Chapter 234: Spreading Rumors
From the moment Emily stepped into the training camp the next morning, something felt off.
As she walked into the training ground, she noticed people looking at her strangely. Several trainees who usually nodded and greeted her were deliberately avoiding eye contact, huddling together in small groups, whispering about something. The moment they saw her approaching, they'd immediately scatter.
"What the hell is going on?" Emily muttered under her breath, completely baffled.
At lunch, she finally found out what was happening.
She had just sat down with her tray when she heard some girls at the next table making snide remarks.
"God, some people have absolutely no shame. Three kids and still playing the innocent virgin act here."
"Right? I heard Mr. Windsor only slept with her because she drugged him. Otherwise, how could he possibly be interested in trash like that?"
"If you ask me, she's not here for training at all—she's here hunting for rich men! Classic gold digger behavior, you know."
Emily's fork clattered against her tray. She looked up sharply, and the girls immediately ducked their heads, pretending to eat while smirking smugly.
Then Kaida walked by with her tray, deliberately passing close to Emily and shooting her a cold glance: "Some people just don't know the meaning of shame. Having kids and still can't keep it in their pants, sleeping around like some common whore. Absolutely disgusting!"
Now Emily understood exactly who was targeting her. She set down her fork and walked straight over to Kaida: "Kaida, what exactly did you mean by that? Explain yourself!"
Kaida snorted coldly: "What do I mean? Don't you know? Stop playing innocent! You obviously used your bedroom skills to bewitch Mr. Windsor. Hell, I'm starting to question whether our sparring match was even fair—how else could a newbie like you beat me?"
Everyone around them perked up their ears, waiting for the drama to unfold.
Emily took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm: "Kaida, is there some misunderstanding between us? If you have a problem with me, just say it directly instead of making these passive-aggressive comments."
Kaida laughed as if she'd heard the joke of the century: "Misunderstanding? Didn't you say it yourself—that I look down on people, that I'm crude and ill-mannered, that someone like me doesn't deserve to be in this camp!"
Emily was stunned: "When did I ever say anything like that?"
Kaida clearly didn't believe her: "Keep acting! You're best at playing games anyway. Don't think I don't know—your personal life is a complete mess. You're stringing along Mr. Windsor while flirting with Sean on the side. You're nothing but a two-faced slut!"
Emily's heart sank.
That woman was definitely behind this, targeting her again!
But she didn't lose her temper on the spot. Instead, she looked at Kaida coldly: "Kaida, I conduct myself with integrity. I've never badmouthed anyone behind their back. If you don't believe that, fine."
With that, she turned and walked away, heading straight to find Kate.
"Kate, I need access to all the surveillance footage from the public areas over the past three days."
Kate looked troubled: "Emily, that requires approval..."
"Then please help me get the authorization. I know you have the ability."
Seeing Emily's serious expression, Kate nodded: "Okay, I'll try. But... shouldn't we tell Charles first? He'd be better at handling this kind of thing..."
"No." Emily firmly refused. "This is my problem, and I can handle it myself. No need to bother Charles with everything."
With Kate's help, the security staff quickly pulled up the relevant footage. Emily carefully reviewed it and, sure enough, found what she was looking for.
The footage showed that over the past three days, Zoey had been frequently approaching different trainees in various locations—the cafeteria, training grounds, even the dormitory hallways. After each conversation, those trainees would start looking at Emily strangely.
More crucially, there was a segment where Zoey's phone call in the restroom had been accidentally recorded, her voice coming through clearly:
"...Yes, spread it around like that... Say Emily had three kids with some guy and still won't settle down... Say Mr. Windsor was drugged and seduced by her... Say she's a prostitute and gold digger who came to the camp just to hook up with men..."
"...Kaida will be easy to handle... She hates women like that, she'll definitely go after her..."
Kate's face went pale listening to this: "Emily, this... this is too much! I have to tell Charles!"
Emily pressed her hand down: "No need, thank you. But I want to handle this myself. Just copy this footage and audio for me."
"But..." Kate was still worried.
Emily smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. If I really can't handle it, then I'll ask Charles for help."
With the evidence in hand, Emily went straight to the small grove behind the training ground to ambush Zoey. She knew Zoey took this shortcut back to the dorms every day at this time.
Sure enough, before long, she saw Zoey sneaking in this direction.
"Zoey, stop right there!"
Zoey was obviously startled, nearly dropping her bag: "E...Emily? What's going on?"
Emily got straight to the point: "Those rumors about me circulating around camp—did you start them?"
Zoey's eyes darted around nervously: "What rumors? I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Stop playing dumb! Do I need to play the recording of your phone call in the restroom?" Emily waved her phone.
Zoey's face instantly turned deathly pale: "How do you have that?"
"How I got it doesn't matter. What matters is, if this recording goes public, do you think you'll be able to stay in this camp?"
Zoey bit her lip, breaking out in a cold sweat: "Emily, what do you want?"
"It's simple. First, immediately stop spreading rumors. Second, go explain to Kaida and admit you made all of this up. Third..."
She leaned closer to Zoey, lowering her voice: "Tell me—did Kismet put you up to this?"
Zoey's head shot up, her eyes panicked as she looked at Emily: "How... how did you know?"
Emily smirked: "Ha, with your intelligence level, you think you can play mind games with Kismet? Did she promise that if you got me kicked out of camp, she'd help you win over Sean?"
Zoey bit her lip and said nothing, clearly confirming it.
Emily snorted coldly: "Zoey, I'm warning you—this is your last chance. If you dare mess with me behind my back again, don't blame me for making this recording public!"
Zoey kept her head down, her voice barely audible: "I understand. I'll go explain to Kaida right now."
Watching Zoey slink away in defeat, Emily let out a soft sigh. For the sake of so-called love, some people really would do anything.
But what she didn't know was that Kismet had been watching everything unfold from beyond the surveillance cameras.
"Useless fool! Looks like I'll have to handle this personally."