Chapter 122 Friend or foe

Chapter 122 Friend or foe
Jasmine’s POV

The moment I enter the school president’s office, I can’t help but notice the two men with her.

She seems engrossed in whatever one of the men is showing her, so I patiently take a seat opposite, waiting until she’s done.

A couple of minutes pass before she finally looks at me, her face expressionless and pretty unreadable.

“You took your time.” She starts, writing something in the book in front of her. I bet she isn’t aware that I was with someone from Mr. Laurent’s team.

“I was with…”

“I know.” She cuts me short before I can explain. “But signatures don’t take that long.”

I draw in a sharp breath, praying this ends sooner.

She sure doesn’t know how much this means to me, but she should. It’s not every day that young artists from a random college get signed under a prestigious art foundation.

“Anyway, congratulations on that, especially considering the trying moments that led up to now.”

“Thank you.”

“Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get right into this.” She turns her laptop until I can see the screen clearly.

It’s a CCTV recording of the hallway that leads into the hall where my painting was kept.

“This is the only one they could find, before the cameras were eventually… destroyed.” I can hear the bitterness in her voice when she says “destroyed.”

And I know it goes beyond the cost, the security breach itself is a bigger threat.

“Do you by any chance recognize this person?” She asks, standing to position herself behind me, before pointing at a blurry silhouette who, in the recording, breezes into the room.

“It’s too fast.” I point out, squinting and straining my eyes.

Should I have been mentally prepared for this?

Because how do I go from extreme joy and euphoria to cracking a mystery about who might have destroyed my painting?

One of the men approaches to slow down the video, and although the face isn’t completely clear, I still see it.

For a second, I freeze, and everything goes blank.

The video keeps replaying like a broken record, but the more it plays, the more certain I am that it’s her.

“She was the last person to enter the hall before the cameras went off.” The president explains.

Although I heard everything she said clearly, I still can’t help but feel like I’m stuck inside a muffled bubble, gasping for air.

“Do you recognize this face?” She repeats, and I nod slowly.

“Great.”

My eyes remain glued to the face I have known for a very long time, and something shifts inside me.

This could just be speculation, right?

Anyone could have entered the hall after her to sabotage my painting and the cameras.

But who am I kidding?

She was the last.

I shake my head instantly.

I shouldn’t be too quick to judge her, or anyone, because I can swear that I saw Chloe that day, so how is it Bella on the camera?

My head isn’t processing anything.

And the lines keep getting further apart.

A quick thought hits me, slowly yet loud. Why did she defend Chloe when I told her she was my suspect?

What exactly is going on?

A soft tap on my shoulder jolts me back to reality.

“You seemed lost for a second.” She points out, and I nod in agreement. “Do you know her?”

I open my mouth to say the words as carefully as I can, but the only thing that leaves my lips is, “Bella.”

Her name sits rather uncomfortably on my tongue, like I’ve never said it out loud before.

Like I didn’t call this name every single day for the past four years in this school.

Like this name wasn’t attached to who I thought was the friendliest face I’d ever known.

“Can you write down her full name here?”

Another time for a pen to shake in my hand, and this time it’s not for something good. In fact, it’s the most heartbreaking moment.

Maybe I should come back a day later, so I could at least enjoy my win a little longer.

Now that the sweet taste of winning has been replaced by the sour taste of betrayal, I want to run.

Like I always do.

“Are we sure it’s her?” I ask softly, before handing over the name.

“We aren’t sure yet, that’s why we need to interrogate her, and that can’t happen until we get her details.”

I swallow before writing out her name.

“Rest assured that we will get to the bottom of this, and get back to you.” The president says, but I am far from reassured right now.

“Also, it’s more likely that it’s her than not. This could never be a coincidence.”

My heart instantly drops at that statement. My eyes follow her as she returns to her seat, typing the name into the laptop.

“Ah.” She exclaims, like she’s hit a jackpot. “The face matches the one in the recording.”

Of course it does. I literally just told her I know the person, although I wish I didn’t.

“Do you want to be present while she’s being interrogated?”

Absolutely not.

I shake my head fervently.

“How close are you two?” One of the men asks, scribbling something on his notepad.

I’m guessing they are the school’s investigation team.

“We were… friends.”

“Did you have a falling out that could have resulted in this?”

I pause to think of an answer. We did have a falling out. But could it have resulted in this?

Didn’t we make up? Was I wrong all along?

“We were on good terms when this happened.”

The man hums before exchanging a look with his partner, then nods.

Wait. Am I being interrogated now?

“How long have you known her?” The second man asks, and I literally pray the ground swallows me.

How do I explain that I’m not in the mental space to answer that?

“A really long time.” I force out.

“Do you think she has the capability of destroying not one, but all four CCTV cameras?”

Shouldn’t they be asking her that?

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

“Don’t overwhelm her.” The president finally comes to my aid. “These questions aren’t for her.”

I agree with her on this one.

“You can go, Miss Jasmine.” She dismisses, and I instantly shoot to my feet, bowing slightly before dashing out, not without hearing,

“Congratulations again.”

Yes. That should be the only thing that matters right now.

But I still can’t help but wonder, has Bella been my friend all this while?

Or foe.