Fifteen minutes later, Amelia arrived at Sapphire Blues.
She asked a waiter for directions, and when she looked down the hallway as he indicated, she saw a crowd gathered at the far end.
Even before she got close, she could hear Ella’s voice, thick with tears as she tried to explain herself. “I didn’t! I really didn’t, it’s not like she said!”
“Excuse me, let me through.” Amelia pushed her way through the cluster of students. She found Ella crouched on the floor, hair disheveled and eyes red from crying. What surprised her even more was seeing Violet there too.
Violet was sobbing as well, a mess of tangled hair and smeared makeup—if anything, she looked even worse off than Ella.
“What happened?” Amelia asked, helping Ella to her feet.
Ella, never the most articulate girl, was even less so now, rattled and in shock, words tumbling out in fragments.
It was their class president who stepped in to explain. Violet had transferred into their class not long ago and had invited some classmates out to the lounge, hoping to get to know everyone. While Ella was in the restroom, a group of guys dragged her into a private room and started getting handsy. Somehow, they ended up letting Ella go, but then they grabbed Violet—who couldn’t even put up a fight—and took her instead.
Violet claimed she overheard them say Ella had told them to grab her instead, as a way to get herself out of trouble.
Ella insisted she never did that.
The two of them went back and forth, their shouts and sobs blending into a chaotic mess.
Amelia frowned, trying to piece everything together, just as Violet, voice trembling, suddenly cried out, “Daniel!”
Amelia heard the name and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Of course—whenever the Porcelain Doll was in distress, her knight in shining armor would show up.
Daniel strode over, his gaze pausing briefly on Amelia before looking away. He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over Violet’s shoulders.
Mogan looked surprised. “Amelia, you’re here too?”
Daniel waved a hand, and his assistant immediately started ushering the crowd away; even the police officers who had arrived were pulled aside.
The assistant glanced at Amelia before answering.
Daniel, looking drained, slouched back into the couch. “I don’t pay you this much to just stand there and play dumb.”
The assistant cleared his throat. “According to the statements, one of the students told the guys to grab Ms. Scott so she could get away. Said Ms. Scott was pretty, and they’d like her better.”
Amelia felt Ella tremble violently. If she hadn’t been holding onto her, Ella might have collapsed.
“That’s not true… I didn’t.” Ella shook her head over and over, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Amelia, you believe me, right? I swear I didn’t…”
She was so desperate she could barely cry anymore; her body just kept shaking.
Amelia didn’t know Ella well, but she knew Emily, and Emily was kind and honest. How bad could her little sister really be, growing up in the same family?
She squeezed Ella’s cold, trembling hand and looked up at Daniel. “Just because they said it doesn’t make it true. There’s still more to investigate here. Daniel, you have resources—can you use them to help us?”
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