Chapter 182 Suspicion
Dr. Dubois raised her hand. “Let’s discuss this outside. Miss Vance should get back to her design-”
A guy burst in before she could finish.
He leaned in and murmured something directly into her ear.
Dr. Dubois stiffened.
Her eyes shifted–once to me, once to Octavia, then back again.
“The feed from this room’s surveillance was cut as soon as you entered, Miss Grey. It came back when you stepped out to find us.”
Octavia narrowed her eyes. “You want to run that by me again?”
“We couldn’t see what was happening in here. Which gives us reason to suspect collusion between you and Miss Vance.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “You think we hacked the system so I could cheat?”
“That’s correct,” Dubois said, nodding once. “Surveillance is in place to ensure fairness. We have staff watching in real time. But this feed went black. We have no idea what took place during that window.”
Octavia’s hands slammed onto the table. “What kind of amateur setup is this? The tablet malfunctions, no one brings the meal on time, and now you’re pinning your tech failure on me? Do I look like I moonlight as a hacker?”
“Please calm down,” Dubois said stiffly. “Given your frequent online interactions with Miss Vance, we’re aware of your close rapport. We believe you may have provided her with external input–sketches, design references–something that could compromise the integrity of the competition.”
Octavia exhaled through her teeth. “I was in here for under a minute. If I’d wanted to cheat, I would’ve needed a hell of a lot more time. This is complete fabrication. Don’t shove the blame on me because you can’t run your own event.”
I held up the tablet. “The sketches were done before she came in. Every stroke’s timestamped. She wasn’t in here long enough to pass me anything, let alone for me to use it.”
“Exactly!” Octavia snapped. “Ah, now I see. They dragged me in here for a reason. They’d already decided to pin the whole thing on me.”
Everyone turned to look at the tablet in my hands.
Four completed designs glowed on the screen–colored stones, detailed mounts, precise annotations.
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Someone near the door gave a low whistle.
Another leaned in for a better look.
Dubois’s mouth twitched, tightened, then relaxed again.
That flicker of surprise vanished as quickly as it came.
“Regardless, this doesn’t eliminate the suspicion Miss Vance, you have two options. First, void the current designs. You’ll redraw everything under full surveillance. No extra time will be given.”
The tablet felt heavier in my grip.
There were maybe three hours left.
I spoke slowly. “And the second option?”
“Immediate disqualification.”
“On what grounds?”
Dubois shrugged. “My hands are tied. We have to protect the integrity of the competition. Letting you continue when there’s a possibility of cheating would be unfair to the others.”
‘Accusing me without proof is what’s actually unfair.”
She shook her head, patronizing. “It’s not an accusation. It’s just suspicion at this stage, but it’s going to affect the rest of the contestants. If you truly cared about this craft, you’d approach the contest with honesty. Not shortcuts.”
“Oh, fuck off. I didn’t take shortcuts, and I didn’t cheat. This competition means everything to me. I’d never sabotage it. You know that. You know I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Octavia nodded. “Yeah!”
I straightened my shoulders and stared right at Dubois. “And I wouldn’t need to cheat. I can out–design every one of those other contestants in my sleep. What would I even gain?”
“The footage cuts out exactly when Miss Grey en ered. Just here, nowhere else. Explain that.”
“That’s your system failure, not mine.” I shrugged. “I’m not here to explain your tech problems. You think I cheated? Prove it. Otherwise, stop acting like the victim owes you an explanation.”
Octavia chimed in, “Exactly. You think we pulled off some elaborate scheme in sixty seconds? Then you’d better tell us what, exactly, you think happened.”
Dubois’s gaze dropped to the floor for a second before she straightened up again.
“Fine. We’ll open a formal inquiry. We’ll find out whether the equipment failed or if Miss Grey
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used a signal jammer. But“-she gave a short, smug laugh-“an investigation takes time. If you refuse to submit a new draft now, we’ll take that as a voluntary withdrawal.”
Octavia tugged me aside. “This whole setup reeks I smell a trap. Screw them, let’s walk. Don’t let them treat you like shit.”
I didn’t move. “If I walk now, I’m handing them the narrative. That’s as good as admitting guilt.”
“You’ve got three hours. Can you even pull off a brand–new concept in that time?”
“I’ll try. I didn’t come all this way to roll over.”
I turned back to Dubois.
“I’ll stay. I’ll draw something new. But you’d better get to the bottom of the surveillance issue. If you don’t come back with hard proof that we sabotaged anything, then you’ve slandered me, and I will take legal action the second this competition ends.”
Dubois gave a clipped nod. “Fine. That’s settled.”
She reached for the tablet in my hands. “This one’s compromised. Your original draft is void. We’ll issue a replacement.”
Before she could touch it, Octavia snatched it clean out of her reach.
“All of Mirabelle’s files are on here. Even if it’s disqualified, it’s still her work. You don’t get to walk off with it.”
Dubois backed off, reluctantly. “Fine. Keep it.”
Octavia smirked. “And if the surveillance goes dark again, then we both know someone on your end is screwing with her.”
Dubois narrowed her eyes. “The feed’s back online. It won’t happen again.”
She turned on her heel and left.
Octavia hugged me. “You just focus on drawing. I’ll deal with the rest. No way in hell we’re letting this slide.”
“Thanks.”
Someone brought me a replacement tablet, still warm from the box, and a lunch tray I didn’t touch.
I shut my eyes.
Two ideas had been fighting for space in my head earlier.
I’d gone with the safer one.
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Now I had a chance to sketch the other.
But the clock was brutal.
I drew in a few deep breaths, held the last one, and opened my eyes.
The nerves didn’t vanish, but my grip on the stylus stopped shaking.
I didn’t give a shit what Dubois thought I’d done
I’d deal with her later.
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