Chapter 427 Threatened
After Clara finished crying to Dylan, Katniss had already wrapped up her morning training.
Katniss was heading to the cafeteria with Ethan, where Scarlett and Tyler were already waiting.
"Ethan!" Someone suddenly rushed up from behind, blocking their path.
Ethan stopped and looked at the person. "What's up?"
Katniss recognized the guy who called out to Ethan.
It was Erik, someone who trained with them but rarely spoke.
"Hey, I saw your girlfriend earlier. Looked like she was cheating on you," Erik said awkwardly, scratching his head, trying to show he was just being helpful.
Ethan looked puzzled. "My girlfriend?"
"Yeah, your girlfriend. Didn't she come looking for you before?" Erik said innocently.
Ethan immediately thought of Clara and replied, "Thanks for the heads-up, but we broke up already."
There was more to the story between him and Clara, but he didn't feel the need to explain it to Erik.
Erik nodded in realization and walked away.
Katniss overheard the conversation and figured Erik might have seen Clara with Desmond.
She didn't pay much attention to it.
Ethan wasn't much of a talker either, so they continued walking to the cafeteria without saying much.
Meanwhile, Erik was stopped by Alex.
Alex was with Stella, and they asked Erik a few questions. Erik casually mentioned Ethan and Clara's breakup.
"Oh?" Alex remarked, then turned to Stella after Erik left. "Didn't see that coming."
Stella gave him a look. "Don't cause trouble."
The Anderson and Lewis families had been causing a stir by suppressing the Thompson family.
They knew enough to understand that Ethan wasn't someone they could afford to mess with.
Alex shrugged. "I don't plan on causing trouble."
He didn't like Ethan, but he was smart enough to pick his battles.
At most, he might throw a few sarcastic comments Ethan's way, but he wouldn't do anything serious.
Stella gave him another look before walking away.
Katniss and Ethan had already reached the cafeteria.
Scarlett waved at Katniss from afar, and soon they were all gathered together.
"Katniss, after you train this afternoon, let's go see the new movie!" Scarlett said excitedly.
Before Katniss could respond, Scarlett added, "I invited Sophia too!"
Katniss declined with a sigh, "I can't. I have to go to Maximilian's company."
Scarlett sighed and tried to persuade her, "How about after the movie?"
Tyler knocked her lightly. "What's so special about the movie? If Katniss doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to."
Scarlett pushed him aside, annoyed. "You're just mad I didn't invite you. Why would you come to the movies with us anyway?"
"I don't care!" Tyler huffed, then turned to Katniss. "Katniss, you don't need to go. Just head to the company."
They all knew Maximilian and had seen him often when he came to pick up Katniss.
Scarlett had known from the start that Maximilian was Katniss's husband, while Tyler found out later.
When they learned Katniss was married, they were surprised but quickly accepted it.
"Alright," Katniss smiled at Tyler. "Then I'll leave Scarlett and Sophia in your care for the movie."
Scarlett huffed, "He won't go! It's fine, Katniss. Sophia and I will go."
"I don't care about going," Tyler glared at Scarlett. "What's so great about it anyway?"
"You're just jealous!"
Katniss watched them bicker as usual, already used to it.
Ethan calmly ate his food, seemingly oblivious to their argument.
As they were finishing up, Katniss's phone rang.
She glanced at it, saw it was an unknown number, and didn't answer.
After hanging up, she noticed the others staring at her with concern.
"What's up?" Katniss asked, putting her phone away.
Tyler asked worriedly, "Katniss, are you okay?"
Katniss shook her head. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Then why didn't you answer the call? Who was it?" Scarlett chimed in, echoing Tyler's concern.
Normally, Katniss ignoring a call wouldn't be a big deal.
But her demeanor had been unusually somber, and her furrowed brow was unlike her usual self.
They were sure Katniss had felt a flash of disgust when she saw the number.
Katniss smiled. "It's nothing, just an unknown number. Didn't feel like answering."
Seeing the unknown number reminded her of the annoying people from the Manners family, so she hung up immediately.
Plus, Dylan had called her from a landline last night.
Seeing an unknown number now made her think of Dylan.
She was eating and didn't want to deal with unpleasant calls.
Whether Nathan was dying, Elodie was sick, or Clara was missing, it had nothing to do with her.
Dylan had called her last night to ask about Clara.
Before she hung up, Dylan had shouted, accusing her of doing something to Clara and demanding to know where she was.
"Katniss, if you're upset about anything, you have to tell me!" Scarlett's voice pulled Katniss out of her thoughts.
Katniss gave a sincere smile. "Okay."
Just as she said that, another call came in, again from an unknown number.
Katniss hung up without hesitation, already considering changing her number.
She didn't have many people to contact, so changing her number wouldn't be a big deal.
On the other end, Dylan was furious after being hung up on twice.
He handed the phone back to his colleague, his expression dark with anger.
Thinking about what Clara had told him and Katniss's evasive attitude, his resentment towards Katniss grew.
Unable to reach Katniss, he remembered Clara waiting in the hospital room and rushed back.
Clara was emotionally unstable, and Dylan didn't want Nathan and Elodie to notice anything, so he kept her in a separate room.
After hearing her story, he temporarily settled her there.
In the room, Clara received a text message.
It had the name of a movie theater and a time.
Clara thought it was a mistake and ignored it.
But when she saw the photo attached, her blood ran cold.
Clara clutched her phone tightly, as if that could protect her dignity.
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