Chapter 3
The Vice President walked up to me and looked down at me.
“Bree, the school entrusted you with such an important Research Laboratory.”
Is this how you teach your students?”
I held onto the wall and slowly forced myself to stand.
Theodore walked over and handed the investigation report
to the Vice President.
Mr. Collins, the investigation is already complete.”
The facts are clear.”
Bree miscalculated the reaction threshold of the reagent
while supervising the experiment, causing it to overheat and explode.”
Aubrey was only taking notes beside her at the time.”
I stared at Theodore.
He lied without even blinking.
The truth was, I had only gone to get another set of materials.
Aubrey was the one who opened the heater without permission.
The Vice President took the report and looked through it,
“If the facts are already clear, why hasn’t she signed it yet?”
Theodore sighed.
Bree thinks this disciplinary action will affect her
Tenure–track promotion review next year.”
So she has been refusing to sign.”
“She even… wants Aubrey to take the blame for her.”
The Vice President let out a cold laugh.
“That’s completely unacceptable!”
“You’re a professor.”
You made a mistake, but you don’t even have the courage to
take responsibility?”
How could our university have a professor like this?”
opened my mouth, trying to explain.
But all that came out was a violent cough.
A few drops of blood appeared.
My mother walked out of the observation room.
She didn’t even step closer to look at the blood on the floor.
Her brows only tightened.
“Bree, how much longer are you going to keep pretending?”
“Biting the inside of your mouth to make it look like you’re coughing up blood?”
“You used this trick when you were a child.”
She turned to the Vice President.
“Mr. Collins, I’m Bree’s mother.”
I have to say this objectively.”
“Bree has always been very aggressive in the lab.”
As her mother, I also have to take responsibility for not guiding her properly.”
With the calmest voice, she turned everyone against me.
The patients and nurses watching nearby started whispering.
Wow! So she really caused the accident herself?”
And she wanted the student to take the blame?”
That’s shameless!”
Her mother is actually being fair.”
‘She isn’t protecting her own daughter at all.”
looked at the people around me.
Suddenly, everything felt absurd.
My own mother,
My own husband.
They had joined forces to frame me.
I endured the tearing pain in my throat.
I took out my phone.
I opened my
email.
At the top was a message from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dear Bree, we are excited to welcome you to our Leading Research Laboratory.]
The email had arrived a week ago.
Back then, because of Theodore…
Because of this family….
had hesitated to accept.
Now, looking back, I realized I had been nothing but a joke.
My fingers trembled as I typed in the reply box,
[Accept.]
pressed send.
Then I put my phone away.
walked up to Theodore.
I took the Incident Report from his hand,
Then I signed my name at the bottom.
Bree.
Theodore froze.
He clearly hadn’t expected me to agree so easily.
“Bree, I’m glad you finally came to your senses.”
ignored him.
I turned around and handed the report back to the Vice President.
The Vice President nodded with satisfaction.
“That’s better.”
When young people make mistakes, owning them is what
makes a good professor.”
turned and walked away.
Lucas called out behind me.
Bree, where are you going?”
Your throat needs treatment immediately!”
I didn’t turn around.
I only waved my hand.
Treatment?
Under Evelyn’s watch, there was no way I could receive proper treatment.
I walked out of the Emergency Department.
I stopped a taxi.
I typed a message on my phone and showed it to the driver.
“Downtown Medical Center.”
The driver glanced at my pale face and the blood at the
corner of my mouth.
His expression changed.
He stepped on the gas immediately.
When I arrived at Downtown Medical Center, the doctors performed a complete laryngoscopy examination.
The moment they saw the images on the screen, the doctor sucked in a sharp breath.
“Both of your vocal cords have severe chemical burns.”
“How did you wait this long before coming in?”
Another thirty minutes, and even God wouldn’t have been able to save you.”
gave a bitter smile.
I couldn’t answer.
That night, the doctors immediately scheduled my surgery.