“Sarah, if you hadn’t secretly taken photos of his manuscript and sent them to me, I never would have been able to publish it first. I wouldn’t have been able to weaponize the media to brand him a plagiarist.” “Well, it’s done now,” my mother replied coldly. “You took his position, and now we can finally be together in the open.” The man’s laughter echoed through the phone like a demon from hell. “By the way, you’re pregnant with my child now. What are you going to do with Arthur’s little bastard?” My mother was silent for three seconds before she spoke the words that would haunt me forever. “Dump him in some rust-belt town in the middle of nowhere. Let him rot.” After that, I survived by picking through dumpsters and working grueling odd jobs just to put myself through school. Twenty years later, I had become a rising star in the medical field. Because of my surgical expertise and research, I was invited to sit on the panel for a prestigious doctoral dissertation defense at an Ivy League university. As I flipped through the final dissertation of the day, my blood ran cold. Portions of the text were eerily similar to the handwritten notes my father had left behind. The committee secretary leaned in and whispered, “Dr. Morgan, brilliant paper, isn’t it? The candidate, Julian Vance, is the son of Dr. Thomas Vance—the absolute titan of the medical community. Word is, if he passes this defense, he’s already got a guaranteed fellowship with a top-tier medical team in Switzerland.” Hearing the name Thomas Vance, a sharp glint of ice flashed in my eyes. After Julian Vance finished his presentation, he stood before me with a smug, overly confident smirk. I looked at him and spoke into the microphone, my voice dead flat. “This dissertation contains blatant plagiarism. I recommend immediate rejection.” 1. “Plagiarism?” The arrogant smile on Julian’s face froze. The rest of the panel stared at me in absolute shock. “Dr. Morgan, we ran this through every plagiarism checker on the market. It’s completely clean. If anything, it echoes the brilliance of Dr. Vance’s early work.” “Exactly,” another professor chimed in, sweating nervously. “He is Dr. Thomas Vance’s son. He would never resort to plagiarism. This is an insult to the Vance family name. Surely, you must be mistaken.” The secretary gently nudged my arm. “Dr. Morgan, maybe you should take another look? After all, Julian is—” “I don’t care whose son he is,” I interrupted, my voice echoing in the silent auditorium. “And I don’t care what your software missed.” “I am the chair of this defense committee. I say the paper contains plagiarized concepts, which means it is rejected.” I kept my gaze locked on Julian. He stared back, his eyes narrowing into slits. He slowly walked up to my desk, picked up his dissertation, and let out a contemptuous scoff. “Dr. Morgan. I assume you know who my father is. He personally reviewed and guided this paper. Who the hell are you to call it plagiarized?” He leaned in, lowering his voice into a threat. “This defense is the final stepping stone for my European fellowship. Do you have any idea what it means for you if you reject me?” “What it means for you is none of my concern,” I replied evenly. “I only know that I have the final say on whether you pass or fail.” A vicious shadow crossed his face. He glared at me. “Dr. Morgan, I don’t believe I’ve ever offended you. What’s your reason for targeting me?” “I’ll give you one last chance. Pass me right now, or I promise you, I will make you regret you were ever born.” I leaned back in my chair. “You can give me a thousand chances. A fail is a fail.” He gritted his teeth, nodding slowly. “Fine. Good. We’ll see about that.” Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the hall. Watching his retreating back, I shook my head. Compared to the ruthless, calculating patience his father possessed, Julian’s hot-headed arrogance was pathetic. Around me, the other committee members were whispering frantically. A younger professor stood up and pointed an angry finger at me. “Dr. Morgan, do you have any idea what you’ve just done? Julian Vance going to Switzerland was going to bring groundbreaking knowledge back to American medicine! By doing this, you are actively sabotaging the future of healthcare!” “Dr. Thomas Vance is our university’s biggest benefactor! He guest-lectures here out of the goodness of his heart!” “By rejecting his son, you just slapped a medical titan across the face! If he pulls his funding, the university will suffer massive losses, and it will be entirely your fault!” “I don’t care if you’re a rising star, you can’t survive this!” I turned to look at the furious professor. I pulled out my phone, searched his name on the faculty directory, and put it away. “You’re one of Thomas