Chapter 409
Chapter 409
“What on earth are you trying to achieve?” Neil’s words were aimed directly at me, his brow furrowed in a manner that oddly mirrored Karina.
Was he upset about me “bullying” Karina?
Was he feeling protective?
I stared back at him impassively. I was well used to him defending others. His relentless defense of Bonnie in my past life had prepared me for that, so I felt more irony than anything else
now.
“I just want a clearer picture of Dr. Karina’s actions; is there a problem with that?” I retorted.
“This is not the place for it. Let’s leave it at that.” Neil’s tone was stern, as though I was a child who had misbehaved.
If not there, then where?
At that point, Ryan and Faith chimed in, “Irene, tell us what really happened!”
I was surprised that under those circumstances, Ryan and Faith were still on my side. Once I revealed the truth, it would have not only slapped Karina’s face, but also Neil’s. If she were to truly marry into the Whitmore family, that incident would have also become a stain on the Whitmore family’s reputation.
“What exactly is going on here?” The Dean couldn’t hold back his curiosity. With so many people watching and the media invited for publicity, that turn of events was unexpected.
“The supposed patient was just someone Dr. Karina had hired! I don’t know why she did it. That’s for you to investigate!” I blurted out the truth, then handed my phone to the nearest person. They took it, bewildered, glanced at it, and then their eyes widened.
Everyone else crowded around to look. Gossip spread fast, and once a few people in the crowd knew, it would have naturally disseminated.
Karina tried to snatch the phone, but nearly everyone had already seen the contents.
Someone, filled with a sense of justice, shouted, “The patient was really someone she hired! Isn’t this deceiving us all?”
With that revelation, the award ceremony instantly became a farce.
The faces of the Dean and other leaders on stage resembled someone who had swallowed a fly. They were extremely uncomfortable.
Neil’s gaze instantly darkened. He glanced at Karina, and I thought he would have reproached her for her actions. Instead, he walked through the crowd, took Karina’s hand, and led her away from the scene.
Suddenly, I, the whistleblower, felt like a clown, unsure if I had won or lost.
Due to my revelation, the award ceremony ended in chaos. Some people came to ask me about the process of discovering the truth, but I refused to explain. I just wanted to go home. After leaving the hospital, I was preparing to drive home when Ryan and Faith caught up with me. They were accompanied by Hiram, whom Neil had left behind when he left with Karina.
Hiram seemed to understand what had happened. Seeing me, he gritted his teeth, broke free from his grandparents’ hands, and rushed at me, pounding his small fists against me. “You hurt my mommy!
How could you be so mean? My mommy didn’t do anything wrong!”
Seeing Hiram’s violent actions, Ryan immediately grabbed him. “Hiram, you can’t behave like this. Your mommy was in the wrong, do you understand?”
“My mommy didn’t do anything wrong. Grandpa, why are you helping this mean lady too?” Hiram whimpered and cried, then pointed at me and accused me.
“She’s not a mean lady,” Ryan corrected Hiram. “Be a good boy and wait in the car. Grandma and I have some things to deal with.”
On such a serious matter, Ryan didn’t indulge Hiram at all and was even quite stern.
Hiram, scared, sobbed his way to the car where the driver was waiting.
Once Hiram was in the car, Ryan sighed, his face filled with displeasure. “I don’t know how Karina has been raising the child abroad. Hiram has many flaws that need to be corrected gradually!”
“Yes, this child has really been spoiled!” Faith also expressed her dissatisfaction with Karina. “No wonder she herself is of such character and has corrupted the child!”
I kept silent. I didn’t want to comment on that matter, as it would have seemed too deliberate.
Faith continued, “Irene, you did nothing wrong today. She almost deceived Ryan and me. We thought she was at least decent, but it turns out everything was a setup to deceive us to change our impression of her. We weren’t going to come today, but Hiram insisted, so we had no choice. Now it seems it was a good thing we came!”
“Faith, as long as you don’t blame me, it’s fine.” I said.
“You silly girl, why would we blame you? If we didn’t know her true colors and slowly accepted her, letting her marry into the Whitmore family/it would have been a disaster!” Faith answered firmly.
I truly admired them, not only for their favoritism towards me but also for their clear sense of right and wrong.
Ryan couldn’t help but add, “This Karina, we objected to her not just because of the disparity in our social status!”
I didn’t know there were other reasons. I was surprised.
Ryan seemed to think it was inappropriate and shook his head, saying no more. But Faith couldn’t resist, “What’s there to hide? She took a sum of money from Neil and then came to us asking for more!”
I was at a loss for words after hearing that.
Karina did that? I was sure Neil’s breakup fee to her wasn’t small. She wouldn’t have needed to ask Ryan and Faith for money. What was her purpose? She was simply ruining her own image.
But what was done was done, so it was no wonder Ryan and Faith had such a bad impression of her.
After chatting for a while, I saw Neil and Karina’s figures appear. They probably hadn’t gone far. And Karina’s eyes were red.
Seeing me talking with Ryan and Faith, she turned around and walked away.
Neil reluctantly grabbed her wrist, “Wouldn’t it be better to explain things clearly?”
“I don’t want to explain when they’re not going to believe me anyway. They only believe who they want to believe.” Karina’s words held a veiled meaning as she looked at me. Her eyes were filled with pain.
Ryan and Faith, of course, understood her words, but they chose to turn a blind eye,
“Speak up, and I’ll make them believe you.” Neil’s command was clear and unarguable. He brought Karina back in front of Ryan and Faith. “Speak.”
Seeing him defend Karina like that, I was taken back to a moment from before. It was like watching Neil defend Bonnie, standing up for her in front of his parents, wasn’t it?
I averted my gaze, turned around, and strode away. Whether Ryan and Faith chose to believe Karina or not, it was none of my business anymore.
