Chapter 173 What happened?

Chapter 173 What happened?
Nathan drove carefully. His hands remained steady on the steering wheel, but Ryan, sitting in the back beside Mira, noticed the tight grip he kept on it whenever they stopped at a traffic light.

Nobody in the car seemed interested in breaking the silence.

The only sound came from the low hum of the engine and the occasional sniffle Amelia tried and failed to hide.

Nathan glanced at her briefly. She was staring through the passenger window without really looking at anything outside.

Her examination permit was still clutched in one hand. The corner had become crumpled from how tightly she had been holding it.

Nathan reached across the center console and gently pried it from her fingers before placing it in the compartment between the seats.

"You've been squeezing that thing for almost twenty minutes."

Amelia looked down at her empty hand as though she had forgotten it was there. "I didn't even notice."

"You don't have to hold everything together." His voice was quiet. "You've got three people in this car who are willing to do that with you."

Her lips trembled. She looked away before another tear escaped. "I'm sorry."

Nathan frowned. "What are you apologizing for?"

"I've dragged all of you into this."

Ryan leaned forward from the back seat. "Hold on."

Amelia turned slightly.

Ryan rested one arm over the back of his seat. "You're making it sound like you asked somebody to plant an examination paper in your bag."

"I didn't mean.."

"No." He shook his head. "Don't apologize for something somebody else did."

Mira finally found her voice. “Ryan is right." She reached forward and gently touched Amelia's shoulder. "You've spent the entire semester worrying about citations and references because you were terrified of making even the smallest mistake."

A weak laugh escaped through Amelia's tears.
"I corrected my bibliography four times."

"Five." Mira smiled faintly. "I counted."

Ryan nodded. "You nearly argued with your lecturer over whether one quotation mark belonged inside a citation."

Nathan glanced sideways at Amelia. "That sounds like you."

Amelia rubbed her eyes.

Ryan spread his hands. "And now we're expected to believe you suddenly decided to steal an examination paper?" He snorted softly. "I've heard more convincing ghost stories."

The corner of Amelia's mouth lifted slightly.

Nathan simply reached over and squeezed her hand once before returning it to the steering wheel.

They arrived at Nathan's apartment a few minutes later.

Nathan unlocked the door and stepped aside. "Come in."

Amelia hesitated. "I don't want to inconvenience you."

Nathan looked at her for a long moment. "Amelia."

She met his eyes.

"If our positions were reversed." He waited. "Would you let me stay alone for a day?"

She answered without thinking. "No."

"Then don't ask me to do something you wouldn't do yourself."

She lowered her head with a tired smile. "Fair enough." She walked inside.

The apartment felt strangely different from the last time she had been there.

Ryan dropped onto the sofa with a long sigh. "I hate examination season."

Mira sat beside him. "I think that's the least of today's problems."

"It still deserves to be mentioned."

Nathan disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later he returned carrying four mugs.

"I couldn't decide whether everyone needed coffee or tea."

Ryan accepted one. "What did you make?"

"I wasn't sure."

Ryan looked into the mug. "You made hot chocolate."

Nathan nodded. "It seemed like the best for the moment."

Ryan smiled. "Good choice."

Nathan handed another mug to Amelia. She wrapped both hands around it, welcoming the warmth. She hadn't realized how cold she felt until then.

For several minutes, nobody spoke.

Then Nathan broke the silence. "We need to stop thinking about what happened."

Ryan nearly choked on his drink. "What?"

Nathan looked at him. "We already know Amelia didn't do it."

"Exactly."

"So spending the whole day asking whether she did it is a waste of time."

Ryan nodded slowly. "I follow."

Nathan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "The real question is." He looked at everyone in the room. "Who had the opportunity?"

Ryan immediately straightened. "That's a better question."

Mira frowned. "But how do we even start?"

Nathan looked toward Ryan. "You asked Dr. Victor something important."

Ryan nodded. "The examination paper was at his house."

"Right." Nathan continued. "So whoever planted it needed access before the paper reached campus."

Amelia quietly set her mug down. "There can't be many people who knew where he lived."

Ryan looked at her. "Exactly."

Nathan frowned thoughtfully. " If Dr. Victor said he kept the papers at home and Amelia doesn't know his house."

Ryan rubbed his chin. "So somebody either had access to Dr. Victor's house.."

"Or access to the papers after he brought them to campus," Mira finished.

Nathan looked at both of them. "We're getting somewhere but we need evidence." He turned toward Amelia. "I need you to think carefully."

She nodded.

"From the moment you left your hostel this morning.” His voice remained calm. "Did your bag ever leave your sight?"

Amelia closed her eyes, replaying the morning in her mind. "I left the hostel.” She spoke slowly. "I stopped at the café for coffee."

Ryan listened without interrupting.

"Then I walked toward the examination hall."

Nathan waited.

"I didn't leave my bag anywhere." She paused.
"Except."

Everyone looked at her.

Her brows slowly drew together. "There was one moment."

Nathan leaned forward. "What moment?"

Amelia stared into the mug in her hands, her fingers tightening around it as she forced herself to replay the morning in her mind.

"It happened so fast," she said quietly. "I was trying to get to the examination hall when someone walked straight into me."

Nathan leaned forward. "Was it an accident?"

"I thought it was." She looked up at him, her brows knitting together. "The person who bumped into me, she was the same girl who picked up the examination paper."

The room fell silent.

Ryan sat up straighter. "The same girl?"

Amelia nodded slowly. "She apologized for running into me. My books fell everywhere, and she immediately started helping me pick them up."

She paused, trying to remember every detail. "Then she picked up that paper, looked at it and suddenly started shouting that someone had today's examination questions."

Nathan frowned. "Have you ever seen her before today?"

Amelia shook her head. "I don't think so."

He asked another question without hesitation. "If you saw her again, would you recognize her?"

Amelia closed her eyes for a moment, searching her memory. When she opened them again, she looked disappointed. "I wish I could say yes."

She let out a slow breath. "But I was rushing to the exam hall. I barely looked at her face before we collided."

Ryan rested his elbows on his knees, thinking. "That doesn't matter."

Everyone looked at him.

"If this was planned, there has to be a record of it."

Nathan nodded slightly. "What are you thinking?"

Ryan looked between Nathan and Amelia. "The corridor outside the examination halls is covered by surveillance cameras."

A flicker of hope crossed Mira's face. "You think the cameras caught everything?"

"They should have." Ryan stood, already reaching for his phone. "First thing tomorrow morning, I'll go to the Security Unit and request the footage."

He looked at Nathan. "If someone deliberately staged that collision or slipped the paper into Amelia's notebook, there's a chance it's all on camera."

Nathan finally allowed himself to breathe a little easier. "Then that's where we start."

Amelia looked at Ryan, her voice barely above a whisper. "You really think they'll let you see it?"

Ryan gave her a reassuring smile. "They may not hand it over immediately, but they'll certainly review it."

He slipped his phone back into his pocket. "And if we're right." His expression hardened. "Whoever framed you is about to make the biggest mistake of their life.”