Chapter 14: Stolen Opportunity
744 Words
The university auditorium buzzed with nervous energy.
Today was the mock presentation for all research finalists—a rehearsal before the official Inter-University Research and Innovation Competition.
Every participant knew the panel’s feedback could determine who would ultimately represent the university.
Ariana sat quietly in the front row, reviewing her slides one last time.
She took a deep breath.
“You’ve prepared for this,” she reminded herself.
“Trust yourself.”
⸻
Professor Kael entered the auditorium with the other faculty evaluators.
His expression remained as unreadable as ever.
“Good morning,” the panel chair announced.
“Each presenter will have fifteen minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session.”
The first few students delivered strong presentations.
Applause echoed politely after each one.
Then…
“Next presenter—Miss Ariana Monteverde.”
Ariana stood and walked confidently toward the podium.
She connected her laptop to the projector.
The screen lit up.
Then froze.
She frowned.
“No…”
She searched through every folder.
Her presentation was gone.
Every slide.
Every graph.
Every citation.
Gone.
Whispers spread across the room.
“What’s happening?”
“Did her laptop crash?”
Ariana’s hands trembled as she searched again.
Nothing.
Her carefully prepared presentation had disappeared.
⸻
The panel chair checked the time.
“Miss Monteverde, do you require technical assistance?”
“I…”
She swallowed hard.
“My file is missing.”
The university technician examined the laptop.
“It looks like the presentation was deleted.”
Deleted.
Not corrupted.
Deleted.
⸻
The room fell silent.
Ariana felt dozens of eyes on her.
Weeks of preparation…
Gone in seconds.
Professor Kael watched quietly from the panel.
His instinct was to intervene.
But he couldn’t.
Not here.
Not now.
Every finalist had to be treated equally.
⸻
The panel chair spoke gently.
“You may withdraw and present at the end of today’s session if you need time.”
Ariana looked at the blank projector screen.
Then at the audience.
Slowly…
She closed her laptop.
“No.”
The room became silent.
“I’ll continue.”
The panel members exchanged surprised glances.
“Without your slides?” one professor asked.
Ariana nodded.
“Yes, Professor.”
She stepped away from the podium and faced the audience.
For the next fifteen minutes…
She explained every section of her research from memory.
The objectives.
The methodology.
The statistical analysis.
The expected outcomes.
Without a single visual aid.
When the questioning began, she answered each challenge calmly, supporting every claim with evidence she had memorized during months of study.
By the time she finished…
The auditorium erupted in applause.
Even students from rival departments clapped.
The panel chair smiled.
“Remarkable.”
⸻
Professor Kael didn’t smile.
But for the first time in front of his colleagues, he spoke before anyone else.
“Miss Monteverde.”
She looked toward him.
“You demonstrated something far more valuable than prepared slides.”
The room waited.
“You demonstrated mastery of your work.”
Ariana bowed respectfully.
“Thank you, Professor.”
⸻
After the presentations ended, the university’s IT technician approached the panel.
“We’ve finished checking Miss Monteverde’s laptop.”
“And?”
“The presentation wasn’t accidentally deleted.”
“It was removed using another student’s flash drive connected to the laptop earlier this morning.”
Gasps spread through the room.
The technician continued.
“We’ve identified the device.”
Professor Kael’s eyes narrowed.
“Can you identify its owner?”
The technician nodded.
“Yes.”
The auditorium fell completely silent.
The technician looked down at his report before speaking.
“The flash drive is registered to…”
Before he could finish—
The auditorium doors swung open.
A campus security officer hurried inside.
“Professor Villanueva!”
Everyone turned.
“You need to come with us immediately.”
Kael stood.
“What happened?”
The officer hesitated.
“We’ve detained a student attempting to destroy evidence related to the anonymous threats.”
Ariana’s eyes widened.
The room was filled with stunned silence.
At last…
The person behind the sabotage had made a move.
⸻
End of Chapter 14
Chapter 15 Teaser:
Campus security questions the detained student while the IT investigation links the deleted presentation to a specific flash drive. As the evidence mounts, Ariana and Professor Kael learn that the sabotage may be part of a larger plan designed to eliminate Ariana from the competition and ruin Professor Kael’s reputation at the same time.
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