After her rebirth
Chapter 17

After she hung up, she stared at her wrecked place, feeling all kinds of messed up. This was the crib she shared with Aurora, where she had a blast growing up before the Manners family found her. The cops rolled up to Katniss's house pretty quick. In their uniforms, they started poking around with serious looks on their faces.

"Man, this girl's got some bad luck, dealing with this crap so young," a rookie cop muttered.

"Yeah, looking at this mess, whoever did this was quick, but they probably left something behind," an older cop replied.

The cops checked every nook and cranny, snapping pics and bagging evidence. They inspected each trashed item, hunting for clues. "Anything on this note?" a female cop asked, pointing to a piece of paper on the floor.

"Let me see," an older cop bent down, reading it carefully, "Katniss, we won't let you go!' This ain't just some random threat." "Someone's got a serious beef with her," another cop said, frowning.

During the search, they found some prints and started matching them with the database, trying to nail down who did this.

They hit up the security room to check the footage. Katniss saw Simon lugging a bucket of paint on the screen. Even though she kinda knew, seeing it made her stomach turn. With the footage and witnesses, the cops had solid proof.

"We'll nab these jerks soon and make 'em pay," the lead cop said firmly. They also told Katniss to lay low for a few days before they bounced. After they left, Katniss started cleaning up the mess.

Owen and Isla were busting their butts helping Katniss scrub the red paint off the walls. The red paint was a total eyesore, screaming misery. "How much hate do you need to trash someone's home like this?" Isla sighed, wiping the paint off.

Katniss looked at her elderly neighbors gratefully, "Isla, Owen, thanks for the help."

"Don't sweat it, Katniss. We're neighbors; we gotta look out for each other," Owen said with a kind smile, still tidying up the chaos.

"Katniss, don't worry. We'll help you fight for your rights," Isla said, holding Katniss's hand firmly, showing her support.

A determined fire lit up in Katniss's eyes. She wasn't gonna take this lying down anymore. She was ready to make those jerks pay. Just then, someone called out, "Katniss, what happened?"

Katniss turned to see Felix, carrying a big plastic bag, his eyes full of concern. "Nothing much, just a break-in. Some stuff got stolen," Katniss replied coolly.

Felix was shocked, "Oh no, are you okay? Need any help? Maximilian's got connections; we can talk to the cops..."

"I'm fine, Felix. I already called the cops!" Katniss quickly said, wondering why Felix was here so late. She asked him.

Felix looked surprised, smiling, "You didn't know? We live nearby, just over there. Maximilian moved out, living alone, sometimes going back to The Boleyn Manor."

Katniss was a bit surprised, not knowing Maximilian had moved out and was living near Aurora's place. Felix was out shopping and had to get back. After making sure Katniss was okay, he left. When he got home, Felix started putting away the groceries, mentioning Katniss's situation.

"I just got back from shopping and ran into Katniss, poor girl, living alone so young. Her place got broken into this afternoon. I saw her holding a bunch of trashed stuff. These jerks didn't even spare a young girl."

He added, "But Katniss is tough. She didn't cry and calmly called the cops."

After cleaning up, Katniss started moving the broken stuff downstairs. Each shattered item was something she had saved up for. It broke her heart, knowing these things could never be fixed.