~🌺Chapter eighteen 🌺
I did something nobody saw coming. Instead of defending myself publicly, I went silent as if nothing happened,While whispers and rumors swirled across campus, I offered no statements, no panicked explanations or outward signs of distress ,quiet was unnerving, and right now, that was exactly what I needed.
My room become a battlefield of information, desk overflowed with printouts, scribbled notes, timestamps, and transaction records. laptop screen was a constant glow, filled with spreadsheets and cross-referenced data. If someone had constructed a lie, they'd built it using real information. And that meant mistakes were inevitable.
Leaning back,I traced the timeline i'd meticulously crafted: dates, approvals, transactions. At first glance, it all seemed to fit together perfectly. A frown creased my brow ,that was the problem. No real system was ever truly flawless.
She leaned forward, fingers flying across the keyboard. "Let's see what I missed..." Minutes ticked by. Then i saw it. A small, almost imperceptible gap. Two approvals processed in the same minute. Both with my signature.
My lips thinned... impossible.i remembered that day vividly: stuck in a lecture hall, mid-exam, no phones, no distractions. Yet the record showed my approving funds at that exact moment. "That's careless," I murmured. Whoever orchestrated this clearly hadn't expected i to dig this deep.
My phone rang ,This time ;i answered. "Talk."
"I found something," a voice said urgently. "Access logs."
I was on my feet...and immediately said"Send it."
The laptop pinged.i opened the file, eyes scanning login records, system access points, timestamps. There it was: my account accessed from a different location. Not just once, but multiple times.
A slow breath escaped me. It was starting to make sense. "They used my credentials," I stated.
"Not just used," the voice corrected. "Copied. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing."
"Or had help," I added softly. Because access like this... it didn't come from outside. The chilling realization settled in: this was an inside job. Someone within the system, close enough to understand its inner workings.
The next morning, I returned to campus. This time, I didn't sneak in. Conversations died as she walked by. But the atmosphere had shifted, people anticipating the next news.The accusations hadn't vanished, but my own demeanor has changed. I was steady, unbothered, focused. Like someone holding a secret.
I walked directly into the administrative office. "I need full access to the council's system logs," I announced.
The secretary hesitated. "You've been restricted from"
"I know exactly what I've been restricted from," I interrupted, my tone calm but firm. "This isn't a request." There was an unshakeable certainty in my voice, quiet but commanding.
Minutes later, i have what I actually needed. And I wasted no time. By afternoon, I wasn't just defending myself in private; I was basically building a case,well structured, detailed, and irrefutable. Every piece of evidence they'd used against me was being transformed into proof of their deception.
Yet, even as I worked, a nagging detail persisted. The access logs showed multiple entries, but one stood out: a repeated login, always the same time and location. I closed the laptop slowly. My mind raced ahead. That location... it wasn't random.
That evening, i stood across the corridor from the council office. The lights were dim, the hallways mostly empty. My gaze was fixed on the door. If the system had been repeatedly accessed from the same spot, then whoever was behind this had been returning there ,confident and careless.
Footsteps echoed faintly in the distance. I remained still, unblinking, just waiting. For the first time since the scandal erupted, I wasn't reacting, was just anticipating. And tonight, I finally going to get my first real answer.