Chapter 3 - The Stolen Identity
My father stared at the Dean with a look of pure, unadulterated confusion.
His brain simply could not process why a prestigious university official was speaking to me with such respect.
Before Thomas could find his voice, Dean Bradley placed a warm, protective hand on my shoulder.
"Come with me immediately, Clara," the Dean insisted, completely ignoring my father.
He quickly ushered me through a hidden, biometric side entrance reserved exclusively for senior faculty.
The heavy steel door clicked shut with a finalizing thud just as my father stumbled down the wet steps toward us.
Inside the warm, brilliantly lit corridor, the Dean handed me a thick, dry towel.
"I apologize for the chaos outside, but your presence is urgently required in the staging area," he said kindly.
"We need to get you dried off and dressed in your proper academic attire."
Meanwhile, at the grand front entrance, Haley confidently strutted up to the VIP security scanner.
She flashed a bright, highly practiced smile for her phone camera, making sure the lighting was perfect.
She thrust the gold-embossed ticket toward the stern, broad-shouldered security guard.
The guard scanned the barcode with his glowing handheld device, expecting a standard entry.
Instead of a welcoming green chime, the machine emitted a harsh, flashing red alarm.
"Excuse me, miss, but this ticket has been explicitly flagged in our system," the guard stated loudly.
Haley scoffed, flipping her perfectly styled hair and rolling her eyes in deep annoyance.
"Your machine is obviously broken, so just let me through," she complained aggressively.
"Do you know how many followers I have waiting to see the inside of this VIP lounge?"
The guard ignored her entitled attitude and looked directly at the data on his screen.
"This ticket is registered exclusively to our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Clara Hensley."
My stepmother gasped loudly, stepping forward to intervene on behalf of her precious daughter.
"There must be a massive administrative mistake, because Clara is just a nurse's assistant," she argued forcefully.
"She probably stole this ticket from one of the real doctors at her hospital."
The guard's expression darkened, and he immediately signaled to two large security officers standing nearby.
"I don't know who you people are, but you are currently holding a stolen VIP pass."
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The officers began to step forward, pulling out their heavy two-way radios.
"Detain these individuals at the gate until the campus police arrive," the head guard ordered into his microphone.
