Chapter 556 - 552: Murder

Building F, North District Women’s Dormitories.

Waves of screams could be heard from a great distance. Female students, their faces etched with terror, continuously rushed out of the dorm building.

Many students who had heard the commotion gathered outside the building. However, they only saw that the girls running out were all unharmed, seemingly just frightened. For a moment, no one knew what had actually happened inside.

"Did someone really die?"

"Who? I don’t see any blood on anyone."

"I heard it was a crime of passion. A guy killed a girl."

"For real?"

Most people were just there to watch the drama unfold. While such incidents weren’t unheard of at universities in the country, this was a first in the history of Lorcain U.

When Ethan Sterling and Jameson Stone arrived, the area outside the dorm was already packed solid. It was surrounded by layer upon layer of people, many of whom had no idea what was going on and had simply followed the crowd gathering there.

"Ethan, what on earth is going on?"

Jameson looked at the wall of people before them, confused. Ethan didn’t have time to explain and just started pulling him forward through the crowd.

"Ethan, over here!"

Not far away, Wayne spotted Ethan and quickly shouted to him.

Seeing him, Ethan quickly moved in Wayne’s direction.

Once he got closer, Ethan asked urgently, "What’s going on? You said Vince killed someone?"

Wayne showed Ethan his phone’s chat history. "My classmate told me. She lives in the dorm room right next door and knows Vince and I are roommates. She said Victor Tucker suddenly burst into the room next to hers today and killed that girl, Sunny Winters."

"Sunny Winters?" Ethan was slightly taken aback.

Wayne nodded with a heavy expression. Just like Ethan, no matter what a bastard Victor Tucker had been, it was impossible for them to feel nothing now that he had committed such an act.

And they all knew of the Sunny Winters he mentioned. Victor Tucker often brought up her name, and every time he did, his face would light up with uncontrollable joy and happiness. Sunny was the girl he had been pursuing.

’How could things have suddenly escalated to this point?’

Soon, Rabbit also arrived, having heard the news. His reaction was much the same as the other two’s—a look of utter disbelief.

Jameson had been trying to process everything for a while and still hadn’t caught up. After a moment, he asked cautiously, "Ethan, a murder? Who killed someone?"

"My former roommate," Ethan sighed. "The one... who sold information to Owen Griffin."

Jameson’s eyes widened. "Huh?"

Just then, several girls stained with blood burst out of the dormitory building. Unlike the students who had run out earlier, these girls were clearly scared out of their wits, sobbing and shouting as they stumbled out, holding onto each other for support.

The sight of blood sent a stir through the crowd.

"Holy shit, he really killed someone?"

"Quick, give them a hand."

Some people stepped forward to help, and they heard the girls crying and shouting, "Call the police! Someone’s dead! Call an ambulance!"

"Save Sunny Winters! Save her!"

The campus security guards had also arrived. After a brief assessment of the situation, they were about to rush in when, a second later, someone cried out in alarm, "There’s someone on the roof!"

Everyone’s head snapped up at the sound. A jolt went through the hearts of Ethan and his friends.

The dormitory was nine stories tall. There, on the edge of the rooftop, stood Victor Tucker, clutching a dagger with a wooden expression. He didn’t look down, showed no emotion, and his eyes were vacant, like a soulless, walking corpse.

"He’s not going to jump, is he?"

"Shit, hurry up and back away!"

A surge went through the crowd as people in the front were pushed back several meters by those behind them. The security guards were already rushing toward the building.

The faint sounds of police sirens and an ambulance in the distance made the atmosphere even more tense.

Ethan and his friends looked up, their expressions extremely complicated.

"Don’t jump. Don’t jump," Wayne muttered, so anxious he clenched his fists.

Ethan didn’t say a word, but his heart was in his throat. He had a strong, sinking premonition that...

Victor Tucker didn’t glance down once, as if he had no attachment left to this world. After standing on the rooftop for only a few seconds, he leaped.

Just as Ethan had foreseen in his premonition, he really jumped.

The entire crowd let out a collective gasp. A moment later, a heavy thud echoed as the body hit the ground.

THUD!

Ethan’s vision went black as Jameson raised a hand to cover his eyes.

But he had seen it. Victor Tucker’s body lay motionless after it hit the ground.

Many of the girls in the crowd, utterly terrified, let out piercing screams. Unable to watch, Wayne and Rabbit turned their heads away.

Soon, the ambulance and police arrived on the scene. Teachers from the academic affairs office came to maintain order, disperse the onlookers, and remind students not to post about the incident online, but to wait for the official announcements from the school and the police.

After a long moment, Ethan pushed away the hand Jameson was holding over his eyes. Jameson looked at him nervously and asked cautiously, "Are you okay?"

Ethan’s heart was a tangle of emotions. He didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling at that moment.

Conflicted. Complicated.

But he also felt a genuine sadness.

He masked the emotion in his eyes and shook his head slightly. But as he turned, he saw Owen Griffin.

Next to him was a frightened Seraphina, whose hand Owen was holding while comforting her in a low voice. As Ethan watched him, anger began to smolder in his eyes.

His anger wasn’t because of Seraphina.

It was because of Victor Tucker’s tragic end. He had a nagging feeling that the misfortune that befell Victor and the girl, Sunny Winters, was inextricably linked to Owen Griffin.

Owen Griffin hadn’t killed anyone, but he had certainly, indirectly, led to this outcome.

And if he were to get to the bottom of it, Ethan felt that he, too, was deeply entangled.

If it weren’t for him, Victor Tucker and Owen Griffin might never have crossed paths.

A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder and squeezed firmly, as if to give him strength.

Jameson said softly, "It has nothing to do with you. Every step was his own choice. No one forced him. His own heart wasn’t in the right place."

Ethan looked at him. Jameson’s expression was serious. "You don’t have to bear the consequences for someone else’s mistakes."

In that moment, Jameson’s words had a tremendous effect on Ethan, pulling him back from the brink of a downward spiral of self-blame.

Ethan pressed his lips together into a faint, forced smile, but the tension inside him eased considerably.

Not far away, Owen Griffin seemed to notice Ethan was there too. He deliberately opened his arms and pulled Seraphina into a tight hug, a move meant to declare his victor’s privilege and, at the same time, provoke and disgust Ethan.

But Ethan didn’t react strongly. After witnessing what had just happened, he had no capacity to respond to anything else at the moment.

So, with just a faint glance, he let Jameson lead him away from the scene.