Chapter 69: Being Targeted
Mrs. Rourken and her son stared at Shani in incredulous shock.
"How dare you report us, you little bitch?!" Mrs. Rourken’s son barked in fury.
"You two can accuse me of something I didn’t do right in front of everyone, but I can’t report you for what you actually did?" Shani shot back with a cold smirk.
"Watch your mouth, you wench!" Mrs. Rourken leapt up, lunging toward Shani.
Shani stood her ground, her posture straight and resolute, proving she wasn’t intimidated in the slightest by this irrational woman.
"Officers, feel free to act as witnesses for whatever she decides to do to me," Shani noted casually, though her words instantly halted Mrs. Rourken in her tracks.
One of the officers stepped in to take control of the situation. "There is no direct evidence pointing to Miss Rowan as the culprit. As long as Miss Rowan provides a guarantor, she is free to leave."
"Officer, you can’t be serious! She’s..." Mrs. Rourken shrieked frantically, completely refusing to accept the decision.
Ignoring her outburst, the officer pressed on smoothly.
"The matter of Mrs. Rourken’s missing ring will be investigated further. You are also free to head home for now, Mrs. Rourken. We will contact you once—"
"Absolutely not!" Mrs. Rourken snapped back stubbornly. "I’m not leaving until my ring is returned or I get proper compensation from that bitch!"
Her finger jabbed aggressively toward Shani, who was already tapping away at her smartwatch, completely ignoring the mother-son duo’s antics.
Shani was messaging Damon to ask if he could act as her guarantor. After all, he was the only ’adult’ person she truly trusted in this city right now.
A few officers tried to escort Mrs. Rourken and her son into a separate room, but the two proved utterly uncooperative.
Shani simply sat back with her eyes closed, tuning out the stream of insults being thrown her way.
Beside her, Agent Sharpe was growing increasingly agitated on her behalf. Time and again he wanted to bite back at the foul-mouthed pair, but seeing Shani maintain such unwavering calm, he managed to hold his tongue.
Half an hour later, the staff from Summit Real Estate were cleared to leave after providing their statements. Only Sharpe remained behind to keep Shani company.
Mrs. Rourken and her son had finally ceased their shouting, though they stayed parked in the station, burning holes into Shani with venomous glares.
Before long, Damon made his entrance. Even without wearing anything that overtly flagged him as a high-ranking beastman, his presence filled the room, radiating an undeniable aura of authority.
Scanning the lobby, his eyes locked onto Shani, and he strode over without hesitation.
"Shani, are you alright?" Damon asked, concern etched across his face.
"I’m fine," Shani reassured him before giving a brief overview of what had transpired at the Summit Real Estate office.
Having taken in the whole story, Damon cast a piercing glance toward Mrs. Rourken and her son. The pair instinctively cowered beneath his gaze like cornered rats.
He then walked over to the desk officers to finalize the release paperwork so he could get Shani out as quickly as possible.
Shani observed the dramatic shift in Mrs. Rourken’s demeanor compared to before Damon arrived. ’They really thought I was an easy mark, didn’t they?’
Once the paperwork was settled, Damon returned to Shani’s side. She stood up, but instead of walking toward the exit, she made a beeline for the duty officer’s desk.
"Officer, please ensure my report for defamation is processed. And I’d like to add a charge for verbal assault as well."
Her clear, confident voice carried across the room, reaching the ears of every officer present as well as the Rourken duo. Everyone stared at her in utter bewilderment.
"Excuse me, officers. Thank you for your diligence," Shani said politely, not bothering to wait for them to recover from their shock before turning toward the doors.
Damon and Agent Sharpe trailed behind her, both carrying expressions of surprise.
"Are you really going through with filing charges against them, Miss Rowan?" Sharpe asked.
Shani gave a decisive nod. "I’ll complete the online paperwork later today."
"Good move," Damon agreed with an approving nod. "No one gets away with insulting a student of Grand Academy. Rest assured, the academy will stand behind you."
Shani had originally intended to handle the matter herself once she hired a lawyer. Still, leveraging the passive buff of her status as a Grand Academy student certainly wasn’t a bad idea.
