Chapter 195 Who to Support
"What the hell are you yelling about?" Katniss kicked the driver again without even looking up. "If he bites the dust, you're next."
Delphine was freaking out. "Don't be crazy! Killing's illegal!"
"Do you even know who I'm dating?" Katniss finally looked up, dead serious. "Tristan, ring a bell? If I off two people, he can make it disappear like that."
Her cocky words and serious face made Delphine even more scared.
She bolted, flinging the door open and screaming, "Help! Murder!"
In no time, the whole floor was in chaos, and everyone started rushing downstairs.
No one wanted to stick around. Amidst the chaos, a few tall figures were pushing their way against the crowd.
Tristan and Nicholas were shoving through, determined to get upstairs. People bumped into them, but nothing was stopping them.
"We're too late," Nicholas muttered. "We're too late."
Delphine's screams echoed through the building. Tristan's face was stone-cold, his eyes dark and intense as he looked ahead.
People saw him coming and instinctively moved aside.
The resistance upstairs eased up. In just two minutes, he was on the third floor, but it was already deserted.
Every door was wide open, and it was impossible to tell where Katniss was.
"Split up and search," he told Nicholas, and they started checking each room.
Nicholas got to the third room and saw Katniss dragging a bruised guy towards the door.
A shadow appeared at the door. Katniss squinted. "Nicholas? Don't just stand there. Give me a hand."
She had already called the cops but was worried the guy might wake up and bolt, so she kept beating him.
She planned to drag him downstairs and get some help.
Nicholas jumped back a couple of steps, pressing himself against the wall, eyes wide as he stared at Katniss.
Tristan heard the noise and looked over. Seeing Nicholas staring into that room, he frowned and rushed over.
The steady but chaotic footsteps reached Katniss's ears, and she guessed it was Tristan.
She let go of the driver's hand and wiped her hands on her clothes. Tristan's tall figure filled the doorway, blocking most of the light from the hall.
His pupils shrank sharply when he saw Katniss standing there unharmed, and he froze.
Tristan's tense emotions eased. He glanced at the badly beaten guy on the floor, and for some reason, anger flared up in his chest again.
After what felt like forever, Tristan turned to Nicholas and gave him a swift kick in the butt. "What the hell are you yelling about?"
"I..." Nicholas felt totally wronged. He was just freaked out by Katniss's unexpected badassery.
Who would've thought that sweet, skinny Katniss could beat someone up like that?
He'd heard there was a murder, and his first thought was that Katniss had been killed.
"I'm fine," Katniss said, walking over and gently tugging on Tristan's suit jacket.
She knew he was pissed, though she wasn't sure why, but she couldn't let him take it out on Nicholas.
Tristan's icy vibe hadn't faded. He stiffly took off his jacket and wrapped it around Katniss.
Soon, the cops showed up and started asking questions. Katniss told them everything straight up.
It was self-defense, but she still had to go to the station to give a statement.
Delphine tried to make a run for it, but the hotel owner stopped her. If something really went down, Delphine would be a witness, and the owner wasn't letting her leave.
"Mr. Forbes," one of the cops greeted Tristan. "There are a bunch of reporters outside. Want to dodge them?"
Tristan's split from Travis hadn't gone public, though most of Velvet City's elite knew about it.
Without the Forbes family's green light, the media wouldn't dare report it.
The news was spreading slowly by word of mouth and hadn't hit Nightfall City yet. The cops knew who he was and didn't want to cause him any trouble.
Tristan still had Katniss close. "No need, you handle the reporters. I'll take her to the station myself."
In other words, Katniss wasn't riding in the police car; he was taking her himself.
They left quietly, blending in like any other passersby.
After all, Katniss was a teacher, and the recent drama with the educational institution had put her in the spotlight.
Now, being linked to a murder case could mess with her job.
"Alright, we'll leave it to you," the cop said. They dispersed the crowd, and one officer went downstairs to deal with the reporters.
Others kept things in order and quietly escorted Tristan and Katniss out.
The place was buzzing, and the flashy G-Wagon parked by the roadside stood out, but the dim light made it hard for the few reporters to recognize Tristan and Katniss.
They got in the car, buckled up, and Tristan started the engine and drove off. The car was filled with a heavy tension.
It was all coming from Tristan. Katniss's fingers played with a button on his suit.
Her eyes darted to Tristan driving, then quickly looked away.
