My Best Friend Framed Me for Stealing Her FutureChapter 3

[She stole someone else’s chance and she’s not under pressure?]

[That rich-girl confidence is unreal.]

[She’s way too calm. Everything must already be fixed behind the scenes.]

Eleanor Collins, the outside compliance officer leading the review, tapped the table.

“Quiet.”

“Today we’re here to verify three things.”

“First, whether Sloane Whitmore’s selection as an Avery Scholar was legitimate and procedurally sound.”

“Second, whether the materials submitted by Mia Bennett are authentic.”

“Third, whether any board member or staff member improperly interfered with the selection process.”

Mia spoke immediately.

“I’d like to present my evidence first.”

Collins nodded.

The first document was Mia’s official transcript.

She held it up toward the cameras.

“These are my grades in humanities courses from junior and senior year.”

“Almost all A’s.”

The second set was a group of photographs.

One of them showed an AP U.S. History exam from my junior year.

A bright red C was written across the top.

Mia’s voice shook.

“She has never been strong in Humanities.”

“She struggled in U.S. History.”

“She quit Speech and Debate after one semester.”

“And yet when the Avery results came out, she was the one named an Avery Scholar.”

A female reporter immediately asked, “Sloane, how do you explain this test?”

I glanced at it.

“It’s real.”

Mia almost smiled.

“So you admit it?”

I looked at her.

“When did I ever deny it?”

The comments went wild again.

[A C!]

[How do you spin that?]

[The Humanities star lost to the girl with a C in history. Sure.]

Mia brought out the next set of documents.

“This is my Humanities portfolio.”

“It received an A-plus in our school’s internal review.”

“These are three teacher recommendations.”

“And this is the statewide writing award I won last year.”

Collins frowned slightly.

“These demonstrate your academic performance.”

“By themselves, they do not establish that Avery’s selection process was compromised.”

Mia looked at her with reddened eyes.

“That’s why I brought this.”

She took a flash drive from her bag.

“On this drive are screenshots from Avery’s internal selection system.”

The room went still.

An IT auditor took the drive and opened it on an isolated machine.

The main screen lit up.

The first image read:

HUMANITIES TRACK

SELECTION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

MIA BENNETT

STATUS: RECOMMENDED

The second read:

FINAL SELECTION

SLOANE WHITMORE

STATUS: SELECTED

The timestamps were eighteen minutes apart.

The room erupted.

The livestream comments came so fast they blurred.

[There it is.]

[It was Mia first!]

[Eighteen minutes and suddenly Sloane’s name appears?]

[Her uncle’s on the board. Amazing what connections can do.]

Mia started shaking as she cried.

“I’m not trying to destroy anyone.”

“I just want back what belonged to me.”

“Sloane.”

“Are you still going to deny it now?”