Effie nimbly sidestepped Nelly''s wild lunge. It was Nelly, too worked up to keep her bnce, who staggered and nearly fell.


    Once she steadied herself, Nelly immediately pinned all the me on Effie.


    "You little snake!" she spat.


    Nelly still looked ready to pounce, but Shirley quickly stepped between them, shielding Effie.


    "Don''t think just because you''ve got someone backing you up that you''re off the hook!" Nelly snapped, ncing around, searching for an opening to strike.


    Effie met her re, voice calm. "If you start throwing punches before you even know what''s going on, that''s just reckless."


    "Reckless?" Nelly''s voice rose a pitch. "It was just the Pattersons, you, and Mr. Butler there that night. If it wasn''t you, then who else could it have been?"


    Effie arched a brow. "So you''re saying, if it wasn''t me, who else could it be?"


    Nelly hesitated, her frown deepening as she shook her head in disbelief. "No... That can''t be."


    Effie pressed on. "Guessing gets us nowhere. Let''s just go ask him ourselves."


    Without waiting for a response, Effie strode off toward Irving Butler''s office. Nelly stood there, stunned for a second, then hurried after her, scoffing, "I don''t believe this for a second."


    They reached Mr. Butler''s office together. Effie closed the door behind them and, with a decisive click, locked it. "No one''s leaving until we clear this up."


    Irving Butler''s brows drew together, a sh of annoyance in his eyes. He addressed Effie, "Effie, who gave you the authority to pull something like this?"


    "Mr. Butler, you''re not getting nervous, are you?" Effie shot back.


    Mr. Butler''s gaze flickered. "I have no idea what you''re talking about."


    Effie raised an eyebrow, a cool smile on her lips. "You can y dumb all you want. It won''tst."


    Nelly turned anxiously to Mr. Butler. "Mr. Butler, please, just say it wasn''t you who spread those rumors in the group chat, right?"


    "What rumors?" he replied, still feigning ignorance.


    Nelly nced at Effie, her expression practically screaming, "See? He doesn''t even know what we''re talking about!”


    Effie let out a coldugh. "Honestly, Nelly, how can you be so dense? You''ve beenpletely yed and you''re still running in circles."


    "Shut up, Effie! Don''t act so virtuous. Didn''t you try to seduce Mr. Hoffman?" Nelly snarled through gritted teeth.


    Effie just shrugged. "Maybe I did try. At least I have better taste than you. Besides, are you sure you never tried to cozy up to Mr. Hoffman yourself? Maybe he just wasn''t interested."


    “Ugh—shut up!” Nelly''s face turned crimson, fury and embarrassment mingling in her re. Effie had hit the mark.


    Effie smirked. "It''s bad enough your standards are low, but being dumped and then ming the wrong person? That''s just pathetic."


    She turned to Mr. Butler. He awkwardly rubbed his nose-sure, he''d made it to manager, but did she really have to make him sound so useless?


    Effie continued, "Mr. Butler, you do realize that even if you added your fake ount to the group chat ages ago, the administrators can still check who brought it in, right?"


    That clearly caught him off guard. His confidence faltered; he suddenly looked uneasy.


    Effie went on, "Luckily, thispany actually believes in justice. They don''t me innocent people."


    She paused, letting her words settle. "Of course, they don''t let the guilty ones off the hook, either."


    Effie fixed Mr. Butler with a steady gaze. "Whatever you''ve done, you''d better handle it yourself. Don''t even think about dragging me down with you. Otherwise,


    I''ll take this straight to the top, and trust me, a couple of excuses won''t save you then."