Chapter 1 - The Broadcast
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," I said, my voice echoing off the brick buildings enclosing the Great Lawn. It didn't tremble. It didn't waver.
I looked down at the A/V technician sitting just below the stage. He was a sophomore I had tutored in calculus for two semesters. His eyes were wide, darting between me and the furious man in the navy suit.
"Marcus," I addressed the tech directly, holding up the tiny metallic square. "Override the main feed. Play the audio file named 'Sterling_Endowment_01'."
My father let out a guttural scream, abandoning his pristine public image. "Don't you dare!" He lunged toward the stage, but the two campus police officers who had been slowly approaching me suddenly pivoted, intercepting him.
Marcus didn't hesitate. He snatched the SD card from my hand, slotted it into his control deck, and bypassed the chancellor's microphone.
A moment of static crackled over the thousand-watt speakers. Then, a voice filled the courtyard. It was crisp. It was arrogant. It was unmistakably Arthur Sterling.
"I don't care how you hide it, just route the three million from the university's new science wing into the shell account. If Montgomery asks, tell him construction costs inflated. I'm sitting on the board of trustees; no one is going to audit me."
Another voice joined the recording—Julian's.
"What about Clara, Dad? She works in the admin office. What if she sees the ledger?"
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"Clara is a naive little girl," my father’s recorded voice scoffed. "If she opens her mouth, I'll just remind everyone about her 'mental instability.' Nobody believes a crazy person."
The silence on the Great Lawn was deafening. Thousands of eyes shifted simultaneously from me to Arthur Sterling. The mighty executive was suddenly looking very small, pinned between two campus guards.
