Caught

“Elene?! You… you’re crazy? At first, I was worried about what the principal would do to me, but now I’m even more worried about what he’ll do to you…”

Sydney immediately ran over, tightly grabbing Elene’s hand, and finally even hugging herself into Elene’s arms, her voice trembling.

“Even if it wasn’t you, I still wouldn’t just stand by and watch my friend be made into a scapegoat.

What’s more, I know you’re a good person, Sydney.”

At this point, Elene didn’t care much about whether she could keep her place in school.

Compared to the principal’s petty threats, the real problem was the mercenaries from the black market who might already be searching for her.

“Even if… it wasn’t me?”

Sydney’s eyes seemed to waver for a moment, but when she heard the second half, she smiled.

Only then did she slowly let go of Elene’s hand, her face slightly flushed, her voice still worried:

“Then… if the principal gives you trouble, what should we do? I can go find my mother… she’s not as narrow-minded as the principal.”

“No need, Sydney. I’ll handle it myself, this is my problem anyway… Oh, right, I came to give you this.

Welcome here. From now on, we’re friends and classmates.”

Elene showed a confident smile, though inwardly it was cold.

She hoped that after what was about to happen, he’d still have the guts to mess with her.

Then she turned her head, handing Sydney the cup of milk tea.

“Ah, thank you! Elene, I really don’t know how to thank you… It must be God who sent you to me…”

Originally Elene had wanted to chat more, but right now she needed to plan how to make sure that disgusting old man had no time to think about revenge.

So she only smiled in response to Sydney’s words, then walked out of the library.

She had to make Leighton afraid.

Afraid enough not to investigate… ideally, afraid enough to never bother her again.

And the first step was to destroy the surveillance.

For some reason, Elene felt the little owl keychain at her waist faintly glowing…

…..

The afternoon’s classes weren’t academics, but dance, yoga, and swimming—physical courses.

Elene chose dance and swimming.

Attendance wasn’t mandatory, but since they did take roll, she decided to at least show her face, so it wouldn’t seem suspicious.

Though the principal would probably soon know she was responsible for earlier events, she couldn’t give him too much leverage.

In the school pool’s changing room, Elene struggled into the tight swimsuit issued by the school.

Feeling the Arctic chill in the air, she shivered, then slowly pushed open the door and dove into the pool.

The icy water wrapped around her body, instantly chasing away the cold from the changing room.

It also cleared her head, helping her think calmly about what was to come.

There weren’t many students in the pool.

Few chose swimming in this season—maybe seven or eight people soaking in the water, while others sat chatting by the poolside.

The teacher was a tall but weary-looking woman, wrapped in a thick towel, calling roll half-heartedly from a chair:

“Vanyusha…”

“Here!”

“Ivanov…”

“Here!”

“Elene…”

Elene suddenly broke the surface, tossing back her wet hair, droplets scattering.

“Here!”

The teacher gave her a glance, marked the name, and kept reading.

Elene swam two smooth laps in the deep end, strokes precise and graceful, looking every bit the serious student.

All the while, she scanned the pool’s ceiling out of the corner of her eye, observing the cameras.

There were three: one covering the entrance and shallow area, one aimed at the deep lanes, and one facing the changing room exit.

Now’s the time.

The teacher was busy with the list, a few girls nearby gossiping about weekend parties—no one paying attention to her.

Elene swam to the edge, pressed her hands, and flipped herself lightly out of the water.

The cold air hit her instantly, making her shiver, the swimsuit clinging to her young figure as droplets rolled down her skin.

Casually brushing wet hair from her cheek, she slid her goggles onto her forehead, partly hiding her features.

Instead of heading for the towel racks, she walked naturally toward the far end near the equipment rooms.

There, a row of tall potted palms created blind spots in the cameras’ view—perfect cover.

Her steps were calm, even languid, like someone just looking for a place to dry off.

But her eyes fixed on the ceiling vents, where a grating led into the ducts.

Time was short.

The teacher might look up at any moment, or another student could notice her absence.

Now!

The old Elene never could’ve managed this, but with her supernatural agility, she sprang several meters up in one motion.

Kicking off the wall, she slipped cleanly into the vent system.

Her goal was the security system.

Just a little sabotage, then back to class before anyone noticed—it was the perfect cover.

Landing softly, she found herself in a hallway.

Most students were still in gym, so the building was nearly empty.

If anyone saw her dripping wet in just a swimsuit, barefoot, she’d die of sheer embarrassment.

Even Elene, who had faced far stranger horrors, felt her heart race at the thought.

The tight nylon clung to every curve, droplets trailing down her thighs and legs, leaving winding water stains on the floor.

A hot flush rushed up her face, like static over her skin.

She almost hugged herself, but forced the urge down, pretending nonchalance as she pushed back her wet hair.

The cold tiles froze her bare feet, each step making her feel more exposed.

Leaning against the wall, she listened carefully.

Then, pulling out a small bolt she’d brought, she focused on her next target—the security room.

Aha! Found it.

Her eyes lit up. The guard room was empty—typical, since the guard often wandered off after drinking.

That made it even easier.

All she needed to do was smash the cameras, and the whole school’s system would fail.

No one would suspect her.

Bang!

The bolt shattered a camera inside the guard room.

Elene rushed in, sat down at the console, and began working quickly.

Her cold fingers flew across the greasy keyboard.

She scanned through the camera logs, deleting key segments, planting a loop that would cause the system to crash and reboot—giving her the window she needed.

Her wet swimsuit clung to her uncomfortably, but her focus drowned it out.

Until—

“Well, well~ Look who we have here.

What little kitten sneaked into the guard room to play with computers, hm?”

A mocking, drawn-out female voice rang out from the door.

Elene’s heart froze.

Her blood rushed to her head, then drained away in an instant.

She snapped her head around, pupils shrinking in shock.

Leaning against the far wall, smirking, was Whitney.