Bianca bowed again. “We are investigating and have identified the girl. We hope she will come forward to explain her actions. As for whether her intervention delayed Vincent’s treatment, we cannot say for certain at this time. That concludes this press conference.”
The livestream cut to black, but online, a firestorm had erupted. Two hashtags trended: one questioning whether Loyce’s actions on stage were helpful or harmful, and another debating whether the person who attacked Vincent was a fan or an anti-fan seeking revenge. The internet was split.
The concert lighting had been dim and colored in moody pinks, and the VIP seats were isolated, so most of the photos of Loyce that surfaced online were blurry. A frantic search began across the web to identify the girl and demand an explanation: was she a savior or an accomplice?
The Lonsdale family discovered the news immediately. Even Forrest Lonsdale, who was abroad, kept a close eye on his sister’s activities. He acted at once, ordering his people to scrub the blurry photos from the internet and ban the social media accounts of fans posting extreme and dangerous comments.
Overnight, it was as if the entire internet had been muzzled. Any post containing Loyce’s photo or related commentary was swiftly taken down.
The next day, Gordon Lonsdale learned what had happened. He slammed his coffee cup down on the table, his voice booming with anger as he spoke to Forrest on the phone. “How dare these people question my granddaughter’s medical skills? She’s already been accepted into a graduate program at Kordell Medical University! She’s brilliant! How could she possibly be an anti-fan or an accomplice to a murderer? You must resolve this completely for Loyce! She can’t be affected by this! I don’t want her to be unhappy.”
Forrest sighed. “I already had the online content cleaned up. I also just called Loyce. I wanted to reveal her identity immediately, but she doesn't want me to. She says she’ll handle it herself.”
“When will she ever stop shouldering everything herself?” Gordon lamented, his voice filled with pained affection. “Loyce has endured so many rumors over the years.”
After a moment of silence, Forrest said, “Grandpa, Loyce has her own way of thinking. She believes that if you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. We could use the Lonsdale family’s power to crush this negative press, but we can’t stop people from talking. It would only make them think she lacks real ability. She has a point when she says she wants to solve it herself. We should trust her. She’s handled things well before, hasn’t she? Her independence is a strength, even if we all wish she would lean on us more.”
Forrest’s words gave Gordon pause. After a long silence, he said, “Fine, fine. It’s normal for children to have their own ideas as they grow up. You and your brothers keep an eye on things from the background. And another thing—if that rascal Hank hadn’t abandoned Loyce halfway through the event, none of this would have happened! Tell him to get his ass back here!”
“I’ll tell him,” Forrest replied.

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