She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 252

The scandal had blown up so fast and so wide that Marcella couldn’t pretend she didn’t know what was going on.

All around her, younger people were shouting that Blossom Hospital was a “crooked hospital,” and even with her age and aching bones, Marcella forced herself forward and yelled at the crowd, “We’re not some shady operation! You’ve got it wrong—every last one of you has it wrong!”

“Move it, old lady!”

A reporter—one of those vultures desperate for a headline—had a camera on his shoulder. He shoved Marcella aside when she stepped in front of the lens, then actually leaned in and fired a question at her. “And why are you insisting this hospital is innocent?”

Marcella hit the ground hard. For a second she couldn’t even catch her breath, and with the camera pointed at her face she panicked. “The lady who poured her heart into building this hospital is like a granddaughter to me, and I know she'd never do something like this. If she chooses to hire certain people, she has her reasons. How can you all just make things up?”

“Granddaughter?” The reporter’s eyes lit up like he’d found gold. “So you’re only defending the hospital because your family has power here and you’re afraid she’ll get dragged down. Is that why you’re trying to cover up the truth?”

Marcella scrambled up, flustered, throwing her arm up to block the microphone that was practically pressed into her face. “That’s not what I mean! She wouldn’t do this! How can you call yourself a journalist and twist an old woman’s words like that?”

The mic nearly got swatted to the pavement. The reporter pulled back just in time, then turned to his camera with a practiced, solemn look. “It appears this elderly woman knows what’s happening behind the scenes, but for her family’s benefit, she intends to help conceal it.”

Someone nearby muttered, “Guess some people don’t get nicer with age—they just get worse.”

Scott arrived from CoreWell Pharmacy, spotted Marcella immediately, and stepped in front of her like a shield. He jabbed a finger at the reporter. “Which outlet are you with? You’re putting words in her mouth and warping the facts. I’m filing a complaint—I swear I am!”

The reporter took two steps back as if Scott were dangerous, then spoke to the camera again. “Let’s keep our distance from these out-of-control ‘employees’ of this so-called hospital.”

Scott’s face went red with rage. “Keep lying like that and your station’s going to regret it!”

The reporter gave the camera a helpless smile. “We’re being threatened, so for our safety we’ll continue reporting from the surrounding area. Stay tuned to Metropia Evening News…”

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Loyce’s car tore through the streets. The phone in the passenger seat wouldn’t stop vibrating—messages from hospital leadership and PR flooding in one after another.

At a red light, she skimmed the social media firestorm and saw the way certain outlets had twisted the story. Her eyes turned colder with every line.

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