Chapter 98 A Crumbling Crown

The moment Scarlett spoke, the entire hall froze.

b59/bb% /b

Finished

Only the senior professors reacted differently–turning toward her as if she were a rare national treasure. Their gazes burned with a feverish intensity.

Once the audience realized none of the esteemed experts were disputing her im, their shock deepened.

All eyes turned to Scarlett.

Martha’s gaze, especially, was like daggers–if looks could kill, Scarlett would’ve been shredded on the spot.

Beside her, Oliver quickly tried to calm her down.

“Mom, don’t worry. I’ve got everything under control.”

“Reba’s incredible. She’ll be fine against someone half aspetent.”

Martha’s heartbeat slowed.

Right. How icould /iiI /iiever /iidoubt /iiReba/ii? /i

iCome /ioni, /iiReba/i–wipe ithe /iifloor /iwith ithis /iilittle /iifake/ii! /i

She clenched her fists and looked back toward the stage, eyes gleaming with hope.

But Scarlett had long stopped caring about how people viewed her. At this point, she could handle praise or humiliation without flinching.

Her tone remained calm, steady, and powerful.

“If you’ve truly studied this subject,” she said, “then you should know: the density of CD28 receptors on human T cells is several times higher than that on lower–order animals. Antibody binding doesn’t trigger ‘activation–it causes a ‘burst“.”

The entire auditorium fell silent.

If it caused a cellr burst…

Then any patient who received this treatment would be as good as dead.

Calvin whipped his head around and stared at Reba, panic shing in his eyes.

“Reba, are you telling me you didn’t run verification with the primate simtion system?”

Reba’s face went ghostly pale.

She hadn’t even considered it.

The idea had originally been Scarlett’s.

When Reba first saw the promising mouse data, she had taken it without hesitation.

Scarlett had objected in theb, but she brushed it off.

Chapter 98 A Crumbling Crown

And to keep the truth from ever getting out… she’d orchestrated thatb fire.

Finished

But after the fire, Scarlett had broken off the engagement and cut ties with the Joyner family, so the matter had quietly died.

She had thought–after the conference, she could use Scarlett’s istion to control herpletely and secure her position in the academic world.

She hadn’t expected to stumble this badly.

Looking back now, she couldn’t help but wonder–maybe Scarlett had fought her so fiercely back then for her own good.

Reba clenched her teeth.

Then put on a pitiful face, eyes brimming with tears.

“Professor… I did run the simtion. But the research is still in the mouse–testing phase, and theter trials weren’t finished in time, so I left them out of the paper.”

Calvin let out a breath of relief.

iOf /iicourse/ii–/iiReba /iihad /iialways /iibeen /iimeticulous/ii. /iiThe /iiinnovation /iiwas /isolid, ithe /iiwork /iimethodical/i. iShe /icouldn’t ihave /iimissed /iisomething /iso ibasic/ii. /i

As someone who’d handled many public situations in his career, Calvin quickly took control.

“My student is cautious by nature.”

“Since the primate simtions weren’t conclusive yet, she chose not to present that data.”

But the audience wasn’t convinced.

A few scoffed loudly.

“Well, Professor Miller, if you’re that cautious, why’d you let your student present half–finished work? Thought we were witnessing a breakthrough in immunotherapy–what a letdown. Even basic research should include primate simtions before moving toward clinical trials. This is hrious. A conference this prestigious, and someone shows up half–baked.”

Calvin had always held himself above others, so he wasn’t especially well–liked in the field.

Now, his rivals wasted no time kicking him while he was down.

Calvin was seething.

iScarlett /imust’ve known iall /iialong/ii. /i

And she’d waited for this moment–when the whole room was watching–to embarrass Reba.

He’d thought Reba’s presentation might ce in the top threei, /i

Now, it would be lucky not to fall to the bottom three.

iIf /iiI’d /iiknown /iithis /iiwould /iihappen/i. iI’d /iihave /iisent /iMicah iinstead/ii. /iiAt /iileast /iihe /iwouldn’t ihumiliate /iime/i.

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Chapter 98 A Crumbling Crown

He nced at Reba in frustration.

She had her head lowered, fists clenched in herp, looking utterly crushed.

Like a wilted eggnt after the first frost.

49 Finished

Seeing her like that, so small and pitiful, Calvin choked back the scolding on the tip of his tongue.

Instead, he seethed in silence.

Still—he figured this mess could be spun.

Even if the paper was now deemed a “work–in–progress,” it still showed Reba’s dedication to research.

Better than being dismissed as a clueless amateur.

More importantly, he needed to protect ihis /iiown /ireputation.

“I suppose I’m partly to me,” he said with a rueful smile. “Been too busytely to thoroughly review her draft. My apologies to everyone.”

The audienceughed again.

But because of Calvin’s standing, no one pressed further.

Reba slumped back into her seat, humiliated. Her eyes were already bloodshot.

She had spent so long preparing for this conference, aiming straight for the championship.

During her presentation, she’d clearly seen the admiration on several professors‘ faces.

And now–All of it had been shattered… by just a few words from Scarlett.