Unfortunately, while Erica still couldn't find the original photos in her camera album, Kaitlyn had already asked Professor Feng to connect her camera to the big screen.
After a thorough comparison between Kaitlyn's original pictures with the retouched ones on the screen, everyone was convinced that she wasn't lying. The photo chosen for one of the ten most outstanding pieces of work in photography undoubtedly belonged to Kaitlyn.
There was another reason why Kaitlyn was able to copy Erica's photos. When Erica took pictures of Hyatt, she kept his face out of focus as he felt shy most of the time, showing hardly even the side of his face.
Erica was scrambling to analyze the facts in her mind. Eventually she came to the conclusion that Kaitlyn must have copied her original photographs, then recreated them with her boyfriend.
Kaitlyn had it all planned out. She knew that she couldn't simply claim ownership over Erica's photos because even if Hyatt and Kaitlyn's boyfriend shared similar facial features, they weren't identical.
Also, since Erica had edited and retouched the pictures before she handed them in, the end result looked far different from the original ones. From the looks of it, these factors made it easier for Kaitlyn to put her own signature under Erica's work.
Professor Feng looked at Erica and asked, "Kaitlyn Dong has shown her evidence. So where are your original pictures?"
Erica answered honestly, "Someone has deleted my pictures!"
She racked her brains but couldn't figure out who had touched her camera besides Hyatt.
Of course, Hyatt couldn't be the one who had set her up, as he was now sitting next to her, looking more anxious than anyone in the room. He might have been a little simple, but he wouldn't conspire with others to frame her.
There were, however, other potential suspects. Erica had sent the photos to the monitor first, who had sent them to Professor Feng. Could it be the professor, or could it be the monitor who had been holding a candle to the devil?
All of a sudden, it occurred to Erica that Kaitlyn's boyfriend was none other than Luther Guo, their class monitor.
Erica was now, without a shred of a doubt, certain that Luther Guo and Kaitlyn were in cahoots together.
Burning red with anger, Professor Feng threw the remote control on the desk. His eyes looked like they would pop out of their sockets. "Let's move on and continue with our class. You two sit down first!"
Judging by the way the professor looked at Erica, it was clear that she was the culprit in his mind.
However, Erica stood her ground. She might have not been the smartest student in the class, but sure enough, she wasn't stupid enough to let another person frame her like this.
She was certain of one thing—Luther Guo would never testify against Kaitlyn and even if Hyatt were to tell everyone that the model in the photos was him, there was no guarantee that everyone would believe him.
Therefore, the only person Erica could rely on was herself.
But what could she do?
She fidgeted desperately and asked to be excused from the class. "Professor, I need to get my laptop. The Photoshop on my laptop should have the records of my editing." Finally, a chance to prove her innocence!
Professor Feng didn't even try to stop her as she exited the classroom, bolting out like lightning.
Erica's laptop was still in the villa.
In order to save time, she called the driver and asked him to bring her the laptop over as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Matthew, who was in M Country, just finished a meeting. As soon as he stepped out of the conference room, Owen rushed over to him. "Sir, Mrs. Huo seems to be in some kind of trouble at school."
"Tell me what happened!"
Owen's younger brother who was also studying photography in the same department as Erica witnessed the whole incident in that classroom. "My younger brother said that someone had framed Mrs. Huo. She's been accused of handing in a superstar's business photos as her coursework. And Mrs. Huo claimed that another classmate had plagiarized her own work, but she had no proof."
Matthew stopped and looked back at Owen with an unresolved look in his eyes. "Erica submitted a superstar's photos without his consent?"
Owen nodded. "Yes, that's what she has been accused of."
Matthew continued to walk forward. "What is Mrs. Huo doing now?"
"Apparently she ran out of the classroom saying that she needed to get her laptop."
"I see."
Could Erica really do such a thing? Matthew wanted to burst out laughing, but he kept his composure. Erica was a nuisance; a troublemaker among many other things, but she was also a good person at heart. She would never do such a thing!
The person framing Erica must have had everything planned down to the tiniest details. As such, Matthew feared that even if she had her laptop, Erica might still fail to prove her innocence.
Matthew decided to wait until Erica came to him for help.
Before long, the driver brought Erica's laptop to the school. The moment Erica got her laptop, she wasted no time and ran to the classroom.
She walked past all the harsh gaze her classmates threw at her and returned to her seat. When she passed by Kaitlyn's row of seats, she squinted her eyes at her nemesis angrily. 'Just wait, Kaitlyn Dong. I'll make you regret for doing this to me!'
Professor Feng continued his lecture, disregarding what Erica was doing.
As soon as Erica sat down, she turned on her laptop and opened the Photoshop.
However... Erica's mind went blank in an instant, because there was no trace of the original pictures in her computer; not in the Photoshop or the Recycle Bin.
'What the hell?'
She stared at the computer screen with an incredulous look in her eyes as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Her face turned pale and she was completely dumbfounded.
The look on Erica's face made Hyatt feel even more anxious. He tugged at Erica's sleeve and whispered, "What's wrong, Erica?"
His voice brought Erica back to her senses, who looked back at Kaitlyn with resentment, wishing to smash her laptop on that vicious girl's face.
Erica took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. There had to be a better solution!
The moment she thought of Matthew, Erica took her phone out to ask for help, but when she remembered what he did last night, she put her phone back inside her pocket. She was still giving Matthew the silent treatment because he threw away her macarons.
Thinking of her pride, Erica decided to rely on other sources first before running to Matthew for help.
'Yes! That's it.'
So while Matthew calmly sat in the office and waited for Erica's call, the girl was in the classroom, racking her brains to find out who else she could turn to for help except Matthew.
It only took three minutes for Erica to think of someone else who could help her!
Her brother-in-law—Evelyn's husband! Erica was so glad to have thought of him, she almost burst into tears.
A long time ago, Terilynn accidentally told her that Sheffield was actually a very talented hacker.
Erica wasn't able to think of Sheffield because Terilynn had made her promise not to tell anyone about his hacking skills.
Clutching the laptop to her chest, Erica ran out of the classroom again, without word or warning.
Before leaving, however, she looked at Kaitlyn and said, "Just wait! I'll make sure everyone sees your real face before the end of the class!"
The smile on Kaitlyn's face froze. Erica seemed quite confident; it seemed as though she had found a solution.
After Erica left the classroom, Kaitlyn took out her phone and sent a message to her cousin. "It looks like Erica has found a solution. What should I do?"
Two minutes later, her cousin replied, "If you really think that she has the evidence to prove it, you have to apologize to her as soon as possible. She is a person who can be persuaded by reason but not be cowed by force. Remember to say that you only did it because you weren't as good a photographer as she was..."
Kaitlyn disagreed. "How will I ever show my face in front of Erica if I apologize to her?"
"Listen to me. I'll take you shopping tomorrow. I'll buy you whatever you want."
"All right!" Kaitlyn reluctantly agreed.
Erica found a quiet place and dialed Evelyn's number, slowly putting down the laptop from her hand. "Hey, it's me, Erica!"