Chapter 4 - The Golden Child
A new set of documents populated the massive projector screen.
They were emails.
Hundreds of emails sent from Julian's private account to various professors and academic fixers.
"My father claimed I plagiarized my way to this degree," I announced.
"But he was projecting."
"He was trying to preemptively distract everyone from the real academic fraud in the family."
I highlighted a specific email thread.
"Julian Sterling didn't write a single paper during his four years at this university."
"Arthur Sterling paid over two hundred thousand dollars in bribes to ensure his heir graduated with honors."
"Here are the receipts."
"Here are the IP addresses of the ghostwriters."
"And here are the threatening emails my father sent to a teaching assistant who tried to blow the whistle."
The crowd was practically vibrating with shock.
Julian took a desperate step backward, looking around like a trapped animal.
Fellow graduates nearest to him physically stepped away, leaving him isolated on the brick pathway.
The golden boy of the Sterling family was suddenly toxic waste.
"You're dead, Sarah!" Julian yelled, his voice cracking with panic.
"You are absolutely dead!"
"I'm finally alive, Julian," I replied coldly.
I shifted my gaze to my mother.
She was frantically dialing a number on her diamond-encrusted smartphone.
Probably trying to reach their defense attorneys.
"And finally, to my loving mother," I said.
May you like
The camera phones in the audience immediately pivoted to capture her reaction.
She dropped her phone in sheer panic.
