Hearing her words, a sinister glint appeared in Leo's eyes. He grabbed his jacket. "Ivy, we need to go to the hospital right now. Your eyes look serious. We need a doctor to run an evaluation and start treatment."

Once the five days were up, he would have everything he needed to completely destroy Caitlin.

"Okay," Ivy agreed, realizing the gravity of the situation. "I'll go get changed."

After changing, Ivy put on a pair of sunglasses. They skipped breakfast and immediately headed for the hospital.

In the car, Ivy pulled out her phone and opened the Facebook app. It was a popular platform for sharing content and shopping, with many industry experts active on it. People often posted about their problems and received advice from professionals.

As soon as she logged in, she saw the trending topics.

#Freya

#JadeGlowBalm

Ivy immediately clicked on the hashtag and was met with a flood of posts. It turned out she wasn't alone. Countless others were experiencing the same symptoms: redness, swelling, and itching at their scar sites. Some cases were even worse than hers.

[What is going on? My scar hasn't gotten better at all; it feels like it's getting worse! And it's so itchy every night.]

[OMG, me too! The itching is unbearable at night!]

[Is there something wrong with this Jade Glow Balm?]

[Sobbing, am I going to be disfigured?]

[I looked in the mirror this morning and my world just fell apart!!!]

[Complaint! I'm filing a complaint against Jade Glow Balm!]

[I'm taking this to the highest regulatory body!]

[This is outrageous! Gonzales Holdings is completely out of control!]

[I trusted Gonzales Holdings and Ms. Gonzales so much, and this is how they repay our trust.]

[We, the consumers, demand an explanation!]

[A friend of mine has been in the skincare industry for twenty years. He said anything that can remove scars is a drug, not a cosmetic. I thought this balm was just an overpriced gimmick, but it turns out it's not just snake oil—it's poison that ruins your skin. Freya has really screwed up this time.]

[Just a few days ago, I was defending Freya against the trolls from Rosenthal. Looks like I'm getting my karma today!]

[Yeah, me too. When people from Rosenthal were mocking Freya and the balm, we all rushed to defend her. Now we're the clowns!]

[@GonzalesHoldings! @Freya, give your customers an answer!]

[If my face is ruined, I swear I will not let Gonzales Holdings get away with this!] [Do they take us for fools?]

[...]

Leo, sitting beside her, also saw the online outcry. He narrowed his eyes, a smug look spreading across his face. The backlash was happening even faster than he had anticipated. And this was only the beginning. The real storm was yet to come. Meanwhile, Caitlin was well aware of the situation. After hearing her assistant's report, she remained calm. "I understand," she said in a light tone. "I'll handle it. You can go back to your work."

The assistant gave her a puzzled look but said nothing more and left the office.

Caitlin picked up her phone, logged into the official Gonzales Holdings account, and started recording a video. She casually put on a white face mask, not bothering with angles or filters, and began speaking immediately.

"Hello everyone, this is Freya. I have seen all of your feedback. Please do not worry. The redness, swelling, and itching are all normal parts of the process You have to break things down to build them back up. Only after the storm can you see the rainbow. For the first batch of users, today is day 25. By day 30, you will witness a miracle."

"So, please give us five more days. If, after five days, there is no improvement and your scars have not disappeared, I will take full responsibility."

"Additionally, have been using Jade Glow Balm

my 25th day." She held up her arm to the camera, showing a scar that was in a similar state to what user's were describing. "My scar looks exactly like yours right now. By day 30, a thick scab will form over the area. Once you peel that scab off, you will

aga self, and today is also

see the miracle. I wish you all a rebirth from the ashes."

After recording, she uploaded the video directly without adding any flashy filters.

People had been anxiously awaiting a response, so the video shot to the top of the trending lists almost instantly.

Ivy saw Caitlin's video and immediately played it on speaker. Leo, in the car beside her, heard everything.

*Break things down to build them back up? A scab will form in five days? Peel it off to see a miracle?*

It was utter nonsense. Absolute

gibberish. Everyone knew that a scab was a natural part of healing and should be allowed to fall off on its own Forcibly tearing it off would only cause further damage to t wound. To evade responsibility, Caitlin was spewing the most ridiculous lies. Did she really think anyone would believe her?

"Stop the car!"

Ivy suddenly shouted.

"What's wrong?" Leo turned to look at her.

Ivy seemed to have made a decision. "Stop the car. I'm not going to the hospital."

"Why not?" Leo was completely bewildered.

"Miss Gonzales is right," Ivy said firmly. "No pain, no gain. You have to persevere

to be reborn. Since it's only five more days until the 30-day mark, I'm going to wait!"