Vance’s former students, aren’t you?” He flinched, then puffed out his chest. “How dare you speak Dr. Vance’s name with such disrespect?! Julian’s paper is the finest piece of medical literature I’ve seen in a decade, second only to his father’s work!” “I suggest you go to the Vance estate and beg for forgiveness immediately, or your career in medicine is officially over!” I let out a harsh laugh. “No plagiarism? Makes sense. With your limited intellect, I wouldn’t expect you to catch it.” His face turned purple. “You’ve gone too far!” “I am reporting everything that happened here to Dr. Vance! You just wait!” He grabbed his briefcase and stormed out. The other professors physically distanced themselves from me, terrified of being caught in the crossfire. I ignored them. I looked down at the copy of Julian’s dissertation on my desk, the ice in my veins growing colder. Twenty years ago, his father stole everything from my dad, driving him to his grave. Today… I was just collecting a little bit of interest. 2. After the morning session, I retreated to the visiting faculty lounge. It didn’t take long for the uninvited guests to arrive. The Dean of the medical school—a man usually known for his strict, commanding presence—was currently bowing and scraping like a lapdog next to an older man. “Dr. Vance, please, this is the committee chair you were looking for.” Julian stood next to his father, pointing a furious finger at me. “Dad! That’s him! He’s the one who failed me!” The older man shifted his gaze to me. “I’ve heard rumors about a brilliant new prodigy making waves in the surgical field. That must be you.” “You’re the one who rejected my son’s dissertation?” I looked up slowly. Even though I hadn’t seen him twenty years ago, the moment I laid eyes on him, my blood boiled. This was the monster who murdered my father. “That’s right. I did.” He stared at me, his eyes cold and calculating. “Why?” “Because it’s plagiarized.” Julian immediately exploded. “Bullshit! When did I ever plagiarize?! I spent months in the lab running trials with my dad to write this!” “By questioning me, you are questioning the integrity of the entire American medical establishment!” I scoffed. “The apple truly doesn’t fall far from the rotting tree.” A dangerous glint flashed in Thomas Vance’s eyes. “You accuse my son of theft. Where is your proof?” “I don’t need to present proof to you,” I said calmly. “I am his committee chair. I have the academic authority to evaluate his work, and it is not your place to dictate my grading.” Hearing this, Thomas could no longer maintain his facade of aristocratic calm. His voice dropped to a menacing growl. “Do you have any idea who you are talking to, boy?” Seeing him angry, the Dean panicked and shot me a furious glare. “Dr. Morgan! This is Dr. Thomas Vance! Twenty years ago, he revolutionized oncology with a single groundbreaking paper, and he has been a pillar of the medical community ever since!” “Show some respect to your elders!” The Dean quickly turned back to Thomas, practically groveling. “Dr. Vance, please don’t be angry with the younger generation. He clearly just misread Julian’s data. I assure you, he will revise the final grade immediately.” Thomas adjusted his cuffs and let out a cold snort. “My son was scouted by the most elite research team in Europe. This paper was his final hurdle. If he passes today, he leaves for Switzerland tomorrow.” “I never expected some nobody to try and block his path.” “But fine. Dean, out of respect for you… if this boy publicly apologizes to my son, admits he acted out of professional jealousy, and passes the paper, I’ll let it slide. I might even offer him some career mentorship.” Julian smirked, looking at me with pure triumph. “Some ‘rising star.’ In front of my dad, you still have to bow your head like a dog.” The Dean shot me a desperate look. “Dr. Morgan, hurry up and thank Dr. Vance! To be mentored by him is an opportunity millions would kill for!” I let out a short, sharp laugh. “You could ask me ten thousand times, and the answer would be the same. The paper is plagiarized.” “I will never pass him.” “And as for Thomas Vance? He is entirely unqualified to teach me anything.” Thomas’s eyes widened in sheer, unrestrained fury. “You arrogant little punk!” “Mark my words. With one phone call, I can ensure you never hold a scalpel in this country again.” Julian stepped forward, sneering. “And my mom is the managing partner at the most ruthless corporate law firm in the city. If you don’t pass me, I will have her destroy your reputation and throw you in federal prison!” A memory flashed in my mind. Twenty years ago, after my father was driven to suicide, the police had briefly investigated Thomas. It was a high-powered female attorney who stepped in and