Chapter 181 - 182 Suspicion
Dr Dubois raised her hand. ‘Let’s discuss this outside. Miss Vance should get back to her design—’
A guy burst in before she could finish.
He leaned in and murmured something directly into her ear.
Dr Dubois stiffened.
Her eyes moved, once to me, once to Octavia, then back again.
‘The feed from this room’s surveillance was cut as soon as you entered, Miss Grey. It came back when you stepped out to find us.’
Octavia narrowed her eyes. ‘You want to run that by me again?’
‘We couldn’t see what was happening in here. Which gives us reason to suspect collusion between you and Miss Vance.’
I couldn’t believe my ears. ‘You think we hacked the system so I could cheat?’
‘That’s correct,’ Dubois said, nodding once. ‘Surveillance is in place to ensure fairness. We have staff watching in real time. But this feed went black. We have no idea what took place during that window.’
Octavia’s hands slammed onto the table. ‘What kind of amateur setup is this? The tablet malfunctions, no one brings the meal on time, and now you’re pinning your tech failure on me? Do I look like I moonlight as a hacker?’
‘Please calm down,’ Dubois said stiffly. ‘Given your frequent online interactions with Miss Vance, we’re aware of your close rapport. We believe you may have provided her with external input—sketches, design references—something that could compromise the integrity of the competition.’