Chapter 62 I Really Envy You for Having Such a Good Friend
Everett stormed out, his face twisted in anger.
Hannah watched him go, her expression darkening.
"Everett always seemed so proper, but he could be downright nasty. Watch your back. He might try to pin something on you."
Cordelia nodded slightly, her eyes downcast as she examined the patient's file in her hands. She pointed to a spot on the scan.
Hannah turned her attention back to the medical discussion, listening to Cordelia talk about the treatment plan.
After leaving Cordelia's office, Everett went to the storage room to gather his things. He saved Cordelia's profile picture from her social media account, then created a new account to stage his own drama.
At the Hughes Group.
Because Alaric had been paying a lot of attention to Cordelia lately, Robert was also keeping an eye on her situation.
He had just come across a post: #Male Intern Fired for Refusing Sexual Advances from His Female Mentor.
When he clicked on it, he realized the intern was at Sunrise Valley Hospital and his mentor was Cordelia.
The post quickly gained traction in the city.
[Nowadays, it's not just girls who need to protect themselves. Boys do too.]
[That female mentor is shameless. Is she that desperate?]
[Poor boy, having to deal with that kind of mentor.]
[This guy must come from a well-off family. If he were from a regular family, he might have been forced to comply with that evil mentor.]
Everett had posted it using his personal social media account, which was filled with selfies from various angles.
His boyish good looks quickly garnered sympathy from many young women. Plus, he had fabricated chat logs to support his claims, making his story even more believable.
Upon seeing the post, Robert immediately went to Alaric's office.
"Mr. Hughes, you need to see this."
Alaric took the tablet Robert handed him and glanced at the post and the chat logs Everett had posted.
In the chat logs, Cordelia hinted that if he complied with her, she would ensure he passed his internship smoothly. If he didn't, his future in the medical field would be bleak.
Alaric's brows furrowed as he read the messages.
"Mr. Hughes, I don't think Ms. Stone would do something like this. Should we call her to check?" Robert asked cautiously.
Alaric's eyes turned cold.
Call her?
When he thought about how Cordelia had insisted on their divorce that morning, his chest tightened.
"Boost this post's visibility. Get it trending nationwide," he ordered coldly.
Robert's face paled.
"Mr. Hughes, are you sure..."
Seeing Alaric's stern expression, Robert quickly followed his orders.
With the Hughes Group's resources, Everett's post quickly climbed the trending charts and gained even more attention.
Upon seeing the post's rising popularity, Everett's expression changed. He quickly deleted the post.
But it was too late. The post had already been screenshotted and shared by countless media outlets. Within an hour, it topped the national trending list.
After deleting the post, Everett told his classmates he had been forced by the school to take it down. His classmates shared their chat logs, claiming he had been threatened into deleting it.
The story's momentum continued to grow.
Cordelia's identity as Everett's mentor was soon revealed. Once her photos were leaked, they sparked widespread discussion.
[Those chat logs were totally fabricated by the intern. Cordelia's the most beautiful woman at Pioneer University of Medicine. Her photos are even on the university's official website. She's amazing.]
[Cordelia comes from a prestigious family. She used to be the wealthiest person in Shadowpine. Tons of exceptional people have pursued her. Why would she be interested in an intern?]
[Just heard from Cordelia herself that the chat logs are fake! Rumor has it the intern tried to climb the social ladder by getting close to Cordelia, and when he was exposed, he retaliated by making up this drama.]
[In today's digital age, if someone really wanted to suggest something like that, they'd do it in person, not through chat logs. It's laughable.]
A follow-up article titled "To Destroy a Woman, Slander Her Character" was widely shared.
The Hughes Group also released a official statement.
[Sunrise Valley Hospital's reputation had been damaged by the intern's defamatory claims, so they were suing Everett for damages and pursuing a public prosecution.]
The entire process took less than two hours.
When Evelyn noticed the post, she was about to issue a statement, but the Hughes Group had already acted.
"I heard the post gained traction so quickly because the Hughes Group was pushing it," her secretary remarked.
"Mr. Hughes seems determined to get that intern jailed."
Evelyn nodded slightly, her expression unreadable.
"Maybe Cordelia never spoke to him like that. Even fake news can stir jealousy."
The secretary had thought the Hughes Group was trying to undermine the Stone Group, but it turned out they were just trying to sue Everett.
"Isn't Mr. Hughes planning to divorce Cordelia?" the secretary asked.
Evelyn nodded.
"Men can be fickle. Maybe he doesn't want the divorce anymore."
The secretary paused. Wasn't Alaric supposedly still seeing his first love on the side? Could he really just decide not to divorce?
She glanced at Evelyn, who sat in her chair with a cold expression.
With a protective sister like Evelyn, Alaric wouldn't call off the divorce on a whim.
Meantime, Cordelia and Hannah had just finished assisting in a surgery. Three hours later, as Cordelia returned to her office, she noticed many colleagues looking at her with sympathetic eyes.
Joe approached her directly to apologize.
"Dr. Stone, I'm sorry. I didn't vet Everett's character before bringing him in, and now he's caused you so much trouble."
"Ruth just called and gave me an earful. Please put in a good word for me with her."
Cordelia looked puzzled.
Her colleagues then filled her in on the drama Everett had concocted while she was in surgery.
She frowned, her expression serious.
"Luckily, Mr. Hughes has already handled it," a colleague said quickly.
"You're fortunate to have a friend like Mr. Hughes. If it were any other doctor, their career might have been ruined by Everett's lies."
Cordelia felt a mix of emotions at the mention of "friend."