Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 287

Chapter 287 Zero Points 

Chapter 287 Zero Points 

As everyone was waiting in anticipation for Stephen to respond, he replied calmly, “Who told you their scores are the same?” 

The reporter was stunned, looked back at Tessa, then at Aurelia. “They both got 255 points. Isn’t that the same score?” 

Stephen chuckled and denied it. “Of course not!” 

“How is it not? Tessa just checked, and it was 255!” Karlie blurted out, anxious. 

Stephen raised his hand. “Then please check again.” 

Panic rising inside her, Tessa fumbled for her phone and hurried to check her score. 

Her fingers shook so badly she nearly messed up the password. 

The others leaned in, craning their necks to see her screen. The air was thick with tension. 

The screen changed, and everyone held their breath as the score popped up. 

The moment Tessa saw her score, her mind just short–circuited. She was completely stunned. 

“How could it be zero?!” Karlie cried out. 

Then, Jasper shouted, “No way, zero points?!” 

Kyler froze, looking like he’d just seen a ghost. ‘Zero?‘ 

“That’s impossible! I checked at 9:05, it was definitely 255!” Tessa blurted out, her mind spinning in panic. Cassian stepped in. “Check it again.” 

“Yeah, maybe it’s just a system glitch. Tessa, try checking one more time,” Karlie said, her voice shaky with panic. 

Tessa quickly logged out and logged back in, but no miracle happened. 

There was no system glitch. Zero. Plain as day. 

“No way!” Karlie jumped up. “This can’t be right! The system must be broken!” 

She even snapped at Henry, “Call them right now and report this! Tell them to fix the bug!” 

Henry hadn’t even said a word yet when Stephen cut in for him. “It’s not a glitch. That’s her real score.” 

Karlie instantly shut up, and the whole office went dead silent. 

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Kyler finally broke the tension. “Why is it zero?” 

Stephen replied, matter–of–factly, “Her results were canceled. That’s why it’s zero.” 

‘Canceled? Why?‘ Kyler’s mind was reeling. 

“Why did her score get wiped?” Jasper blurted out, echoing everyone’s confusion. 

“Yeah, why did you cancel her score? Did Aurelia bribe you or something?” Karlie snapped, her anger getting the better of her. 

Tessa quickly tried to shut her up, but her mind was still a mess, and she had a sinking feeling in her gut. Stephen had always commanded respect, no one had ever questioned him so rudely before. 

His icy, sharp gaze swept over Karlie, making her silent, like a deer caught in headlights. 

Without a hint of anger, his authority was unmistakable as he looked at Tessa. “Ms. Rowe, you know better than anyone why your score was voided.” 

Tessa froze, as if she’d been plunged into the coldest winter. ‘No way! There’s just no way Stephen could’ve found out!‘ 

Jonathan had given her the topic himself, swearing it had never been published anywhere, not a single trace online, and told her it was totally safe to use 

1/3 

Successfully unlocked! 

Chapter 287 Zero Points 

‘There’s no way Stephen could’ve known!‘ Tessa repeated to herself, desperately clinging to that hope. 

She forced herself to stay calm, just about to pretend she knew nothing and throw the question back at 

Stephen. 

But his next words hit her like a sledgehammer, her face went ghostly pale. “Your Black Box Investment Technique topic was plagiarized. That’s why your application score was canceled.” 

The office was silent for barely a heartbeat. The reporter who’d been hounding Aurelia just seconds ago immediately turned on Tessa, shifting all the attention to her. 

“Ms. Rowe, did you plagiarize your master’s program application topic? Why did you do it?” one reporter shouted. 

“What’s your response to your score being canceled?” another called out. 

Then, someone else pressed, “Will this impact HelixTech’s IPO?” 

“Ms. Rowe…” voices overlapped as microphones pushed closer. 

Tessa couldn’t hold it together anymore. She instinctively denied it, her voice shaking. “I didn’t plagiarize. I didn‘ 

t.” 

Kyler felt sorry for her and stepped in, blocking the reporters. “Stop filming! When everything’s clear, you’ll get your interview.” 

Of course, the reporters ignored him and kept snapping pictures of Tessa. 

At that moment, Cassian was the only one who stayed level–headed. 

He spoke up, calm and deliberate. “How do you prove her paper was plagiarized?” 

“Yeah, show us the evidence! Otherwise, you’re just slandering her!” Karlie felt a surge of confidence now that Cassian was backing Tessa. 

Kyler was getting anxious too. “Professor Horton, is there some kind of misunderstanding here? Tessa’s published plenty of papers at Whitvale School of Management. No way she’d get caught up in something like plagiarism!” 

“Then have her show proof she didn’t plagiarize,” Stephen said coolly, not even bothering to defend himself. Kyler blurted out, “Hey, Tessa, you’ve got your draft, right?” 

“I do, but I need to contact my advisor first. He helped me with this topic, and he’s got clear evidence I didn’t copy anything,” Tessa said. 

Right then, Tessa was genuinely grateful to Kyler. 

As long as she could get in touch with Jonathan, everything would fall into place. 

He had provided both the idea for the topic and the draft itself. All she had to do was reach out, and Jonathan would prove her innocence right away. 

Hearing this, Kyler quickly spoke up for her, turning to Stephen. “Professor Horton, she says she can prove her innocence. Please give her a chance.” 

“Go ahead,” Stephen replied. He was determined to find out how her paper had been leaked. 

With Stephen’s go–ahead, Tessa finally felt like she could breathe again. The tension inside her eased up. 

She got to her feet and told the others, “I’m heading out to make a call.” 

“I’ll go with you!” Karlie instantly chimed in. 

After Tessa left, Aurelia, who’d been quiet until now, finally turned to Stephen and asked, “Why’d you dock me five points?” 

She did the math, it really should be 260. 

Meanwhile, Stephen was totally unfazed. “You turned in your paper early. That’s why you lost five points.” Aurelia just stared, lost for words. 

Chapter 287 Zero Points 

Right then, Benjamin jumped in to defend her, a bit exasperated. “Isn’t that a little too strict? If you hadn’t docked those five points, we wouldn’t be having this whole controversy right now.” 

He was referring to the argument about their scores being identical. 

“If I let it go, she’d never learn her lesson.” Stephen was still unfazed. 

Elias was the only one who couldn’t help but exclaim, “So if you hadn’t taken off those five points, Ms. Corin would’ve been the clear number one this year? That’s insane!” 

Kyler was blown away too. 

Aurelia’s 255 had already made her stand out from the crowd. No one would’ve thought her actual score was 

260. 260. 

Even Henry couldn’t help but marvel. “260 isn’t just the top score this year, it’s the highest our department has 

ever seen!” 

He leaned in, curiosity written all over his face. “So, what was Aurelia’s topic?” 

Aurelia answered, “It was about using mathematical theories in the financial markets. Basically, how you take those theories and apply them to real–world, high–profit situations to figure out predictable patterns in how the market moves.” 

Henry’s eyes lit up. “I want to see it.” 

Stephen shared it openly, passing it around for everyone to check out. 

Gideon came over to check it out too. 

“Way too low! She totally deserved a higher score!” Henry blurted out, shaking his head in disbelief as he flipped through the paper. 

Kyler felt a strange buzzing in his chest. 

He wanted to take a look too, but his legs just wouldn’t move. He was rooted to the spot. 

‘If I go over and read Aurelia’s paper now, wouldn’t that be betraying Tessa?‘ Kyler thought, torn by guilt. 

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