CHAPTER 2 — My Brother Ran Before the Truth Could Catch Him
Ethan shoved through graduates and families, knocking a camera from someone’s hand.
“Ethan!” my mother screamed.
He didn’t stop.
Two security officers chased him across the courtyard.
My father twisted against the guards holding him.
“He’s scared! That doesn’t mean he did anything!”
Daniel Reed ignored him.
He turned to Professor Hughes.
“We received an anonymous complaint three weeks ago. It claimed Emily Bennett stole several sections of her senior research project.”
“That’s absurd,” Professor Hughes said. “I supervised her work.”
“The complaint included drafts bearing another student’s name.”
“Whose name?” I asked, though I already knew.
Daniel glanced toward the direction Ethan had fled.
“Ethan Bennett.”
My stomach tightened.
Ethan was two years younger than me. He attended the same university, though my parents had paid his tuition, rent, and expenses without hesitation.
I had worked nights at a twenty-four-hour pharmacy.
He had complained when his apartment gym closed early.
My mother stepped closer to Daniel.
“This is a misunderstanding. Ethan helped Emily. She must have become confused about which work belonged to whom.”
I stared at her.
“You’re already changing the story.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“You’re emotional.”
“I’m not emotional.”
My cheek throbbed.
My hands trembled.
But for once, I wasn’t afraid of her.
“I’m finally paying attention.”
A security officer’s radio crackled.
“We found the male suspect near the east parking lot.”
Then came another voice.
“He’s trying to destroy a laptop.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“What laptop?”
The answer came through the radio.
“It has a university inventory tag.”
Professor Hughes went still.
“That sounds like a research department computer.”
Daniel started walking.
I followed him.
Behind me, my father shouted, “Emily, stop!”
I looked back once.
He no longer looked angry.
May you like
He looked terrified.
And that frightened me more.
