Independence

“Do you have a solution?” Silas asked.

Miranda said, “First, we must recover the deleted experimental data and check the deletion records. We can then determine when the data was deleted and figure out who was in the laboratory at that moment.”

He responded, “That sounds good, but who will recover the data? The recycle bin is already empty. It might be tough to retrieve anything.”

“I can try,” she said.

Miranda hadn’t mentioned this earlier because data recovery takes time, and checking the surveillance footage was the quickest way. However, it was clear now that the situation was beyond what the surveillance footage could resolve.

When she sat at the computer and placed her hands on the keyboard, Paul suddenly stopped her. Everyone, including Miranda, looked at him in confusion.

“There’s no solid evidence against her,” he said. “All the suspicions are just Elizabeth’s assumptions.”

He continued, “It’s like if your wallet is stolen on the street and you choose the person who looks the most like a thief. If a suspicious–looking guy ragged clothes, does that mean he should prove he isn’t a thief just because you suspect them? he might just call you crazy.”

“Miranda.” Paul looked at her intently. “You can uncover the truth, but never put yourself in a position where you have to prove your own innocence.”

At that moment, she was struck by his strong logic and reason.

“Oh, right,” Sandy said, smacking her forehead. “Why should Miranda have to prove she’s Innocent? Isn’t it up to the accuser to provide evidence?”

Everyone turned their attention to Elizabeth.

Her smile faltered. She couldn’t understand why things were spiraling out of control. “I–I was just suspicious,” she said, nervously swallowing. “I didn’t actually say Miranda did it.”

Paul said, “If that’s the case, we should call the police.

Sandy nodded. “I agree.”

Silas raised his hand. “I think that’s the right call.”

“Okay.” Paul took out his phone.

Elizabeth’s eyes flickered. She wanted to speak but hesitated because she worried about worsening things.

Just as Paul was about to dial, she nervously bit her lip, and her palms started to sweat.

At that moment, Bryan, who had remained silent, stepped forward. “Uh… I just remembered that I used Lizzy’s computer yesterday before leaving.

“I deleted some files and emptied the recycle bin. I might have accidentally deleted the folder where she stored her data. I’m really sorry for causing all this trouble.”

He scratched his head and continued, “I’m sorry for the confusion my mistake has caused. I’m sorry.”

He apologized and then turned to Elizabeth. “I’m sorry for making you redo everything.”

“It’s fine,” she said stiffly.

Sandy eyed them suspiciously. She hesitated before saying, “Good, the misunderstanding is cleared up. Bry, be more careful next time.”

“Yes, definitely,” he replied.

Miranda withdrew her gaze indifferently. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to work.” She didn’t bring up helping Elizabeth with the data recovery.

She thought, “Why should I be the bigger person when all I’ve received is unfairness?”

Then, she turned to leave. Just then, she met Paul’s concerned gaze. She smiled faintly and silently mouthed a few words.

“Thank you.”