"Oh, right! Let’s head back to the office, Agent Sharpe. We still need to finalize the lease contract," Shani said, keeping her eyes firmly on her main objective.
Sharpe was slightly taken aback that Shani was still willing to return to the agency after everything that had transpired.
However, as a seasoned professional, if the client wanted to move forward, he couldn’t afford to lose his composure.
"Miss, things at the office are currently a bit chaotic. How about I reserve a private room at a restaurant in South Plazalis and bring the paperwork over instead?"
Shani agreed. It was almost dinner time anyway. Damon joined them as well, serving as a safeguard against any further unexpected trouble.
"Honestly, I still feel like there was something off about Mrs. Rourken and her son’s behavior. Are they really just that arrogant, or is there something deeper at play...?" Shani murmured once they reached South Plazalis and Sharpe began guiding them toward the restaurant.
The whole resolution still left a bad taste in her mouth.
"Miss Rowan, I don’t mean to overstep my bounds, but I believe you are being targeted. Mrs. Rourken and her son were likely just pawns in a scheme set up by whoever has their sights on you," Sharpe offered his perspective.
"Ordinarily, common folk would show deep respect and try to stay on the good side of anyone connected to Grand Academy. You saw how Mrs. Rourken and her son acted the moment Instructor Cross arrived. It proves they know where the line is when dealing with the academy."
"Yet their attitude didn’t shift at all even after learning your identity, Miss Rowan. It’s as if they didn’t care. Or perhaps they already knew, backed by someone who guaranteed they wouldn’t face any consequences for targeting you."
Both Shani and Damon were caught off guard by Sharpe’s keen observation. The more they thought about it, the more sense it made.
"Shani, do you have any idea who might be targeting you?" Damon asked, concern lacing his voice.
Shani remained silent for a moment before giving a firm nod. ’It must be Vivienne and Nora.’
Sensing that Sharpe was present, Damon didn’t ask the matter any further.
Before long, they arrived at the restaurant. Damon and Shani headed toward their private room, while Sharpe took the elevator to retrieve the documents from the Summit office.
Damon scanned the menu to order their meal, occasionally checking in with Shani, who responded with brief nods.
Shani’s thoughts were still consumed by what had happened at the agency earlier.
’It seems Agent Sharpe was right. Mrs. Rourken and her son acted as if they already knew who I was. They even held specific prejudices against me, assuming I was broke and from some backwater village.’
Shani admitted to herself that she was indeed poor and hailed from a small border town, but none of that showed on the surface.
Unconsciously, Shani let out a heavy sigh. Having placed the order, Damon turned to look at her.
"Is the person targeting you a student at Grand Academy?" Damon asked, picking up their interrupted conversation.
Shani nodded as her thoughts solidified. "I suspect this is connected to Nora Clay... and perhaps Vivienne Ashbourne as well."
At the mention of ’Ashbourne,’ Damon raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.
Shani went on to recount what had transpired during Cultivation Class, as well as Leah’s warning that Vivienne had set her sights on her.
"If today’s incident really is connected to that Ashbourne girl..." Damon rubbed his chin, seemingly searching for the right words to continue.
"Do you think that if I revealed my identity as a daughter of that family, none of this would have happened?" Shani asked in a flat tone, expecting little from the man before her, whom she had known for less than a month.
Damon nodded, causing Shani’s heart to sink. ’I knew it. Nobody will ever understand—’
Before she could spiral, Damon continued with a serious expression, "If you were to return to that family, what you’d face would be far worse than what happened today. That Ashbourne girl has been spoiled since childhood. Her behavior wouldn’t be much different."
Shani’s eyes widened in surprise, a subtle warmth blossoming in her chest.
Ever since her rebirth a month ago, Shani had worked tirelessly to distance herself from that family. She couldn’t help but feel touched now that someone genuinely validated her choice.
"You grew up healthy for eighteen years, and your journey at the academy has been smooth this past month. That proves you can still become someone remarkable without relying on the backing of a prestigious house."
A sharp sting hit the back of Shani’s nose, and her eyes welled up. She quickly turned her face away, blinking rapidly as if something had caught in her eye.
Damon didn’t call out her little act, offering only a subtle, knowing smile.
...