Lessons In Corruption Novels & Stories

But as I sat in my tower room that night, with Kaelion sprawled on a chair beside me and Aurel reviewing the court documents with his usual scholarly precision, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just stepped into something far larger than any single trial. I'd shown the students what was possible. I'd exposed the Council's corruption. And now they would either adapt - or they would break. Either way, nothing at Aetherion Academia would ever be the same again.

"Until transparency begins asking questions about people with influence." Gabriel nodded. "That's always the difficult part." He looked out through the café window for a moment before continuing. "Most corruption doesn't survive because it's brilliant." Victor finished the thought. "It survives because decent people convince themselves someone else will deal with it." The three friends fell comfortably silent. It was obvious they had shared conversations like this many times before. They weren't idealists who believed they could fix the world overnight. They were professionals trying, in whatever way they could, to leave it better than they had found it.

He puts his elbows on the table, leaning on it to, according to me, look sexier because his tensed arms are fresh meat for my perverted side. Do not get distracted… “Why was it invented?” “Corruption, a large network of corruption has been discovered not only in the political sphere but also in the police sphere. As you know, it is not good to leave justice in treacherous hands, the state police are allied with politicians, hiding crimes from each other.” “Why young?” “Because we are the future of the country.” He smiles at me. I agree, everything has legal and logical bases. I can't contradict.

No one said a word. “You want to know what this really is?” I asked, leaning forward on the table. “It’s corruption. The kind that doesn’t need stealing. The kind where the elders sit at the top and take all the credit when things go right, and when things go wrong, they throw the blame on us. On me. The not-quite-Alpha.” I pushed my chair back hard and stood, shaking my head. No one stopped me as I glanced at my watch. “I can’t believe I wasted my time coming here,” I muttered.

“You stand accused of bribery, abuse of power, harassment, blackmail, gross misconduct, and discrimination against students based on their socioeconomic status. Over eighty students have submitted testimonies detailing your corrupt practices spanning the last seven years.” Seven years. Over eighty students. The numbers hit me like a brakeless truck. I knew there were many, but seven years? How many lives has this man actually destroyed within those years? “Everything against me are all just lies!” Professor Garris finally finds his voice, though it's shaky. “This is slander and a coordinated attack by useless students who want to see me destroyed—”

That's how long we'd had Leighton in our custody. “The corruption is deep,” Thea said, examining Leighton in his cell. “Deeper than anything I've seen. It's not just in his blood. It's in his bones. His soul.” “Can it be removed?” I asked. “Perhaps. With time. Months, maybe. And even then...” She shook her head. “The person who came out might not be the person who went in.” Leighton laughed. “Told you. I'm already gone. Just accept it.”

"What do you mean?" "I've seen things. This place? It's not just about punishment; it's about power. And there are some here who know how to play the game." Jenna leaned in closer. "I know about the corruption within this prison system." Isabella's heart started to beat rapidly in her chest as she said, "Corruption? What do you mean?"

******** The rest of the day I tried to focus on my training. But I moved slowly , and my mind was filled with memories I could hardly remember. Grandpa placed another stack of financial reports in front of me. “Learn to spot where the money hides,” he said, tapping the papers. “Corruption, debts, forged contracts, they always leave hints. Sometimes very little, but there will always be. Train your eyes to see them.” I nodded, staring at the black and white numbers. I circled inconsistencies, pointed out gaps, but in between my mind, I could only think about one thing. Michael.

Students and faculty were being interviewed, and it was clear we had several cases of corruption, including in the scholarship oversight committee who had made up names of recipients so they could pocket the funds. “It’s the nature of teachers,” Dr. Preston had told me during a meeting three days ago while we were still trying to figure out just how bad things had gotten. “The profession attracts the best and worst kinds of people, the ones who are devoted to the students despite the bad pay and those who can’t get a better job and are just out to take whatever they can.”

"Meaning we need to understand exactly what we're doing, not simply repeat the same words and gesture a second time." "That's my interpretation, yes. Voradine's theory suggested the corruption exploits ignorance as much as force, an unwilling party who doesn't fully understand what's being done to them, layered onto a binding sealed by two people who may not have fully understood the mechanism they were completing either, simply trusting the old tradition to work as intended." Corvain met her eyes directly. "The counter-measure, if it's meant to be the opposite of that corruption, would logically require the reverse. Full understanding, full consent, full comprehension of exactly what the ce