Chapter 326:
Selah fell hard, gasping for breath as she tried to steady herself. Panic flickered in her eyes as she cried out, “Rylie would never do such a thing! This hospital is the one she rebuilt with her own hands! She has reasons for every person she hires! How can you throw such baseless accusations at her?”
“Oh? Sounds like you’re close to her. So, are you defending this place just because you have connections at the top and don’t want them dragged into trouble?” The journalist twisted her words like a knife.
Flustered, Selah scrambled to her feet, using her arm to block the microphone shoved in her face. “That’s not what I meant! Not at all! Rylie would never do anything like that! How can you journalists spread lies this recklessly?” The microphone wobbled, almost hitting the ground before the journalist snatched it back. He turned to the camera. “Seems this lady knows the hospital’s dirty secrets but is trying to cover them up for her friend’s sake.”
Someone in the crowd sneered, “Don’t pity her just because she’s old. She’s no good — just another bad person.”
Freddy, having rushed over from Aetheris Pharmacy, spotted Selah and stepped in front of her protectively. Pointing at the journalist, he roared, “Which trashy tabloid are you from? Twisting the truth like this — I’ll file a complaint against you!”
The journalist backed up a few steps. Facing the camera, he said, “For our safety, we should leave before these hospital workers lose control. They’d do everything to bury the crimes they committed.”
Freddy’s anger flared. “Keep spouting lies and your paper will regret it!”
The reporter gave a bitter smile to the camera. “We’re being threatened here. Stay tuned for our continuing coverage tonight on Crolens Evening News.”
Rylie sped down the road, her phone buzzing nonstop with messages from the hospital’s management and PR team.
When the light turned red, she took a quick glance at social media. Twisted reports from the press filled her feed, and her gaze grew sharper, colder. Moments later, her inbox flooded with investigative notes from the dark web. A single name stood out alongside a surveillance clip from a café.
“Stacey Payne…” Rylie muttered, her finger brushing the screen as she stared at the maliciously framed photo. The stern but dignified faces of the veterans had been paired with a bold, misleading headline: HaloFlow Hospital’s Hiring Scandal: Hiring disabled veterans as doctors to snatch government funds and risk patients’ lives.
Mᴏʀᴇ ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇs ɪɴ ɢᴀʟɴᴏᴠᴇʟs.ᴄᴏᴍ
She turned off the phone and rested her hand on a stack of files about the retired veterans. Those records were crucial for that evening’s recruitment and might come in handy sooner than expected.
As she neared the hospital, a mass of live-streaming influencers, reporters, and protesters came into view. Banners flapped in the air, reading: Boycott HaloFlow Hospital.
The moment she stepped out of her car, Freddy spotted her from a corner. “Over here!”
She walked quickly to him, and Freddy filled her in, frustration clear in his voice. “The media’s twisting everything. They stirred up the crowd so badly that Selah sprained her ankle in the chaos.”
Rylie crouched by Selah, gently examining her ankle. Selah clutched Rylie’s wrist and said, “I’ve already checked it. Just a sprain. But Rylie, why are they calling us a shady hospital? And this nonsense about hiring disabled doctors — I can’t make sense of it.”
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