Chapter 563
Chapter 563
Selena barely realized when her feet began to move.
Her hands were still trembling as she returned the reporter’s phone. Her breathing came short and uneven. Noel’s voice echoed in her mind, again, like a hammer striking without pause.
No biological relationship between Eli and Chase Miller. The DNA test manipulated under her orders. Noel pressured and threatened into issuing the document.
“I need to leave,” she said quickly-more to herself than to anyone around her.
“How do you respond to this news, Mrs. Selena?” the female reporter pressed, stepping closer.
“Is what Dr. Noel said true p>
Selena ignored her. She turned and walked toward the restaurant exit, her steps quick and rigid. The chairs and tables that had seemed elegant earlier now felt like a narrow corridor closing in on her from all sides.
Some diners stared. Others whispered, their expressions filled with disbelief. A few had already taken out their phones, snapping photos and recording the scene.
Selena didn’t look back. She didn’t care what they were doing. She only wanted to get out. The moment she pushed through the glass doors, the daylight hit her eyes, sharp and blinding.
And then she stopped. At the bottom of the front steps, more than ten people were already waiting.
Most of them held cameras and microphones-reporters from several well-known television stations in SunCity. Others pointed their phone cameras straight at her face, already recording before she had even taken a full step outside.
Someone shouted first.
“There she is! Selena Ward just came out p>
Within seconds, they surged forward.
“Selena! Is it true you falsified the DNA test results p>
“Did you pressure Noel Abraham to alter the laboratory report p>
“Did you use Eli’s identity to gain access to the Miller family p>
“Were you working with certain parties to bring down Callister Group p>
Camera flashes burst one after another.
Selena took a step back.
Then another. She kept retreating as the reporters crowded closer, their questions crashing over her in waves. Where could she go? There was nowhere to escape.
Think. Find a way out, she told herself, her chest tightening painfully.
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“I’m sorry, I can’t make any statement right now,” she said quickly, forcing her voice to remain steady.
But no one moved back.
“Do you deny the document manipulation allegations p>
“Have you been spreading false information to the media p>
“What is your response to the possibility of criminal charges p>
The crowd pressed in tighter. Microphones hovered inches from her face. Someone accidentally bumped her shoulder, but no one made any effort to give her space. She stood there like the center of a spectacle, surrounded from all sides.
Selena fought to keep the panic from rising. Her hand slipped into her bag, pulling out her phone. She dialed Harold’s number. Once. No connection.
She tried again. Still nothing. A cold sheen of sweat began to form at her temples.
“Selena! Was anyone else involved in this manipulation p>
“Are you connected to the same network as Bret Frederick p>
“What made you think you could alter a document that important p>
“Was your target the Miller family from the beginning p>
Selena lowered her head further, trying to push her way out of the tightening circle as the questions continued to crash over her. She had never imagined something like this would happen.
And she couldn’t believe someone had exposed the truth. But who?
Across the street, a large outdoor screen mounted on a building was broadcasting the news on a continuous loop.
BREAKING NEWS – SUN CITY LIVE
“ELI’S DNA TEST CONFIRMED FALSE – NOEL ABRAHAM ADMITS PRESSURE FROM SELENA WARD”
A scrolling line of text ran beneath it:
Allegations of document falsification, public manipulation, and defamation against the Miller family.
Pedestrians passing near the restaurant began to slow down. Some stopped entirely, watching the broadcast. As pieces of the story sank in, several of them lifted their phones, recording and capturing the moment.
“Fraud!” someone shouted from the back of the crowd.
Selena didn’t turn around. But the word struck harder than any of the reporters’ questions.
Others clicked their tongues in disgust. Some muttered insults under their breath, condemning her for deceiving the public.
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