However, their findings revealed that my experimental process was considerably less rigorous than hers, lacking any substantial basis. This led them to conclude that I was the one who had plagiarized, absolving Felicity of any wrongdoing.
I felt a surge of frustration and disbelief. Determined to prove my innocence, I proposed bringing in a third-party reviewer from another institution to conduct a comparison. But before I could act, rumors began to circulate about my family background.
Whispers online labeled me a “rich girl” trying to manipulate the system, claiming I was colluding with a third-party organization to undermine Felicity, a struggling student from a small town. My family's company faced a backlash from netizens who accused my parents of buying my way into a doctoral program.
The tutor held a press conference to publicly apologize, expressing his shame for having taught someone he labeled a habitual plagiarist. He took it upon himself to apply for the cancellation of my graduate degree and even urged me to consider dropping out of school entirely.