Chapter 181

A reporter leaned forward and asked with curiosity,"Mr. Maxton Fairclough, Evelyn has always been mysterious, and the public is eager to know more.Since you and your son know her personally, could you tell us what kind of person she really is?"

The question was exactly what Maxton wanted.Smiling broadly, he responded in his warm, booming voice, "Evelyn's medical skills are extraordinary.She's not only a gifted healer but also someone with a heart full of kindness. That's what makes her so admirable..."

As he grew more animated, his compliments poured out endlessly, and it was as if he'd forgotten the true purpose of the interview-to address the rumor tying Verena to Tobin.

From her seat in the corner, Verena could only watch the scene unfold, her expression tinged with resignation.

Nearly thirty minutes slipped by, and still neither Maxton nor Tobin had mentioned the scandal involving her.

Frustrated, she pulled out her phone and quickly typed a reminder to Tobin, saying, "Please, stop praising me and get to the main issue."

Clinging to the hope that he'd notice, she looked up again-only for Tobin to chime in with the same glowing praise. "At first, I thought Evelyn was distant and unapproachable. But once I got to know her, l realized she's genuine, honest, and humble. Even with all her accomplishments, she never lets pride get in the way. She has so many qualities worth admiring..."

Both father and son seemed completely swept up,their faces flushed as they went on and on about her virtues.

It suddenly hit Verena that they had turned off their phones before going on stage, leaving them unable to see her desperate message.

Letting out a small, resigned laugh, she leaned her forehead against her hand, her gaze dropping with amusement.

Like father, like son. Neither could stay on track when it came to her.

She couldn't help but think-were these really the same legendary businessmen she had read about?

Neither of them resembled the men described in the reports.

The interview was being streamed live.

Because both Maxton and Evelyn were highly influential, the broadcast caused an immediate stir across Clokron and even Verena's homeland-Akoitha.

In Akoitha, chat groups lit up in every circle.

One chat group, made up of Shoildon's wealthy young elites, was buzzing louder than the rest. "Have you seen that live broadcast from the foreign press?"

"Yeah, I'm watching right now. Didn't expect that."

"So Bobby swore Verena went to treat Maxton, but on camera, Maxton clearly said it was Evelyn who treated him. Not even a mention of Verena. Did Bobby get played by his own sister-in-law?"

The conversation leaned heavily toward the idea that Bobby had spoken up just to protect the Bennett family's reputation.

But since Bobby was in the chat himself, no one dared to laugh at him outright. Instead, the digs were aimed sideways at Verena.

When he noticed the messages, Bobby chimed in,"My sister-in-law told me herself she treated him,and I believe her. She wouldn't lie to me."

His words landed flat, though. The others carried on without acknowledging him.

"She could've at least come up with a story that made sense. Who's going to believe that?"

"Everyone knows she's having an affair with Tobin.What's the point of pretending otherwise? She's only making herself look pathetic."

"Now she's the one who looks like a fool. Honestly hilarious!"

"Even when Bobby said it, I thought it was odd. The Fairclough family wouldn't call in some unknown doctor. If they needed a physician, they'd bring in an expert like Evelyn, someone with real authority."

"So this is what people mean when they talk about putting on an image of perfection while behaving differently behind the scenes. She tried so hard to protect her spotless reputation, but alI she managed to do was leave herself open to humiliation."

The group filled with sneers and mocking comments,but a few sharper voices started to question things.

"Hold up-let's think about this. Verena left the country, claiming she was treating Maxton. Then, in that live broadcast, Maxton himself confirmed Evelyn treated him. What if Verena and Evelyn are actually the same person?"

The remark stunned the group of wealthy youth into silence for a moment.

"You can speculate, but don't cross into the absurd!"one of them wrote.

"Where's the logic in linking the two?" another asked.

Still, a few voices hesitated, suggesting, "It might not be impossible. Verena did graduate from Pine Hill University. That has to count for something."