"I flagged down a cab on the side of the road, never thinking it would be dangerous. Once I got in, I was busy with work and didn't notice anything off. But it was definitely an accident, and it's no big deal. Delphine tried to scare me into dropping the charges, but she's never done anything like this before, and the driver was a first-time kidnapper. Didn't I handle it?" she said.
Even though the situation sounded scary, Katniss found it kind of amusing after going through it.
After a long pause, Tristan took a deep breath and stopped at a red light, his tone hard to read. "I'm not mad."
Right now, his feelings weren't exactly anger. It was a mix of worry and lingering fear.
"I know you're not mad; you're worried about me. I'm just telling you what happened. It's no big deal." Katniss, who had been a whirlwind of fury against the driver moments ago, now spoke gently, leaning wearily against the seat.
She had hit the driver hard earlier, fearing that if he woke up, she'd be in trouble.
"This is not 'no big deal.'" Tristan's tone was sharp as he heard her downplay the situation. "We'll talk about it later. The lawyer's already at the station. You need to explain everything to him, and he'll tell you what to do."
The car stopped at the police station entrance. Tristan got out first, the night breeze pressing his shirt tight against his body, his short hair slightly messy.
He didn't care at all. He walked around to the passenger side, opened the door for Katniss, and led her inside.
Tristan's lawyer reassured Katniss after getting the full story.
Finally, he told Tristan, "Mr. Forbes, don't worry. Miss Grey is the victim here. Her actions were in self-defense. However, Miss Grey mentioned this involves another plagiarism case. I'll explain everything to the police to help with the lawsuit later."
"Then I'll leave it to you," Tristan said.
Soon, the police brought Delphine and the driver back. Katniss, with the lawyer by her side, explained the situation.
After she finished, the lawyer told her to rest while he handled the remaining discussions with the police.
Katniss turned and saw Tristan smoking outside.
He wore a black shirt that almost blended into the night, the cigarette in his fingers glowing intermittently.
The shirt fluttered in the wind, held in place by the strap of her bag slung over his shoulder. Even so, it looked somewhat out of place.
She walked out, intending to take the bag off him, but he stopped her, extinguished the cigarette, and tossed it away.
He grabbed her wrist and bent down to hug her, enveloping her in a strong smell of smoke.
Turning her head, she saw the ashtray on the trash can was nearly full; he had smoked quite a bit.
"Tristan." Eudora's anxious voice came.
Katniss pushed him, and he released her, frowning, and they both turned.
Eudora closed the car door and walked over quickly, with Aaron following closely behind. Aaron jogged ahead and reached Katniss first.
"Ms. Grey, are you alright?" He looked her over from head to toe, making sure she was okay, then started complaining, "Why do you always get into so much trouble? Who's targeting you?"
He was exasperated but clearly concerned.
"It's nothing; it's just a young teacher from the educational institution who plagiarized my lesson plans. I took her to court, and she wanted me to drop the charges. She's young and reckless," she replied.
"How could you be so careless? Getting outsmarted by a young girl, aren't you embarrassed?" Aaron was ranting while Eudora pulled Tristan aside for a private conversation.
"Michael heard about Katniss's incident. Your parents will likely find out soon," Eudora glanced at Katniss and continued, "Also, your lawyer is a student of the Forbes family lawyer, who usually works for them. Now that you're having him help Katniss, it will definitely upset them."
Tristan's gaze was fixed on Katniss as Aaron 'lectured' her, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the strap of her bag.
His tone was calm as if nothing had happened, "They're already upset. I use my lawyer as I see fit. If they're unhappy, they can recall him. I don't mind."
Katniss clearly had the upper hand in this case, and any other lawyer would still win.
"Tristan, you..." Eudora said.
"Enough," Tristan was annoyed by her nagging. "Stop trying to mediate our relationship. It's beyond fixing. You need to pick a side, not try to mediate. But don't worry, I won't blame you if you choose them."
With that, he returned to Katniss, interrupting Aaron, "That's enough. Do you think you can lecture her?"
Aaron was taken aback.
"We're not having class today. I'll post some materials in the group later. You and Donna should review them. I'll be asking questions tomorrow," Katniss nudged Tristan's chest with her elbow, but it was firm.
"Got it," Aaron said.
Inside, the police finished taking statements. Two officers brought the driver and Delphine out. Seeing this, Eudora quickly looked away.
But Delphine still saw her, paused, and broke free from the police, rushing towards Eudora!
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