Free Web NovelChapter 273: Chapter 273 The Accusation Against Rose
Samantha’s words instantly shattered the solemn atmosphere in the conference hall.
Dr. Nathan’s expression darkened.
A cold, humorless laugh escaped him, but he didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he chose to wait and see what Samantha would say next.
Rose also thought she must have misheard.
She had expected Samantha to make trouble, but she never imagined she would publicly accuse her of plagiarizing an academic paper.
Grace frowned. “What evidence do you have?”
The senior officials seated nearby remained expressionless.
Clearly, the situation had taken a serious turn.
If Rose had truly committed academic misconduct, being exposed in front of so many government officials and leading medical experts would leave her with nowhere to hide.
She would likely be blacklisted from the academic community and held fully accountable.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
Members of the research teams from the various universities were equally stunned.
Many instinctively held their breath for Rose.
Even Oliver frowned.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Ryan.
Despite the chaos unfolding around him, Ryan remained seated calmly, leaning back in his chair with one leg crossed over the other.
His expression was cold and unreadable as he quietly observed the scene.
His indifference seemed almost excessive.
Only then did Oliver speak. “If this truly involves academic misconduct, it absolutely cannot be tolerated.”
Seeing Ryan remain completely detached, Samantha finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Dr. Nathan let out a cold snort. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Explain yourself.”
The fact that Dr. Nathan had addressed her personally caused Samantha to straighten her back.
She cast an almost regretful glance toward Rose before declaring in a firm voice, “I am reporting Rose for academic fraud.”
“Impossible!”
“There must be some misunderstanding!”
Alicia shot to her feet, immediately protesting.
The moment she spoke, James—who had been frowning throughout—finally looked in her direction.
Almost instantly, whispers spread throughout the conference hall.
The solemn atmosphere became increasingly tense.
Only moments earlier, Rose had been the center of admiration.
Now, she had suddenly become the focus of everyone’s suspicion.
Yet she remained perfectly calm.
Looking directly at Samantha, she asked, “Academic fraud?”
“Plagiarism?”
“Whose work did I supposedly plagiarize?”
Seeing Rose remain so composed, Samantha sneered inwardly.
She believed Rose was merely putting on a brave face.
As long as today’s accusations were proven true, Rose would be permanently ostracized from the academic community.
With a faint smile, Samantha pointed toward the presentation screen behind Rose.
“If I’m not mistaken...”
“The work you plagiarized belongs to Aster—the final disciple of Dr. Nathan.”
The moment those words left Samantha’s mouth—
Rose’s lips twitched ever so slightly.
She was genuinely caught off guard.
Even Dr. Nathan, who had maintained a stern expression the entire time, suddenly relaxed.
The gloom disappeared from his eyes.
In its place appeared a faint, meaningful smile.
He calmly picked up his teacup, blew lightly across the surface, and silently waited to see how everything unfolded.
Even Caleb, who had already risen anxiously from the audience, quietly sat back down.
The others, completely unaware of the underlying situation, all wore grave expressions.
Grace frowned even more deeply.
She found it difficult to believe Rose would ever commit plagiarism.
Alicia was nearly frantic.
Forgetting her usual shyness in front of so many people, she hurriedly defended Rose.
“That’s impossible! Professor Rose would never do something like that. This has to be investigated properly. We can’t condemn someone based solely on one person’s accusation.”
Samantha frowned slightly.
She clearly disliked seeing Alicia defend Rose so fiercely.
Looking around the room, she said firmly, “I chose to report this because I want to protect the integrity and authority of the medical profession.”
“If academic fraud is tolerated, how can medicine continue to advance?”
She looked directly at Rose, who had remained silent throughout.
Shaking her head in apparent disappointment, she continued, “NYU must not shelter someone who insults the integrity of academic research.”
“I hope the university conducts a thorough investigation, provides an explanation to the countless medical students and researchers who trust this institution, and completely removes this kind of academic parasite.”
Rose paid Samantha no attention.
Instead, she turned back toward her presentation.
She carefully flipped through the pages once more.
Only then did she finally understand why Samantha had dared to make such an accusation.
Someone had inserted passages from several of Aster’s previously published papers into her own thesis.
Years earlier, Rose had also conducted research on neurological diseases.
The research topics naturally overlapped.
Because of that similarity, the inserted material blended in almost seamlessly.
If the paper were subjected to plagiarism detection...
It would indeed become a disaster.
Rose couldn’t believe she had failed to notice.
Someone had tampered with her thesis.
And the source they had chosen...
Was Aster.
In that instant, Rose understood everything.
She slowly lifted her icy gaze toward Samantha.
Dr. Nathan finally spoke again. “Where’s your evidence?”
Samantha answered calmly, “Aster has always been my role model.”
“I happened to reread one of her earlier papers a few days ago, so I remember its contents very clearly.”
“Rose’s paper contains entire sections copied directly from it.”
“All we have to do is compare the two papers.”
“The truth will become obvious.”
A strange sense of unease suddenly settled over James.
He quietly walked over to Ryan, who had remained silent from beginning to end.
“What should we do?”
“If Rose is found guilty, she’ll be punished in front of all these leaders.”
“And the original author happens to be Aster... Trevor’s former girlfriend.”
“With both old grudges and new ones, if Aster gets involved, Rose won’t have any way to recover.”
Why did it have to be Aster?
Rose was already growing closer to Trevor.
She was even preparing to become Ariel’s stepmother.
Wouldn’t this only add fuel to the fire?
The conflict had reached its absolute peak.
For reasons he couldn’t fully explain...
James didn’t want to see Rose destroyed.
Nor did he want Ryan to remain completely silent.
After all...
They had been husband and wife for years.
Surely it wouldn’t be too much to stand up for her now.
Ryan replied indifferently, as though none of it concerned him.
“If she didn’t do it... No one can touch Rose.”
James felt an inexplicable heaviness settle in his chest.
He could tell Ryan had absolutely no intention of interfering.
Toward Rose...
He was even colder and more detached than James had ever imagined.
Before he could stop himself, the words escaped his mouth.
“She was your wife for years.”
“Isn’t it a little heartless to just stand by and watch her life fall apart?”
Ryan clearly hadn’t expected James to say that.
Oliver was equally stunned. “James? What’s gotten into you?”
He quickly stepped forward and tried to pull James back.
Ryan, however, paused.
Slowly, he lifted his eyes to meet James’s gaze.
For a long moment...
He simply stared at him in silence.
