Chapter 5
By eight that evening, the plane had reached cruising altitude.
I turned off my phone and stared out at the endless darkness beyond the window.
By now, they should have completely lost their minds.
At the same time, inside a luxury restaurant.
Theodore had reserved the entire dining hall.
He was celebrating Aubrey’s acceptance into a fully funded
PhD program offer.
My mother sat at the center of the table, smiling as she
accepted everyone’s compliments.
Dr. Baldwin, your student is truly impressive!”
Exactly. After surviving that accident, good things are finally coming her way.”
Aubrey wore an expensive gown.
She held a wine glass and politely greeted everyone.
“It’s all because of Evelyn and Theodore’s guidance.”
Theodore looked at her with gentle eyes,
“Aubrey, if you ever run into any problems at school, come to
me anytime.”
The atmosphere was warm and cheerful.
Then suddenly, Theodore’s phone started vibrating nonstop,
He glanced at the caller ID.
It was Mr. Collins, the university’s vice president.
He answered the call.
Before he could even say a word, Mr. Collins‘ furious voice
exploded through the speaker.
Theodore, get online and look at what’s happening!”
“What the hell did you do?”
Theodore froze.
“Mr. Collins, what happened?”
“Go look at the trending posts yourself!”
The call ended abruptly.
Theodore frowned and opened Instagram.
The top trending post immediately caught his attention.
A hashtag was spreading rapidly across the platform.
Youngest Associate ProfessorFramed — Leaked Recording
Exposes The Truth
He tapped on the post.
A clear audio recording suddenly filled the restaurant,
Because his phone was connected to the restaurant’s
Bluetooth speakers. Aubrey’s arrogant and vicious voice
echoed through the entire hall.
“I checked the reaction threshold of that reagent…”
The security cameras were already broken two days ago.”
Now all the evidence points to you.”
The entire room went dead silent.
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
All eyes turned toward Aubrey.
The wine glass slipped from her hand.
It hit the floor with a sharp crash.
The glass shattered into pieces.
Aubrey’s face instantly turned pale.
No…”
This isn’t real!”
This recording was synthesized by AI!”
Bree made this up to frame me!”
Theodore stared at his phone screen.
His hand tightened.
Shock and fury flashed across his face.
He suddenly looked up at Aubrey.
“You lied to me?”
The smile on my mother’s face completely froze.
She stood up slowly.
Her body trembled slightly.
‘Aubrey…”
“The voice in that recording…”
“Was that really you?”
Aubrey dropped to her knees.
She grabbed the hem of my mother’s dress.
Evelyn, please believe me.”
“I was forced into this.”
“It was Bree.”
“She made me say those things.
Bang!”
The restaurant doors were suddenly kicked open,
Lucas walked in wearing casual clothes.
He carried a brown paper folder in his hand.
He strode straight toward my mother and Theodore.
His face twisted with anger.
“You’re still throwing her a celebration dinner?”
“Do you even know what happened to Bree?!”
He slammed the folder onto the table.
Medical reports and surgical records scattered across the surface.
“Severe chemical burns on both vocal cords.”
“Extensive necrosis of the epiglottic mucosa.”
Lucas‘ voice echoed through the dining hall.
She was forced to transfer to another hospital because of you!”
She had emergency surgery that same night.”
And she may never be able to speak again.”
And you…
“You’re sitting here celebrating the person who caused all of this?!”
Theodore froze.
He stumbled backward.
His chair crashed behind him.
“What are you talking about?”
“She only had…”
“She only had mild inhalation irritation…”
Lucas let out a cold laugh.
Then he pointed at my mother.
“You should ask your precious Dr. Baldwin about that.”
“She didn’t even perform the most basic examination on her own daughter.”
“She delayed treatment until she missed the critical window for saving her!”
My mother stared at the surgical records scattered on the table.
Every word on those pages stabbed at her pride as a surgeon
with thirty years of experience.
Her face turned gray.
Her lips trembled.
“No…”
That’s impossible!”
“She looked fine at the time!”
‘She has always liked pretending to be sick since she was a child.”
Lucas cut her off without hesitation.
“Pretending to be sick?”
“Dr. Baldwin, you couldn’t even recognize your own daughter’s
breathing problems?”
‘Do you really deserve to call yourself a doctor?!”
Theodore rushed forward like he had lost control.
He grabbed Lucas by the collar.
“Where is Bree?”
“Where is she now?!”
Lucas shoved him away.
His eyes were filled with disgust.
Looking for her?”
Too late.”
She’s already gone.”