Others dismissed the idea with laughter. "So what if she studied there? If she were truly exceptional,the internet would already be full of her achievements.At her school she was practically invisible. Every top university has students who scrape by unnoticed."

"I agree with that. At best, Verena's skills are above average. If she were really outstanding, everyone in the circle would know her name already."

The conversation grew so ridiculous that one person finally interjected, "Forget about the scandal for a second. Do you realize this chat is now turning into an insult against Pine Hill's medical graduates?That's laughable."

Bobby had been ready to defend his sister-in-law,but when someone hinted Verena could actually be Evelyn, he froze and thought hard.

Verena wouldn't lie to him-she had said she went abroad to treat Maxton, using the story about being Tobin's girlfriend as a cover to protect herself from malicious attacks.

Now Maxton publicly claimed Evelyn had healed him.

Could it be that Verena and Evelyn were one and the same?

The more he considered it, the more thrilled Bobby became. His cheeks flushed, and excitement burned in his eyes. Meanwhile, Maxton's interview spread rapidly across group chats. Katelyn noticed the flood of speculation about whether Verena might secretly be Evelyn, and her nerves tightened.

Even with so much chatter, most continued to ridicule Verena-but Katelyn couldn't shake the uneasy feeling growing inside her.

She scoured the internet for every scrap of information on Verena and Evelyn, determined not to miss a single clue.

Her search ended with one firm belief: there was no way Verena could be Evelyn.

Once she settled on that conclusion, her lips curved into a cold, twisted smile.

She wasn't the real Evelyn, and Verena couldn't be,either.

There was absolutely nothing linking the two of them, and if Verena had really been Evelyn, she would have spoken up and revealed the truth the moment Katelyn confronted her. And if Verena had claimed it during the flood of online insults, nobody would have dared to mock her.

Her silence told the truth-she wasn't Evelyn.Why else would she keep quiet?

To Katelyn, it looked certain now: Verena had indeed betrayed Isaac. The idea that she was treating Maxton felt laughable, a pathetic excuse.

Tobin would never settle for someone like Verena. If Maxton needed help, he would only trust someone world-renowned-someone like Evelyn.

The thought of Verena's looming humiliation made Katelyn's chest tighten with glee. If Verena went down, the Bennett family would be dragged with her.Their downfall would be just as sweet to witness.

If she couldn't have happiness, then neither would Verena and Isaac.

A hideous grin tugged at Katelyn's mouth, and a wild gleam flickered in her eyes. Madness and satisfaction mingled together in her expression.

Meanwhile, Isaac followed overseas reports closely,his attention fixed on Verena since she had traveled abroad.After watching Maxton's interview, he pieced together the clues and reached a shocking realization-Verena and Evelyn might actually be the same person.

His mother's claim that Katelyn was Evelyn struck him as nothing but a fabrication, a scheme Katelyn had used to fool her.

When it came to Verena, though, he was convinced the Fairclough family had recognized her true identity from the beginning.

Isaac's eyes narrowed as he thought back to what Verena had said during their last phone call.

Was she trying to reveal something about being Evelyn all along?

The silence stretched before he finally released a faint sigh, his gaze dropping.

A storm of emotions swept through him-pride in her,bitterness at her secrecy, and disappointment that gnawed at him.

He couldn't tell which feeling weighed heavier, but his chest throbbed with an ache that words couldn't capture.

Verena turned out to be far greater than anything he had imagined.

She wasn't just gifted; she was a prodigy whose medical brilliance had already placed her far above others her age.

Isaac felt a surge of pride for her achievements,yet the thought of her hiding them left him unsettled.

The revelation hadn't come from her but from the world,and that stung.

Could it be that she did not see him as the most important person in her life, and that was why she believed he was unworthy of being the first to know? His dark eyes clouded as his attention shifted to his useless legs.

Someone as remarkable as Verena-would she really choose to remain with him forever? Could she truly be content tied to a man like him?