Chapter 3

The next morning at eight, in the conference room of the Law School's administrative building, the air was thick with tension, making it hard to breathe.

Across the long table sat three senior professors from the faculty academic committee.

Lily's eyes were red and swollen, a clear sign she'd been crying all night.

Ethan sat beside her, his face pale and grim, but he was still trying to tough it out.

"Professors, this is really a misunderstanding," Ethan braced himself and spoke up, doing his best to cover for Lily. "Lily didn't directly do the data analysis.

"But she handled the collection and translation of a lot of important research materials.

"We believe her contributions fully warrant her being named as the first author."

Josh Adams, sitting at the head of the table, cleared his throat.

As the advisor for this paper, he was obviously focused on protecting his own reputation.

He definitely didn't want an academic scandal to erupt, especially now. "Joanna, you know how it is with group projects; people always end up seeing things differently."

Josh was clearly trying to smooth things over. "Since everyone worked hard, why don't we ask the journal to update the author list?

"You and Lily can both be listed as co-first authors, and let's call it a day. No need to let this mess screw up anyone's grad school plans."

Co-first author?

I looked at Josh's fake smile, and all I felt was disappointment.

To keep things smooth, they were willing to abandon the most basic academic principles.

"I refuse." I didn't pause; those words came out strong and clear, leaving no room for doubt.

Then, I strode over to the control panel and plugged in my flash drive.

The big screen flickered to life, showing off the most crucial data models and legal logic charts from the paper.

I spun around, fixing Lily with a piercing stare. "Lily, since you're the first author, go ahead and explain it to the professors."

I aimed the laser pointer at the trickiest formula on the screen. "In this piercing model for joint liability involving nominee shareholders, what's the underlying logic for citing Article 43 of the Trust Law as the cut-off mechanism?

"And if a bona fide third party raises a defense, how would you modify the data set?"

The conference room fell dead silent.

Lily's face turned white as a sheet in an instant.

She stared blankly at the screen, overwhelmed by the wall of technical jargon, beads of cold sweat rolling down her forehead. "I... Um, the blocking mechanism is..."

She fumbled for words, couldn't even manage a single proper legal phrase.

Ethan jumped in, trying to bail her out. "Joanna, you know Lily struggles with these technical logic models. You're deliberately putting her on the spot!"

"Shut up!" I cut Ethan off, completely dominating the room. "If you can't explain the core logic of your own paper, do you really deserve to be the first author?

"I've got every single draft, tens of thousands of words, right here, and every edit is time-stamped on my computer.

"What do you have to challenge me with?

"Or are you relying on your thick skin?"

Lily couldn't take the crushing shame and fear anymore; she broke down on the spot, sobbing uncontrollably.

She completely fell apart, her last layer of fake composure stripped away for everyone to see.

Josh, realizing he couldn't keep up appearances any longer and his reputation was shot, slammed his hand on the table in a fit of rage. "Joanna! You're unbelievably arrogant.

"It's a paper! Do you really have to drag your own classmate's name through the mud and ruin her completely?

"With a mind this narrow and ruthless, you're not fit to call yourself a lawyer!"

He threatened me, his tone cold and severe. "Getting into grad school isn't about your GPA; they also look at your overall conduct score.

"Don't think I can't destroy your future. If I write selfish and disruptive to the team in your character evaluation, you'll never get close to Riverdale University."

Faced with Josh's power play, I stood my ground, completely unfazed by his threats.

Instead, I calmly opened my briefcase.

"Mr. Adams, you don't need to bother scoring me," I said calmly. I took out a thick stack of papers.

On the cover was a prestigious seal from the highest authority in the legal field.

"Because I don't need your recommendation," I added.