Chapter 6 - The Chemical Trap
The committee members gasped in absolute shock as the ink glowed vividly.
Selena calmly extinguished the lighter and placed it back into her pocket.
She explained that standard vintage ink contains iron gall, which reacts normally to heat.
She revealed that modern, cheap printer ink contains synthetic thermal-reactive polymers.
By exposing the page to sudden heat, she had forced a rapid chemical reaction.
She looked directly at Hunter, whose face had turned the color of chalk.
She informed the room that this specific thermal ink was manufactured exclusively by Hunter's own company.
The evidence of the forgery was now completely undeniable.
Professor Evans looked at Barbara with an expression of pure disgust.
The dean immediately apologized to Selena for ever doubting her integrity.
Barbara began to stammer, slowly backing away toward the exit doors.
Hunter grabbed his mother's arm tightly, his eyes darting around the room in absolute panic.
He realized that his master plan had just blown up spectacularly in his face.
Arthur took a step forward, completely blocking their only path of escape.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and loudly dialed the local police captain.
He requested immediate dispatch for a case of severe academic fraud and attempted extortion.
Hunter dropped Barbara's arm and began pacing like a trapped animal.
He screamed that they had no real proof he was involved in creating the journal.
He claimed his mother had acted entirely alone and he was completely innocent.
Barbara stared at her son in horrified disbelief at his sudden, ruthless betrayal.
She started crying uncontrollably, realizing she was going to take the fall for his crimes.
Selena walked back up to the podium, feeling a sense of overwhelming victory.
She asked the committee if she could finally conclude her presentation.
They nodded enthusiastically, completely mesmerized by her brilliant intellect.
She clicked the remote to display her final, most important data slide.
But the screen suddenly glitched, flashing a series of corrupt error codes.
A loud, automated voice echoed from the laptop's speakers.
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"All core system files have been permanently deleted from the mainframe," the robotic voice announced.
Selena stared at the blank screen, realizing the nightmare was still not over.
