Page 103 of You Owe Me

“There has to be something,” I say desperately. “Some way to use this without admitting where it came from.”

Jin is quiet for a long moment, staring at the screen like it might reveal some magical solution. Then, slowly, he reaches for his mouse and clicks through to yet another window.

“There might be one thing, but it’s risky as hell, and if it goes wrong, we’re both fucked.”

“I’m already fucked. Tell me.”

He pulls up what looks like an email draft. “Carter’s been sloppy about his digital security lately. Probably thinks being the dean’s son makes him untouchable. His university email account has been automatically syncing to a cloud backup service.”

“And?”

“And that cloud backup service has some very interesting emails about his ‘study group’ activities.” Jin clicks through to a folder labeled “Academic Support,” and my eyes widen as I see the contents.

Email after email between Carter and other students. Discussions about “shared resources” and “collaborative problem-solving” that are clearly code for organized cheating. Payment schedules for “tutoring services” that look suspiciously like purchase orders for completed assignments.

“This is a whole operation,” I breathe.

“A whole operation that his father has been covering up for years,” Jin confirms. “And the best part? These emails are all stored on university servers. Technically, they’re discoverable through normal administrative processes.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning if someone were to file a formal academic integrity complaint against Carter Mills, the investigation would naturallyuncover these emails through legitimate channels. No hacking required.”

I stare at him, understanding dawning. “You want me to turn him in for cheating.”

“I want you to give the university a reason to look at his records officially. Once they start digging, they’ll find everything—the plagiarism, the exam cheating, the organized academic fraud ring he’s been running. And they’ll find it all through proper channels.”

“That’ll destroy his academic career.”

“Exactly.” Jin’s smile is sharp. “Kind of hard to blackmail people about IRS investigations when you’re facing expulsion for academic fraud.”

The beautiful, terrible simplicity of it hits me like a truck. Carter’s been using his father’s position and his own carefully cultivated reputation as weapons against Maverick. But if that reputation gets destroyed—if he’s exposed as a serial cheater who’s been propped up by nepotism—then his threats lose all their power.

“How do I file a complaint without it being traced back to me?”

“You don’t.” Jin’s expression is serious now. “This has to come from someone with standing—another student who’s been affected by his cheating, or a faculty member who’s observed misconduct. But…”

“But?”

“But sometimes academic integrity violations get reported by multiple sources simultaneously. Funny how these things work out.”

I stare at him, understanding. Jin can’t file the complaint himself—too risky, too connected to the hacking. But he can make sure the right people find the right information at the right time.

“How long would this take?”

“Academic integrity investigations move fast when there’s clear evidence. Maybe a week, two at most.” Jin leans back in his chair, looking exhausted but satisfied. “The question is whether you can keep Carter distracted that long.”

A week. Seven days of pretending to cooperate with Carter’s demands while the university’s disciplinary machinery grinds him into academic dust. Seven days of lying to Maverick while watching his family face federal scrutiny they don’t deserve.

It’s not perfect. It’s risky as hell, and if anything goes wrong, I’ll be the one facing expulsion while Carter walks away clean.

But it’s something. Finally, after days of feeling completely powerless, I have something that might actually work.

“Do it,” I say.

Jin nods once, then turns back to his computer. “It’ll take me a few hours to set up the anonymous tips to the right faculty members. By tomorrow morning, Carter Mills is going to have much bigger problems than your boyfriend’s IOU system.”

I stand up, feeling lighter than I have in days. “Jin?”

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