Chapter 363 Katniss Is Striving to Grow
After saying goodbye to the Anderson family, Katniss headed home.
Maximilian wasn't back yet, but Patrick had stopped by to drop something off.
"Hey, Katniss! Maximilian asked me to bring you something good!" Patrick said, still sporting his usual laid-back attitude, holding a large file folder loosely in his hand.
Katniss welcomed him in, curious. "What's this?"
"This." Patrick handed her the file folder and said, "Maximilian asked me to look into something. We found some stuff. The surveillance didn't catch it, but we got the waiters to spill the beans."
Some of the information wasn't exactly volunteered; it was obtained through a mix of threats and incentives.
As Maximilian would say, Katniss didn't need to know those details.
Hearing Patrick's words, Katniss remembered the night she was drugged.
She quickly opened the file folder, finding a USB drive and several documents inside.
"You were drugged that night. The details are in the documents. The USB drive has the confession videos of the two waiters."
Katniss nodded. "Come in."
They had been talking for a while, and Patrick was still standing at the door.
Patrick followed Katniss inside.
As she started looking through the documents, he spoke again, "By the way, while investigating your case, we found something interesting."
Katniss looked at him, signaling him to continue.
Patrick shrugged, feeling that Katniss and Maximilian were indeed a perfect match, both reacting to events with the same indifference.
Undeterred, he continued, "The Anderson family heir was also drugged that night."
"Ethan?" Katniss asked.
"Yeah, him. No surprise, the Anderson family heir gets targeted as soon as he returns to Starhaven," Patrick remarked.
Katniss said, "Ethan is my friend."
"Is he? I casually asked the two waiters, and they said they weren't the ones who did it. They don't know who did, but they were the ones who helped him into the room."
Patrick suspected that the same person who targeted Katniss was behind this as well.
Katniss said almost simultaneously, "Same method, probably the same person."
"Exactly." Patrick pointed to the last investigation report. "This is what you asked me to look into before. Didn't expect it to come in handy now."
Katniss saw Johnson's name and his detailed information.
Patrick had given her a similar report before, which she had requested after the banquet to investigate the man around Clara.
At that time, the main focus was Johnson's connection to Luminous City and the Manners family.
When Johnson had approached Katniss at the banquet, he had introduced himself as Oliver's friend.
Although Katniss hadn't paid much attention to him, she had asked Patrick to investigate him afterward.
Johnson hadn't lied, but Katniss hadn't expected that while he was smiling and greeting her, he was already planning to harm her.
Fortunately, Maximilian had found her in time.
Seeing Katniss's somber expression, Patrick asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Katniss composed herself and asked, "Can I show these to Ethan?"
"Do what you think is best. These were investigated at Maximilian's request. Since we have the evidence, Johnson deserves some consequences."
The Anderson family wasn't to be trifled with.
Johnson should have been prepared for the repercussions of crossing them.
Katniss didn't catch the deeper meaning in Patrick's words but nodded when he agreed.
Although she suspected that Johnson's motive for targeting her was related to Clara, Clara didn't seem to have played a direct role in this incident. Instead, she was with Ethan.
This was puzzling.
Katniss thought she should talk to Ethan to understand better.
After seeing Patrick off, Katniss arranged to meet Ethan the next morning.
Even on weekends, they would discuss their projects, and Ethan didn't refuse.
When Maximilian returned, Katniss was organizing the information related to Ethan.
She had watched the confession videos on the USB drive and felt once again how malicious Johnson was, bribing people to harm her and paying them a large sum to keep quiet.
If Patrick hadn't used both incentives and threats, those two wouldn't have changed their story.
"What are you looking at?" Maximilian asked as he approached Katniss, "So engrossed?"
"Maximilian, you're back!" Katniss's eyes lit up with joy. She whispered, "I'm looking at the evidence Patrick brought. It's what you asked him to investigate."
"Yeah." Maximilian hugged her. "I had him bring it over."
Patrick had given him a summary of the situation. He thought it best for Katniss to review the evidence and decide how to handle it.
Katniss was growing, and he would protect her as she did.
"Thank you, Maximilian! It was Johnson who did it that night!"
Maximilian smiled gently and asked softly, "What do you plan to do?"
"Report it to the police. Let them handle it," Katniss said.
Although this evidence couldn't do much to Clara, Johnson getting into trouble would limit Clara's actions in Starhaven.
"Good idea." Maximilian agreed with Katniss's decision, then complained, "So what are you still looking at?"
The evidence Patrick brought should be enough to report to the police.
"I'm organizing Ethan's part. He was also drugged that night. I want to ask him about it before reporting it," Katniss explained straightforwardly.
Maximilian didn't object, jokingly saying, "You care so much about him. Aren't you worried I'll get jealous?"
Katniss froze, her face turning bright red.
"Maximilian,"
Before she could finish her sentence, Maximilian scooped her up, his voice low and husky in her ear, "You don't need to organize it. I'll have Patrick prepare a clear copy and bring it to you in the morning. You can take it to meet Ethan."
Katniss had no chance to refuse as Maximilian carried her into the bedroom.
The next morning, Katniss took the documents Patrick had delivered and went to meet Ethan.
They hadn't been talking long before the conversation shifted from their project to Clara, and soon to the events of the banquet night.
Katniss handed Ethan the documents Patrick had brought early that morning. "We were likely set up that night. You should take a look at these."
"Set up?" Ethan recalled waking up to find Clara beside him and quickly took the documents to read.
The more he read, the darker his expression became.
He asked, "Two types of scented drugs that can knock people out?"
Before Katniss could respond, Ethan's phone rang.
He answered with a grim face, and Clara's sweet voice came through, "Ethan, when are you coming to see me?"
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