CHAPTER 424: CHAPTER 424: MURDER!

The two chatted as they walked, and the previous little incident was quickly forgotten.

Arriving at the dormitory building, Ariana Grant put her things down first, then went upstairs with Ashley Shaw to wait for Jocelyn Hayes to arrive.

Ariana had never met Jocelyn, but Ashley felt she was nice, so Ariana thought the person shouldn’t be difficult to get along with.

However, neither of them expected that just as they reached the door of room 403, a fierce argument erupted from inside.

"Still saying you didn’t steal anything? I saw you taking something from Ashley’s place as soon as I opened the door."

"My mouth is on my face not for you to defame me. Explain yourself. When did I take her things? Do you have any evidence?"

"Let me check your coat pocket. If there’s nothing, I’ll apologize to you."

"I didn’t take her things, why should I let you check my pockets? You’re insulting me!"

"I said, if I’m truly mistaken, I’ll apologize to you."

"How much is your apology worth? Who wants your apology? Stop falsely accusing me here! Be careful, I’ll sue you for slander!"

"If I really made a mistake, you can sue me for slander or whatever you like. I have no objections. Just let me see your coat pocket."

"In your dreams!"

Through the door, Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant couldn’t clearly hear exactly what the two people were saying, but it was obvious they were arguing.

Moreover, Ashley immediately recognized the voices of Jocelyn Hayes and that girl who was the first to arrive in the dormitory.

Without caring about her things, Ashley put down the items in her hands and quickly pushed the door open.

She just caught sight of Jocelyn pulling on the girl’s coat.

The girl seemed irritated, raised her hand and forcibly pushed Jocelyn back.

Jocelyn’s body instinctively recoiled from the momentum, but just as she thought she was going to fall flat, four hands steadily held her up.

She first saw Ariana Grant on her left, an unfamiliar face, but she looked friendly.

Startled, she then turned her head to the right.

It was none other than Ashley Shaw.

"Ashley? You guys are here?"

"Yeah, are you okay?"

"I’m fine."

Jocelyn shook her head, steadied herself with the help of the two.

Before Ashley could ask, the girl seized the initiative.

"Oh, so you guys know each other. No wonder you’re slandering me out of the blue! Just because I argued with my mom, you look at me wrong and even conspire with others against me?"

Having just arrived, Ashley didn’t know exactly what was going on, but her brow furrowed upon hearing this.

"What plotting against you? When did I plot against you?"

Paranoid?

The girl spoke bluntly: "Stop pretending! I just passed by your bed, and your friend accused me of stealing your stuff. Isn’t this conspiring against me?"

Ashley furrowed her brow even more.

Not because she believed what the girl said, but because she knew clearly that Jocelyn wasn’t someone who would falsely accuse others.

So it could only mean, either Jocelyn had made a mistake, or the girl did indeed steal her things.

Jocelyn also spoke up at this moment: "Ashley, I just saw her sneaking around in your drawer as soon as I entered!"

Since Ashley had put her coat from that day at the restaurant on her desk, Jocelyn immediately recognized it as Ashley’s spot.

She thought it was Ashley rummaging through the drawer, but when she looked up, she saw a completely unfamiliar face.

Moreover, when their eyes met, the girl’s face clearly showed a look of panic and quickly stuffed something into her pocket.

That was why she asked the girl to show her the pocket.

The girl’s unwillingness to cooperate clearly indicated a guilty conscience.

Jocelyn explained the cause and effect succinctly, and Ashley and Ariana instantly understood.

However, the girl flew into a rage on the other side.

"You’re still acting? There’s no one else here, who are you acting for?"

Ashley cut straight to the point: "We’re not acting. As long as you show us your coat pocket, this matter is over."

"Over? You’ve insulted my character, why do you get to say it’s over?"

Ashley didn’t waste words and said directly: "If you don’t want to show us, then we can only call the police. But I don’t think you want things to blow up, right?"

The girl’s face turned dark. She picked up the phone on the desk and said: "My boyfriend is looking for me, I don’t want to waste my time arguing with you crazies!"

Saying that, she took a step to leave.

Ariana swung her long arm, directly blocking the girl’s path.

"Two choices: either you open your pockets for us to see, or we help you open them."

The girl glared at the three of them angrily: "So you think you can bully because you’re outnumbered? I’ll call my boyfriend up here now!"

She picked up the phone to dial, but Ariana grabbed her hand.

"Ashley! Check her pocket!"

A moment of hesitation flickered in Ashley’s mind, but she still trusted what Jocelyn said more.

If it was truly a mistake, at worst, they could compensate her however she wanted.

Moreover, the girl’s reaction clearly showed she had something to hide.

The hesitation lasted less than a second before Ashley reached out to grab the girl.

However, she didn’t let Jocelyn make a move.

Jocelyn was undoubtedly from a prominent family, if it was a misunderstanding and the other party made a fuss about it, it would be counterproductive.

Ariana, being strong and sturdy, could control the girl by herself.

"Ashley! Hurry up!"

"What are you doing? Let go!"

In the struggle, Ashley took the opportunity to reach into the girl’s pocket, and she indeed felt something.

It was a long, slender, cold item.

Or rather, to be accurate, two items.

They were of different lengths.

Ashley gripped the two slender items and pulled them out, causing the girl to scream as if in shock.

"Help! Someone! Murder!"

But the next second, Ashley already had the items out.

It was none other than the hairpin Elder Prescott gave her during their trip to The Gilt Market.

And now, the hairpin was broken into two pieces.

The girl instantly fell silent.

But the next moment, Ashley raised her hand and slapped the girl hard across the face.

This action shocked both Jocelyn and Ariana.

Ariana was even more shocked because, in her understanding, Ashley had always been someone with great tolerance, but this time she actually...

However, as soon as Ariana saw the broken hairpin, she immediately understood why.

To Ashley, Elder Prescott was both her grandfather and her mother.

The complexity and weight of this emotion were beyond everyone’s imagination.

There was a full three seconds of silence on the scene before the girl suddenly erupted with a scream.

"How dare you hit me?!"

Without saying more, Ashley raised her hand and slapped the girl again.

The girl incredulously covered her face.

Ashley’s eyes emitted a cold chill, scaring the girl into silence.

"Call the police!"