Chapter 4

That made the others pause. A few of them glanced back toward the staff checking invitations at the entrance.

The finals were about to start, and I didn't have time for this. I was about to tell them exactly why I was there when realization suddenly dawned on Maris. Her smile turned even more mocking.

"Oh, I get it. Did you sleep your way in? One of the judges maybe? Or some angel investor?" She looked me over again. "Broad shoulders, narrow waist, abs… Yeah, I can see it. You're exactly the type some of those older women would go for."

My expression hardened. "Maris, watch what you're saying. You're making things up about me, and if you keep spreading slander, I'll report it to the police."

The group burst out laughing.

"Go ahead," Elowen said. "We've got proof."

She pulled something up on her phone and held the screen out toward me, her chin raised smugly. The moment I saw it, my blood ran cold.

They had taken my selfie and used AI to fabricate dozens of explicit images of me. The women in the pictures had all been censored beyond recognition. I was the only identifiable person, with my face and name deliberately attached to every image.

"You've lost your minds. Do you have any idea you're committing a serious crime?"

Elowen didn't even flinch. "How's this a crime? That's your face, isn't it? Caspian is your name, isn't it? What about this is fake? How is telling the truth a crime?"

This had gone far beyond some ugly argument on a student forum.

I pulled out my phone to call the police, but Elowen lunged forward and snatched it out of my hand.

"Give that back."

"Come take it."

She slipped my phone into her pocket with a triumphant grin. The bigger guys on the team immediately stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

My stomach sank. This was getting dangerous.

A few students passing behind us spotted the group and called out. "Hey, Maris. I thought your team only had six people. Who's… Oh, wait. That's the guy from the plagiarism post! Did you guys give in? You're actually paying him the consulting fee and giving him part of the prize money?"

Maris put on a pained expression. "No. He got himself in here through… other means."

Elowen made sure the images on her phone were visible. Within seconds, every student nearby was talking.

"No way. That's insane! How desperate do you have to be to win before you start pulling something like that?"

Elowen grinned and gave an exaggerated wink. "First prize is 1.5 million dollars. If you don't have the talent to get there on your own, I guess finding the right person to sleep with is one way to do it."

Lucas nudged her arm. "You sure it was only one person?"

They all cracked up, sharing the joke between them. Even Tristan, who had been hanging awkwardly at the back of the group, started laughing.

A chill went through me. There were guys and girls among the six of them, but apparently none of that mattered. For a bigger share of the prize money, every last one of them was willing to humiliate me like this.

The students who'd stopped to watch immediately started asking Elowen to send them the pictures, practically giddy over the scandal.

"I just dropped them in our department group chat. I swear, that chat has never been this alive."

"Hey, what department are you in? Give us a heads-up so we don't ruin your chances with all the rich women over there."

Within moments, dozens of people had crowded around me. They packed in so tightly that there wasn't even a gap to squeeze through. Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't.

My hands curled into fists. Then I gave a cold laugh. "When exactly did I ever tell any of you I was a student?"

For a moment, they just stared at me. A few exchanged confused looks.

Maris waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, please. If you're not a student, what are you? Campus security?"

Her eyebrows shot up as though she'd just uncovered an even bigger scandal. "Wow. That actually makes this worse. A security guard pretending to be an upperclassman so he can weasel his way into our team and take our prize money? You've got some nerve."

At the word "security guard", several people in the crowd immediately backed away, some making exaggerated faces as they scattered.

One of the guys on the team checked his watch. "We need to go. We're presenting first, and it's about to start. He's already wasted enough of our time."

"Exactly. We've got a real shot at taking first place today. Once that 1.5 million dollars hits, we're set!"