legally absolved him of all suspicion. So, she had climbed to the top of the legal food chain, too. It didn’t matter. I looked at the three of them and spoke with absolute calm. “This is a private faculty lounge. If you continue to bark at me like rabid dogs, I will call campus security and have you removed for harassment.” “You son of a bitch!” Julian raised his fist to hit me, but his father caught his arm. Thomas glared at me, his eyes dead and hollow. “We will be taking legal action. And I am very curious to see how long your career survives the court of public opinion.” With that, he turned and led his son out of the room. 3. The Dean let out a heavy sigh, told me I had dug my own grave, and walked out. That very night, Thomas Vance’s retaliation began. He posted screenshots of my recently published medical journals online, intentionally placing them side-by-side with older, obscure papers containing vaguely similar phrasing. His headline read: The ‘Rising Star’ of Surgery: A Medical Genius, or a Master Plagiarist? He tagged the most influential doctors and researchers in the country. Because of Thomas’s god-like status in the medical field, they all blindly followed his lead, flocking to the comments to condemn me. Their medical students and residents retweeted the accusations by the thousands. Within hours, my fabricated “plagiarism scandal” was the number one trending topic nationwide. Simultaneously, Julian posted a video on TikTok and Instagram. In the video, he held up his printed dissertation, looking absolutely heartbroken. “Everyone… I’ve spent years in the lab with my father, dedicating my life to oncology research. This paper is the culmination of my life’s work.” “But today, a so-called ‘rising star’ maliciously failed me out of pure jealousy!” “Now, I’ve lost my fellowship in Switzerland. I’ve lost the chance to bring life-saving techniques back to the US. This is a devastating loss for medical science!” “If a doctor is this corrupt and arrogant in academia, imagine what he does in the operating room! The medical board needs to revoke his license immediately!” I watched the video through my phone screen and sneered. What a performance. But the internet mob bought it hook, line, and sinker. Instantly, thousands of people were calling for my head, branding me a parasite hindering the cure for cancer. Someone doxxed my phone number and home address. My phone began blowing up with texts and calls. “You’re a total fraud! Apologize to Dr. Vance and Julian right now, or we’ll make your life a living hell!” “Abusing your power because you’re jealous! You don’t deserve to wear a white coat!” As the outrage boiled over, a group of Thomas’s die-hard supporters even showed up outside my apartment building, screaming for me to come down and grovel for forgiveness. For the next two days, I stayed inside, ignoring the noise. I had already had a friend check the Swiss fellowship deadlines. Julian had exactly one day left to submit his approved dissertation. The European team required me to either officially retract my plagiarism accusation, or they would permanently revoke his offer. That night, my phone rang. An unknown number. When I answered, a woman’s voice came through the speaker. Her tone was so chillingly arrogant it made the temperature in the room drop. “Are you the one intentionally blocking my son’s graduation?” “I have already filed a massive civil suit against you for defamation and tortious interference. You’ll receive the summons on your phone momentarily. Be at the federal courthouse tomorrow morning.” That familiar, suffocatingly cold tone. I was instantly transported back to the night my father died. I remembered her absolute, unquestionable verdict. “Dump him in some rust-belt town… Let him rot.” 4. After all these years, she was just as ruthless as ever. I let out a dark chuckle. Sarah Sterling mistook my laugh for bravado. Her voice dripped with absolute supremacy. “Let me make this clear. I don’t care who you think is protecting you. There is no lawsuit on earth my legal team cannot win.” I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me. “I don’t have any powerful backers. I’m just an orphan who crawled his way out of the dirt.” She scoffed. “I don’t care what gutter you crawled out of. You offended my husband, and you defamed my son. I am going to destroy you.” “Dr. Morgan… tomorrow, in front of the entire world, I am going to legally crucify you.” When I left my hometown twenty years ago, I legally changed my first and last name. She had absolutely no idea who I was. “I’ll be there,” I said simply. And I hung up the phone. The next morning, I walked up the marble steps of the courthouse alone. Near the entrance, Thomas and Julian Vance were walking toward me. Sarah trailed slightly