Chapter 616
The woman who asked flushed with embarrassment. “I only asked because of the rumors online. I didn’t recognize you right away. Now that I do, I simply wanted to ask. Please don’t take offense, Mr. Marcus. I’d never accuse your family of cheating.”
Kristen set down her spoon after sipping her dessert soup and chimed in, “Piano? Isn’t she supposed to be a medical student? Didn’t a patient get hurt? How was that handled? And how much was the compensation?”
“Kristen!” Frank quickly cut her off and turned to Rylie with an apologetic look. “Sorry. She just speaks too bluntly. She didn’t mean any harm.”
Kendrick’s expression hardened. Known for his sharp instincts, he instantly realized that this young woman from Morkina held no regard for the Owen family or anyone else seated at the table. Her audacity suggested she was either utterly naive or had powerful backing behind her.
Beneath the table, Rylie tapped Kendrick’s leg, urging him to keep his composure. Meeting the stares directed at her, she responded evenly, “I do have some understanding of medicine, and I’m aware that Mr. Frank Morgan’s health isn’t in its prime. Miss Fowler, you ought to pay closer attention to your boyfriend’s well-being.”
Kristen shot back, “That’s absurd. He’s in perfect condition.”
Rylie’s lips curved faintly. “Is that so? To me, he appears like someone who’s battled a serious drug habit for a long time.”
The statement landed like an explosion in the quiet dining hall.
“How can you make such outrageous claims without proof?” Frieda was the first to voice her displeasure, clutching Frank’s arm protectively. Her glare burned into Rylie as she fought to keep her temper in check. “Frank has always been a model of integrity and excellence in his studies. There’s no way he would ever be involved in something like that. Miss Owen, you’ve crossed the line.”
Cillian interjected, “Frank received a top-tier education from an early age. He would never be involved with questionable people. Miss Owen, you should realize that spreading rumors comes with consequences.”
“Everything she says is always the truth.”
Brad’s voice, calm yet unyielding, carried a weight that stilled every murmur in the room.
His steady gaze fixed on Rylie, filled with unwavering conviction and protection. “She is the doctor who pulled me back from the edge of death. If she says it happened, then it happened.”
This obvious favoritism shattered Frieda’s composure. She spun toward Brad, her voice breaking with unrestrained fury. “Why do you trust her blindly? Are you truly siding with a stranger over your own family? Brad! Does she have something on you, forcing you to help her smear Frank’s name? Or is it that you use drugs yourself, so you believe everyone does the same?”
The moment her accusation landed, the entire dining hall fell into a suffocating silence.
Brad observed the scene in silence, his face devoid of emotion, the icy glint in his eyes unsoftened.
Yet, under the weight of every gaze, he gave only a slight nod, accepting the hollow apology without uttering a word.
He had no wish to bring further distress to his grandfather.
Although the uproar seemed to have subsided for the moment, the air at the banquet remained frigid, leaving everyone deep in their own thoughts, scarcely noticing the food before them.
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