothes had dried into a sticky, foul-smelling mess. It was unbearable, so I headed straight back to the dorm to shower.
But halfway through washing, I glanced up and froze as I saw a tiny red light blinking from the vent above the shower. It was a miniature camera.
So, that was how Elodie’s private videos had been leaked.
Anger slammed through me. I wrapped a towel around myself and ran out, shouting down the hall, “There’s a peeping Tom in the girls’ dorm! There’s a camera in the bathroom!”
I pounded on the dorm supervisor’s door.
The girls on the floor, drawn by the commotion, poked their heads out. As soon as they heard the word “camera,” their faces went pale.
“Miss, look at this.” I held up the little camera, trembling. “I just pulled it out of the bathroom. Everybody needs to check their rooms. If photos or videos are taken and spread, we won’t be able to clear our names, just like me.”
Tears blurred my vision. The girls near me stared for a long moment, whispering to each other.
“Isn’t she the one who had those nude photos circling around? So, it was a setup. This is awful.”
“We have to call the police. This can’t go unpunished.”
The supervisor reached for her phone to dial 911, but a hand suddenly snatched it away.
Renee was breathing hard, eyes wide with panic. “No, don’t call. This must be a misunderstanding.”
I stepped closer, keeping my voice low but urgent. “Renee, we share this dorm. What if she recorded you, too? You can’t be soft about this. We have to find out who did it.”