CHAPTER 39: SHIFT IN THE AIR

"Julie’s totally busted! Let’s get out of here," her friends hissed and bolted without a second thought, eager to escape before they got dragged into it.

She tried to bolt after them, but Mia grabbed her shoulder.

"Where do you think you’re going?!"

Julie froze, panic washing over her. "I—I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it was my fault," she stammered, eyes darting around the room.

Bystanders in the lounge stayed rooted, eager to see how things would unfold.

A hot wave of embarrassment washed over her as their cold, disdainful eyes pinned her in place.

Lyra thrust the phone at her. "Unlock—let’s see what game you’re playing."

Her tone was steady, but underneath it she felt a ripple of unease, unsure of what she was about to find.

Julie’s thumb shook against the screen.

And as soon as it unlocked, Mia skimmed down the feed, and Lyra watched from the side while the ugly captions beneath her photo appeared.

[Attention seeker trying too hard to get noticed]

[Spotlight stealer spotted at the conference today]

[Unprofessional behavior from a guest]

Lyra stared at the screen, baffled. Since when had she ever tried to get attention? From the start of the conference, she just sat quietly.

The comments were vicious, each one shredding her with insults and twisting the story into something uglier.

Some even crossed the line, throwing out threats and bragging about what they’d do if they ever came face-to-face with her.

It kept spiraling, comments exploding in a rapid chain reaction.

"It blew up... and now everyone’s cursing me."

Her brows tightening, subconsciously pressed her hand to her forehead. But then Lyra shot Julie a sharp, dagger-like glare.

"Why—what did I ever do to you that made you hate me this much?"

Lyra was seconds away from losing control. Mia grabbed her shoulder when she noticed the color starting to drain from her face.

There was no need to hear whatever Julie might say. Her bad deed had already done the damage.

Besides, Mia had already pieced it together—Julie must have hired someone to push the posts even further.

They needed to shut it down now before Lyra got hit with a full-on social attack.

"Delete it. All of it. Now—before we call the police." Mia barked.

Julie had no way to escape. She knew how to spread a rumor, but she had no idea how to stop one.

Panic crashed over her, and she collapsed to her knees, begging Mia not to call the police.

From where she sat, Julie could see the entire room, eyes on her, nearly every phone lifted and recording. The walls felt like they were closing in.

Cornered and desperate to escape, she switched to her last resort—acting.

Suddenly she grabbed at her chest, she let out a sharp, dramatic gasp and toppled sideways as if she were about to pass out.

"She fainted!" a woman at the back yelled. "Go get help! Hurry!"

Someone bolted out of the room to find assistance.

Mia and Lyra looked at each other. They definitely didn’t believe it Julie had suddenly fainted.

She had seemed perfectly fine just moments ago.

Whispers rippled through the crowd like wildfire.

People gasped, pointed, and quietly blamed Mia and Lyra, claiming they had pushed Julie too hard, forced the confession out of her... and now the poor girl had collapsed under the pressure.

The irony was almost laughable.

None of them realized the two women were doctors.

Mia crouched beside Julie, checked Julie’s pulse, her breathing, her pupils—all, while trying to decide what expression she was supposed to wear for the audience watching her every move.

Julie lay limp, her eyelids fluttering just enough to peek, still pretending to be unconscious. Her breathing was perfectly steady.

Mia leaned closer to Lyra, her voice barely above a breath. "She’s faking."

Lyra let out a long, exhausted sigh. "Great!"

Now like she was playing nurse and detective all at once!

The situation made her feel boxed in.

"I think I want to go home," Lyra murmured.

Mia noticed the redness around Lyra’s nose, the way she was fighting back tears. Concern softened her expression.

"Let me take care of this quickly, then we can leave," Mia said quietly.

The lounge was already a mess, but the chaos doubled when the woman who had run out earlier not knowing who to call or what to do.

She panicked and screamed for security like she was summoning a superhero, instantly dragging everyone’s attention.

Within minutes, the woman lounge felt suffocating.

The earlier commotion had drawn people from the hallway, and now the entrance teemed with curious faces, all pressing forward, trying to see what was happening.

Coincidentally, the interview had just ended, and there was a short break before the second session started.

On the other side of the conference hall, Theo tried to reach Lyra, but the call went unanswered. He stood from his seat and glanced at her chair—empty.

He tried again. Still nothing.

Theo hurried toward Silas, who was about to leave his seat.

"Excuse me," Theo asked, slightly breathless.

"The woman who was here with Dr. Chavan—where did she go?" He pointed at the Lyra’s empty seat.

Theo remembered Lyra mentioning she had been with Dr. Chavan. What he didn’t realize was that the man he was speaking to was also Dr. Chavan—the father.

But Silas understood immediately who he meant.

"They went to the women’s lounge earlier," he said.

"Oh—alright. Thank you, sir," Theo replied quickly.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out, people were saying a woman had gotten into a fight and then fainted in the lounge.

Theo’s heart dropped. His first assumption hit instantly—Lyra had fainted.

He sprinted toward the women’s lounge in a dead sprint, without a second of hesitation, not even glancing at the people he blew past.

"Theo..." Albert called out, but his son was already halfway down the hall.

Rowan frowned. "What’s going on with him?"

They had been on their way to the refreshment area, but Theo’s sudden, restless behavior made all of them stop in place.

Damian was the first to answer. "Some woman said there was a fight and someone fainted."

"Tsk. Women—if they’re not arguing, they’re not breathing," Kane said, folding his arms with the confidence of a man who’d seen too much.

Just then, three women passed by them.

"Hi, want to join us for a meal?" they greeted with bright smiles and soft giggles, not stopping as they continued walking past.

The rest ignored them, except Kane, who waved back with a cheery smile.

"Yeah, go on ahead. We’ll see you there." He winked.

Damian shot him a deadpan look. Typical Kane—naturally, the guy who read women like a book was the one doing the flirting.

Rowan asked his father, "Since when Theo involved in women’s business? Did he meet someone?"

Albert’s eyes widened. He suddenly remembered about Theo deciding to take care of Lyra.

"Lyra—Theo must be looking for her. Something happened," Albert blurted out, worry written all over his face.

"Lyra?" Rowan echoed, confused.

He shot his father a sharp look, already picking up on the reaction behind Albert’s expression.

"You said she’d already headed back to Mistvale because she was upset."

Rowan stared at him, realization dawning.

Albert waved it off. "That’s not important right now. Let’s go check."