Chapter 5 - The Frame They Forgot
Elliot’s copy contained only twelve seconds.
But twelve seconds could destroy a lie.
The footage showed the art hallway at 8:17 p.m.
Autumn stood beside the locked art room door.
Mr. Corwin approached carrying a laptop bag. He unlocked the room, allowed Autumn inside, then looked directly toward the security camera.
Three seconds later, the image glitched.
The remaining footage became black.
“It proves they were there,” Willa said.
“It does,” Counselor Bell agreed. “But it does not prove they stole your design.”
“Why would the official recording disappear?”
“That question may prove more important.”
Elliot enlarged the final clear frame.
Mr. Corwin’s hand was raised toward the camera.
A small black device rested in his palm.
“What is that?” Willa asked.
“A signal disruptor, maybe,” Elliot said. “Or a remote access tool. I can’t tell from this resolution.”
Counselor Bell saved multiple copies of the video.
“One stays with me. One stays with Elliot. Willa, you keep the third.”
“No,” Elliot said quickly.
They looked at him.
“If someone searched her apartment, don’t send it to her phone or computer. Put it in a new cloud account under a name no one connects to her.”
Counselor Bell nodded.
“You’ve thought about this.”
Elliot’s face tightened.
“This isn’t the first time files have disappeared at Ashbourne.”
He told them about Liana Brooks, a student photographer who graduated the previous year. Liana had claimed that one of her competition photographs was submitted under the name of a trustee’s son.
Her complaint vanished.
Her scholarship recommendation was withdrawn.
Her family transferred her to another school before graduation.
Willa felt cold.
“Where is she now?”
“No one knows.”
Counselor Bell did.
She searched the alumni records and found that Liana had moved to another city. The official file stated that she left for personal reasons.
There was no mention of a complaint.
“There are others,” Elliot said. “Small things. Essays, science projects, music arrangements. Students with powerful families receive awards for work no one ever saw them create.”
“Why hasn’t anyone spoken?” Willa asked.
“They did,” Elliot said. “People just stopped hearing them.”
Counselor Bell opened her timeline again.
The mural theft might not be an isolated act.
It might be part of a system.
Willa thought of the way Richard Vale had reminded her that her education existed because of generosity.
Ashbourne did not merely protect wealthy students.
It transformed other students’ talent into proof that wealthy students deserved their advantages.
Counselor Bell closed the office blinds.
“We need more than accusations. We need records.”
“The art room log,” Elliot said.
Every student entered a digital code when using equipment. The physical logbook also recorded station assignments, project titles, and equipment checkouts.
Willa remembered writing Birds Beyond the Wall beside her name.
“Where is it?” she asked.
“In Mr. Corwin’s classroom,” Counselor Bell said.
“Then he can change it.”
“Not easily. The pages are numbered, and administrative staff photograph each month’s entries for insurance compliance.”
“Can you access those photographs?”
Counselor Bell typed a request into the archive system.
Access denied.
She tried again using a counseling administrator code.
Access denied.
“That file should not be restricted,” she said.
A message appeared on the screen.
RECORD CLASSIFICATION UPDATED BY BOARD AUTHORITY
Richard Vale had used his position to seal the records.
Willa stared at the message.
“How do we get them?”
Counselor Bell looked toward the ceiling as footsteps crossed the office above them.
“There is a paper archive in the basement. Old insurance records are stored there before being destroyed.”
“When?”
“At the end of every academic year.”
“That’s in two weeks.”
Elliot stood.
“Then we have two weeks.”
A knock sounded at the office door.
Before anyone could hide the drive, Principal Shaw entered.
His eyes moved from Willa to Elliot to the paused security image on the computer.
No one spoke.
Principal Shaw’s expression became unreadable.
“Counselor Bell,” he said, “may I ask why you are investigating a matter the administration has already closed?”
She rose calmly.
“Because the matter was closed without the evidence being examined.”
“That is not your responsibility.”
“A student reported theft, intimidation, and a break-in.”
“Willa reported the break-in to you?”
Willa realized the mistake instantly.
Principal Shaw knew information she had never given him.
Counselor Bell noticed too.
Her voice sharpened.
“How did you know where the break-in occurred?”
Principal Shaw did not answer.
May you like
He looked at Willa.
Then he said, “You are all coming with me.”
