Chapter 6 - NORTH17
Trent created North17 after finding a folder inside his father’s home office.
The folder contained booster records, unpaid business loans, and transfers from Unity Scholars into Walker Athletic Construction.
Victor’s company was failing.
A stadium renovation contract had gone over budget, and several creditors threatened lawsuits.
Scholarship money kept the business alive.
Principal Ward approved transfers by labeling them shared educational improvements.
The new weight room counted as student development.
Football travel counted as leadership training.
Payments to Victor’s company became emergency maintenance.
Students saw new athletic facilities.
They did not see the scholarships denied to fund them.
“Why send the ledger to Jasmine?” Lena asked.
“She was the only person who kept asking questions.”
“Why not report it yourself?”
Trent looked ashamed.
“Because my name is Walker.”
He believed no one would separate him from his father.
He also feared losing football, friends, and college recommendations.
Anonymous evidence allowed him to feel brave without accepting risk.
Jasmine verified the records.
Then Victor discovered the North17 account on Trent’s laptop.
“He said I had betrayed the family,” Trent explained.
“What happened next?”
“He made me give him the password. Then Principal Ward told him Jasmine carried copies.”
“Who planned the cafeteria incident?”
“My dad and Principal Ward.”
“What role did you accept?”
Trent stared at his hands.
“I was supposed to humiliate her until she reacted. My friend would take the bag. The principal would suspend Jasmine before the newspaper met.”
“And Marcus Cole?”
“They knew he was coming.”
“What were you told?”
“That if he threatened me, my father’s attorney would destroy his investigation.”
“Why did you agree?”
Trent’s voice cracked.
“My dad said he would tell every college I stole financial records and blame me for the missing money.”
“You did steal records.”
“I copied them.”
“You also assaulted Jasmine.”
“Yes.”
He did not attempt to excuse it.
“I thought if I made it look like a joke, it wouldn’t be as bad.”
Jasmine entered after agreeing to a supervised conversation.
Trent stood when she appeared.
She did not sit.
“You poured food over my head while people laughed.”
“I know.”
“You let someone take my backpack.”
“Yes.”
“You called me racist names.”
Trent lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Were those your father’s words too?”
“No.”
The answer mattered.
Victor pressured him.
Principal Ward used him.
But Trent chose some cruelty because it earned laughter and status long before the financial investigation.
“You do not get to blame every part of yourself on him,” Jasmine said.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
He looked at her.
“I sent the records because I wanted him stopped. Then I attacked you because stopping him became expensive for me.”
Jasmine’s voice remained steady.
“That is not courage.”
“No.”
“Why tell the truth now?”
“Because he is going to blame you, your father, and me anyway.”
“That still sounds like self-protection.”
“It is.”
Trent did not ask forgiveness.
For the first time, his honesty was not polished.
He gave Lena access to the North17 account and his phone.
Messages from Victor documented the pressure.
DO WHAT ELAINE SAYS.
GET THE DRIVE.
MAKE THE GIRL SWING FIRST.
IF COLE TOUCHES YOU, WE WIN.
One message from Principal Ward included Jasmine’s lunch schedule and the exact table where she usually sat.
Another directed staff members to attend a fake safety briefing during the first five minutes of lunch, leaving fewer adults near Jasmine.
The cafeteria crowd had not formed naturally.
Trent’s friends were told to gather and record.
Victor wanted many cameras pointed toward Marcus’s reaction.
The plan had been designed as a public spectacle.
Lena asked Trent who deleted the cafeteria footage.
“Principal Ward said the system would handle itself.”
Elaine had scheduled an automatic overwrite.
The recovered announcement audio survived only because it was stored on a separate server she did not know existed.
Trent added one final detail.
“There was a second plan.”
“What if Marcus remained calm?” Lena asked.
“My dad said the backpack would still make Jasmine look guilty.”
“How?”
Trent shook his head.
“I never saw what they put inside it.”
Jasmine’s backpack had been searched after recovery.
Nothing illegal was found.
Yet Trent insisted someone had prepared evidence before the theft.
Lena ordered the bag examined again.
Technicians discovered that the inner lining had been cut and resewn.
May you like
Something had been removed before the backpack was abandoned.
👉 Victor and Principal Ward had intended to plant evidence on Jasmine, but the object hidden inside her backpack was still missing.