behind them, clutching a thick leather briefcase. She looked at me with eyes full of absolute indifference. Thirty years had passed. My features had matured, changed. It made sense that she didn’t recognize me. But seeing her in person… a sharp, jagged pain still pierced my chest. After all, she was my biological mother. And right now, to protect the son she had with the man she cheated on my father with, she was preparing to send me to prison. Julian looked at me with venomous arrogance. “Morgan. You accused me of plagiarism but couldn’t produce a shred of evidence. Now, we’re going to prove that you are the real fraud.” “My mom spent the last 48 hours compiling a mountain of evidence against you. I’m not just going to ruin your reputation—I’m going to put you behind bars! You’re about to see what happens when you mess with my family!” Thomas Vance pointed toward the courthouse steps with a smug smile. “Do you see that? I called every major news outlet in the state. When you walk out of those doors as a convicted fraud, they’re going to swarm you. You won’t be able to show your face in public ever again.” I followed his finger. Dozens of reporters with cameras and microphones were camped outside, looking at me like a pack of starving wolves. My expression didn’t change. Let them film. The bigger the media circus, the harder it would be for them to cover up the truth. Soon, the hearing began. Sarah took the floor, meticulously presenting her fabricated “evidence” of my supposed plagiarism to the judge. Using highly technical legal jargon, she twisted completely unrelated academic paragraphs to make it look like I had stolen my entire medical career. Finally, she pointed a manicured finger directly at me, her voice ringing through the courtroom. “Your Honor, the evidence clearly demonstrates that the defendant built his entire career by cannibalizing the academic work of his peers!” “He possesses no genuine medical talent! Every award he has received has been a calculated fraud perpetrated against the American public!” “And now, he abuses his academic authority to maliciously defame my son and humiliate my husband, a decorated medical pioneer.” “I ask the court to impose maximum punitive damages, pursue criminal fraud charges, and permanently revoke his medical license!” “He must pay the price for attempting to destroy my son’s future!” The judge turned to me. “Defendant. How do you respond to these allegations?” I slowly stood up. I looked across the courtroom, my gaze sweeping past the judge and locking dead onto Sarah. My body began to tremble. Not from fear, but from a blinding, suffocating rage. A cold, dark laugh slipped from my lips. Sarah frowned deeply. “What’s so funny?” I stared at her, my eyes burning. “I was just laughing… because I finally get to see what you look like when you actually love your son.” I turned back to the judge. “Your Honor, regarding the accusations against Julian Vance… I have nothing more to say.” Hearing this, Julian let out a victorious, manic laugh. “You idiot! I knew you’d fold in front of my mom! Do you see what happens when you cross me?! I am going to make you suffer!” “By the time you get out of prison, your life will be completely over!” Thomas also smirked, leaning back in his chair. “Young man, use your time behind bars to reflect on your arrogance. There are some people in this world you simply cannot touch.” He turned to Julian. “Son, call the Swiss team right now. Tell them the man who defamed you just confessed in court. You can fly out tomorrow.” They were practically celebrating. But just as the judge raised his gavel to end the hearing, my voice echoed through the room. “I have nothing more to say about Julian.” “But regarding the groundbreaking oncology thesis published thirty years ago—the one that launched Dr. Thomas Vance’s career—I have a lot to say!” “Because Thomas Vance didn’t write a single word of it. He stole it from the true medical pioneer, Dr. Arthur Morgan!” A collective gasp ripped through the courtroom. Thomas’s face went completely ashen. He shot up from his chair, pointing a shaking finger at me. “What kind of insane bullshit are you spewing?! I wrote that paper with my own two hands! I was the first to publish it! If you utter one more defamatory lie, I will bury you under the jail!” I ignored him. I turned to look directly at Sarah. “As to whether Thomas Vance is a thief or not… I think Attorney Sterling is the most qualified person in this room to answer that.” Sarah stared at me, her eyes wide with sudden, unexplainable panic. “Who the hell are you? What is your connection to Arthur Morgan?!” “He was my father.”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “623093”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel
Leave a Reply