Tell me exactly what you're looking at. Elijah read the email word for word. Victor listened without interrupting, his breathing the only sound on the line. They're scared, Victor said finally. Scared people make desperate moves, but desperate moves leave evidence.
What kind of evidence? The kind that proves they planned this from the beginning. Listen to me carefully, Elijah. Document everything. Save every email, every text, every conversation.
Write down times and dates. Truth is your weapon now, but only if you preserve it. What if they expel me? What if I lose my scholarship? Then we fight back harder.
But don't let fear make decisions for you. Fear clouds judgment. Stay focused on facts. Elijah closed his eyes. I should have known the apology was fake.
You showed grace. That's not weakness. But now you know who you're dealing with. After hanging up, Elijah spent the night documenting everything he could remember. Every detail from the quad incident, every word from Grant's apology, every feeling he'd pushed down to keep the peace.
The next morning, he met Naomi at the campus newspaper office in the basement of the communications building. The cramped space smelled like old coffee and printer ink. Stacks of newspapers covered every available surface. "I've been going through everything," Naomi said, pulling up files on her computer. Look at this.
She played her original footage from the quad. The video clearly showed Trevor cracking the egg first, then pushing Elijah twice before Elijah responded. The timestamp proved the entire sequence. "This is perfect evidence," Elijah said. "It shows exactly what happened. " Naomi's expression darkened.
"That's not the version everyone's seeing now. " She opened a second video file. This clip began only when Elijah grabbed Trevor's wrist. The egg attack was completely missing. The shves were gone. It looked like Elijah had attacked Trevor without provocation.
Where did this come from? It's all over social media now. Posted from anonymous accounts, but they're getting thousands of shares. Naomi scrolled through the comments. Look at what people are saying.
The comments made Elijah's stomach turn. Words like violent and dangerous appeared over and over. Some users called him a scholarship thug who didn't belong at North River. Someone deliberately edited your footage. No, this is different camera work entirely.
Someone else was filming and they cut it to make you look guilty. Elijah sank into a chair. The apology was just for show. They were planning this the whole time. Gets worse.
Naomi pulled up another browser tab. I did some digging on the Holloway family. Grant's father, Preston, is listed as a major university donor. He's funding the new athletics complex that breaks ground next month. So, they can't touch his son.
Exactly. And guess who Preston called yesterday? Naomi showed him a photo of Dean Bellamy shaking hands with Preston Holloway at a recent fundraising event. They're not just protecting Grant, they're protecting their investment. The manipulation felt suffocating.
Every move had been calculated. The public apology made Grant look reasonable while the edited video made Elijah look dangerous. By the time the disciplinary hearing happened, public opinion would be completely turned against him. There has to be something else, Elijah said. Some way to prove this isn't the first time they've done this.
Naomi was already opening the newspaper digital archives. I've been thinking the same thing. If they're this organized, they've had practice. She searched through months of old issues looking for any mention of Omega Row or disciplinary actions. Most results showed the fraternity at charity events or campus activities.
Nothing controversial. Wait, Naomi stopped scrolling. Look at this. The article was from 18 months ago. The headline read, "Student transfers following campus adjustment difficulties. " The story was deliberately vague, mentioning only that several students had chosen to transfer to better fit their academic and social needs.
That's not much to go on, but look at this buried quote. Naomi highlighted a single sentence near the bottom. We support all students in finding the right environment for their success, said Dean Margaret Bellamy, responding to questions about recent harassment complaints. Harassment complaints, plural, which means there were multiple incidents, but they buried them. Naomi kept searching through older archives, cross-referencing names and dates from student enrollment records.
After an hour of digging, she found something that made her sit up straight. "Got it. " She pulled up a student directory from 2 years ago and pointed to a name. Darius Bell, listed as a sophomore studying computer science. "He's not in any directories after that semester," Naomi said. "But look at this. " She found a single mention of Darius in an old campus safety report.
The entry was brief and formal. Complaint filed regarding alleged harassment. Investigation pending. No follow-up reports existed. No resolution.
Nothing. Darius Bell had simply disappeared from North River's records. He transferred, Elijah said quietly. Just like they want me to do. We need to find him.
The campus libraryies archive room smelled like old paper and dust. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as Elijah and Naomi spread newspaper clippings across a long wooden table. Student directories from the past 5 years lay open beside printed enrollment records Naomi had convinced a sympathetic librarian to access. Here's another one, Naomi said, pointing to a name circled in red ink. Marcus Williams, black sophomore, disappeared from records after filing a complaint about fraternity misconduct three years ago.
Elijah studied the pattern emerging before them. Six names so far, all minority students, all gone within months of their complaints. And this one, Naomi slid another directory across the table. Jennifer Morales, Latina freshman who reported harassment to campus security, transferred the next semester. Same time frame as Darius, Elijah noted.
His jaw tightened as the scope became clear. They've been doing this for years. Look at the language in every single report. Naomi gathered the complaint summaries, always the same phrases. Alleged misconduct.
Investigation pending. Student chose to transfer for personal reasons like they're reading from a script. Elijah picked up a campus safety report from two years ago. The writing was clinical and cold. Complainant withdrew allegations following mediation session with Dean Bellamy.
Matter closed. Mediation session. He repeated bitterly. They pressure them until they give up. And guess who's involved in every single case.
Naomi showed him a stack of documents, each bearing the same signature. Margaret Bellamy's name appeared on every resolution, every dismissal, every quiet burial. She's not just protecting Grant, Elijah said. She's running the system. The archive room felt smaller now, suffocating.
Elijah stood and walked to the window, looking out at students crossing the quad where his humiliation had been filmed just yesterday. Those same students probably thought he was the problem now. They picked me because I'm older, he said quietly. Different. Someone they figured had no friends to defend him.
That's exactly what this is about. Naomi gathered the evidence into neat piles. Control through isolation. Make the target look unstable, then make them disappear. Elijah's hands clenched into fists.
The rage building inside him was different from anything he'd felt during the actual confrontation. This wasn't about one spoiled rich kid cracking an egg. This was systematic, calculated, evil. But Victor's training held him steady. Anger without control was just destruction.