“They’ve covered themselves up so well… With things like this, even if we hand it over to the police, how are they supposed to find out who did it?”
Stella, however, showed no sign of worry. “Even if they tried to hide their tracks, with the police’s level of investigation, finding the culprit won’t be that hard.”
As she spoke, Stella pointed at a figure on the screen.
“Abby, don’t you think this person’s build looks a bit like Jasper?”
Abby leaned in, studying the footage for a moment before nodding.
“You know, you might be onto something. The way he walks—yeah, that’s definitely Jasper.”
No matter how much someone tries to disguise themselves, their little habits and mannerisms always give them away.
Especially someone like Jasper—the spoiled trust-fund brat—who couldn’t hide his bad habits if his life depended on it.
Abby had met Jasper a few times before, enough to recognize his telltale swagger on the surveillance footage.
She stared in disbelief. “He could’ve just ordered someone else to do this. Why’d he show up in person?”
Stella didn’t look surprised. “Maybe he wanted to take matters into his own hands—get a little payback personally.”
Abby’s eyes widened. “That actually makes sense. After all, you’ve been giving Jasper hell lately—not to mention his little stint at the precinct. He probably hates your guts by now.”
So it wasn’t exactly shocking that Jasper would want to come trash Stella’s studio himself just to vent his pent-up anger.
As they watched, Jasper’s furious voice erupted from the surveillance feed.
“Smash it! Don’t hold back—wreck everything! Leave nothing standing!”
Abby winced. Anyone who knew Jasper would recognize that voice in a heartbeat.
She shook her head in exasperation. “Wow. I guess I gave Jasper’s intelligence too much credit… He remembered to cover his face and destroy the cameras, but completely forgot to disguise his voice?”
Abby glanced at Stella. “Star, what do you want to do about this?”
Within an hour of posting the video, it shot to the top of the trending charts.
Of course, Jasper saw it too.
He burst out laughing. “She’s actually crowdsourcing clues online? Too bad the cameras were smashed—she can fish for tips all she wants, but it won’t do her any good.”
He scrolled through the photos of Stella’s ransacked studio, each image making him feel a little better.
It was as if all the frustration he’d suffered at Stella’s hands had finally melted away.
Just as he was basking in his own satisfaction, his phone suddenly rang.
He checked the caller ID and, still in high spirits, answered, “Haynie, did you find Star?”
Haynes’ voice was cold as ice. “Go find Stella right now. Ask her what it’ll take to get her to pull the video from the trending list.”
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