Chapter 434 The Originator
The only people Katniss could think of who might spread rumors about her were from the Manners family.
Yesterday, Scarlett had warned her, so the first person that came to mind was Clara.
But Clara should be busy dealing with Ryan and wouldn't have the time to cause trouble for her.
Moreover, the purpose of this rumor was clear: to pressure her into helping her so-called brother and to let her so-called sister off the hook.
That meant the mastermind could only be Dylan.
The police noted down Dylan's name, saying they would investigate and question him, and then went to check the surveillance footage.
After the police left, Katniss continued with her training as usual.
Alex, however, sat next to her again, glancing at her from time to time.
Katniss felt uneasy under his gaze.
Initially, she didn't want to pay him any attention, but Alex became more blatant, even staring directly into her eyes without blinking, which made her uncomfortable.
"Do you need something?" she asked, turning to look at Alex, wondering if he was approaching her because Ethan wasn't there today.
Alex shook his head. "No, nothing."
Hearing this, Katniss ignored him again.
Soon, it was lunchtime.
Katniss got up and headed to the cafeteria, where Scarlett and Tyler were already waiting for her.
Before she could leave the classroom, the two police officers who had been investigating earlier entered and greeted Katniss before calling someone out.
Katniss glanced at the person in surprise.
Although she wasn't very familiar with him, she knew he was a fellow trainee.
"Ms. Manners, we found the person who posted the note after checking the surveillance footage."
The person, who had been keeping his head down since being called out, tensed up even more upon hearing the police's words.
Others who hadn't left yet also stopped and gathered around.
"What? Victor posted it?"
"He doesn't seem like the type to do something like this. He seems pretty timid."
"Don't judge a book by its cover."
Voices of discussion rose, with people pointing fingers at the man named Victor.
The police walked up to him. "Did you write the note yourself, or did someone give it to you?"
Victor, just an ordinary student, couldn't withstand the pressure from those around him and immediately confessed.
Katniss listened from the side and realized she hadn't guessed wrong.
The mastermind behind this was indeed Dylan.
Dylan had instructed Victor, and the note was given to him by Dylan.
Since Katniss, the person involved, was right there, Victor apologized to her directly, looking both scared and guilty. "I'm sorry. I was just momentarily foolish. That person said he'd give me money, and it was just posting a note."
Victor trailed off, not knowing what else to say.
No matter what he said, it would sound like an excuse, like he was trying to absolve himself.
"Where's the note?" Katniss asked.
Katniss didn't have much of an impression of Victor. Seeing him apologize so fearfully, her anger diminished significantly.
Compared to Victor, she was more disgusted with the mastermind, Dylan.
Victor quickly rummaged through his backpack and took out the note he had secretly hidden.
The person who had him post the note hadn't told him to hide it, but when the note was seen and discussed by the class, he got scared and secretly took it down and hid it.
He had thought that after taking it down, the discussion wouldn't reach Katniss.
But he hadn't expected that not only would Katniss find out, but Hannah would also know, and they even called the police.
Now, he was both scared and resentful of the person who had made him do this.
"Where did the guy give you the note? We'll check the surveillance footage," the police said, carefully preserving the note as important evidence.
Victor, his voice trembling, replied, "At the school gate. He gave me the note at the school gate."
Hannah and the security staff, who had come upon hearing the news, also heard Victor's last words.
One of the people monitoring the surveillance said, "The gate's camera is broken."
There was a moment of silence.
Victor's face turned even more ashen upon learning that the camera was broken.
He wondered if the person who gave him the note had done it on purpose, deliberately choosing a spot where the camera was broken.
As he thought about it, he trembled and his legs gave out, causing him to sit on the ground.
Katniss, standing close by, hadn't expected him to collapse suddenly and reached out to help him.
"What's the name of the person who had you post the note?" Katniss asked.
Victor, grateful for Katniss's support, looked at her, but upon hearing her question, he shook his head dejectedly. "I don't know."
Katniss wasn't discouraged and asked again, "Do you remember what he looks like?"
She was eighty percent sure it was Dylan who had orchestrated this.
Especially after seeing the note, she was even more certain.
It was clear that Victor's family background wasn't great, and he might have done it just for the money.
But Dylan's motives were far from simple.
He was trying to use Nathan and Clara's illness to pressure her, hoping to ruin her reputation at school.
But Katniss didn't care about such superficial things anymore.
Besides, she legally had no connection to the Manners family.
"I remember!" Victor said excitedly, nodding.
He was filled with regret, especially after almost fainting and being helped by Katniss.
It made him realize that the note must have been a lie.
Despite what he had done, Katniss was still willing to help him, so how could she possibly do something as terrible as abandoning her brother or framing her sister?
Even if Katniss did have a brother and sister, they must not be worth it!
Katniss was puzzled by the light in his eyes but didn't pay much attention to it.
She said, "If you cooperate in identifying the mastermind, I can forgive you."
"I'll cooperate! I'll cooperate," Victor agreed quickly, then looked timidly at the police.
The police said, "If Ms. Manners is willing to forgive you, you won't be punished."
With that, they offered to take Victor to confirm if the person who spread the rumors was Dylan.
Katniss then turned to the police and said, "I'll leave it to you."
After the police took Victor away and Hannah saw off the security staff, she comforted Katniss a bit before leaving.
With most people gone, Katniss continued towards the cafeteria.
However, Alex was still following her.
But there was only one way to the cafeteria, so she couldn't tell Alex not to follow her.
Katniss decided to ignore him and walked towards Scarlett and Tyler, who were waiting by the roadside.
"Why are you so late today, Katniss?" Scarlett asked, then noticed Alex following Katniss and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Tyler, who knew Alex, was even less polite, glaring at him. "Alex, why are you following Katniss?"
"Just curious," Alex replied.
He had been observing Katniss for a while.
There were many excellent trainees like Katniss, but she seemed different from the others.
He had heard rumors that Katniss had a unique skill, and combined with the recent rumors, he found it intriguing.
According to the rumors, wasn't it said that Katniss's medical skills could cure her brother?
He had a hunch that it was related to that unique skill.
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