Chapter 275

"Yes, sir. She barged into our room uninvited and started threatening us without provocation. She even struck Winifred across the face. We've done nothing wrong." Their voices overlapped in practiced harmony, confident in their numerical advantage and mutual alibis against Evelyn's defense.

Evelyn opened her mouth to respond when Instructor Lancaster slammed his palm on the desk. "Enough! No further explanations necessary. This training camp has no place for violent behavior. Pack your belongings immediately."

Winifred and her clique exchanged smug glances beneath lowered lashes.

'No matter how talented she is, expulsion still falls on her shoulders.'

Evelyn remained rooted to the spot, her posture unwavering. The instructor blinked at her defiance. "Did I stutter? You're dismissed."

"I'm not leaving." Evelyn's voice carried glacial calm. "They violated regulations first. Why am I the one being punished?"

Instructor Lancaster's face flushed crimson. Never had he encountered such brazen insubordination. He shot to his feet. "Evelyn Vanderbilt! This is a military training facility, not some debutante ball! When I give an order—"

"I committed no infraction." Her arctic gaze locked onto his. "Therefore I won't—"

"Mr. Lancaster, what seems to be the problem?" Chloe Lawson's melodic voice sliced through the tension as she appeared in the doorway.

The instructor stiffened. "This doesn't concern you, Ms. Lawson."

Chloe glided forward, resting a casual hand on his shoulder. "When cadets face disciplinary action, protocol requires senior officer oversight. Surely you remember procedure?" Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

Instructor Lancaster's jaw twitched. Within these walls, Chloe Lawson held dual authority—both as Commander Henry Lawson's sister and Goldmann Banquet's executive leadership. Only the highest-ranking officers could countermand her.

"Ms. Lawson!" Winifred seized the opportunity. "Evelyn attacked us with a dinner fork last night! She could've blinded me!"

"Indeed!" Another cadet chimed in. "We all witnessed her unprovoked assault!"

Their voices tumbled over each other in their eagerness to paint Evelyn as the aggressor.

Chloe's perfectly arched brows lifted. "Were any medical reports filed?" She turned to Evelyn. "Did you injure them?"

Evelyn's expression remained impassive. "They're perfectly healthy. Though I'm sure the infirmary would happily bill them for unnecessary examinations."

Chloe's attention swung back to the accusers. "If there are no injuries, how exactly were you harmed?"

The cadets shifted uncomfortably. Winifred's fingers flew to her cheek. "She slapped me! The mark's faded now, but she threatened us with cutlery!"

'Twisting facts requires such minimal effort,' Evelyn observed silently.

Chloe tilted her head. "Is this accurate?"

Evelyn shrugged. "If you consider self-defense an attack. They tormented my roommate. When I confronted them, five against one seemed unfair odds. I merely... balanced the equation." She fluttered her lashes. "I'm rather delicate, you see."

A chorus of choked coughs erupted from Winifred's group. 'Delicate? The woman disarmed three cadets in under ten seconds!'

Chloe's lips twitched. "Mr. Lancaster, self-preservation hardly constitutes brawling."

The instructor spluttered. "Preemptive violence is still—"

"Show me your injuries then," Chloe interrupted, extending a palm toward Winifred. "Proof of this alleged assault."

Winifred's mouth opened and closed like a stranded fish. The faint redness from last night's slap had vanished with morning light. Her manicured nails curled into fists.

Evelyn watched the unraveling farce with detached amusement. The scales were tipping—she could feel it in the sudden tension coiling through Winifred's shoulders, in the way Instructor Lancaster avoided Chloe's penetrating gaze.

The game wasn't over yet.