“Lydia, what’s going on?” The judge beside her leaned in, unable to hold back any longer. “Who told you Dr. David and Charlotte were cheating?”

The livestream was still running, every awkward moment playing out in front of a global audience.

If Lloyd hadn’t stepped in when he did to clear everything up, this whole cheating fiasco would have trashed the International Medical Alliance’s reputation for good.

“I…” Lydia’s hands clenched tight. Her face went from pale to flushed and back again. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

She never meant for things to get this far. Ruining the Alliance’s name was never the plan. She just wanted to take down Dr. David and Charlotte in one move. Simple. Clean. Except now, nothing was simple. She’d managed to offend Lloyd, Dr. David, and almost dragged the entire Alliance down with her.

“It was all just a misunderstanding…” Lydia swallowed her panic and forced a smile, trying to sound calm. “Now that everything’s cleared up, that’s what matters, right?” All she wanted now was to save what little standing she had left in the organization.

Letty’s head jerked up at Lydia’s words, her face white as a sheet. Was Lydia giving up? Was she just handing the championship to Charlotte?

“Black.”

Letty glared at Charlotte, biting her lip so hard it almost bled. Grief and resentment clouded her eyes. “If Charlotte’s really Black, why doesn’t she just show her real identity? What’s she so scared of?”

Charlotte looked up, her eyes cold and clear as they landed on Letty. Watching Letty lose it almost made her smile. She let her lips curve just a little, then answered, slow and steady. “Because if I’m too good, it might make everyone else feel bad about themselves.”

Letty had no comeback. Silence hung heavy in the room.

Everyone felt the sting of those words. It was like getting slapped without anyone even raising a hand.

The press just stared, stunned. Charlotte’s confidence was impossible to ignore.

Lloyd turned to the reporters, face serious. “Any other questions? If not, we’ll move on with the awards.”

He paused, gaze sharp. “If we wait any longer and Black decides not to join the Alliance, I’m holding all of you responsible.”

The reporters glanced at

Charlotte who hadn’t shown a single emotion this whole time and remembered Her sharp words t

One by one, they backed away, giving up on more questions.

Lydia’s hands finally relaxed. Her color started to return. Maybe, just maybe, the worst was over.

But just as everyone started to

breathe again, the big screen behind

them fckered The photo of

Charlotte and Dr. David vanished, replaced by a picture of Lydia and Letty together.

Now what? Another scandal?

As the image became clear, everyone on stage-both presidents and all the judges -turned to stare at Lydia.

Lydia’s eyes went wide. When had someone taken that photo of her and Letty meeting in secret?

Letty’s face drained of color. Her mind, already spinning, went completely blank with fear.

Losing the competition would just

mean some ridicule. But if they found out she’d met with Lydia during the contest and gotten the practical exam topic in advance.. She wouldn’t just be kicked out of The Cabinda Medical Branch. She’d be blacklisted from medicine altogether.

Before Lydia could even try to explain, a video suddenly started playing on the big

screen. It was a recording of her conversation with Letty.

Lydia’s voice echoed through the hall. “You’ve known the practical exam topic for two months. Nothing’s going to go wrong.”

Letty’s voice sounded shaky. “But Charlotte… She got perfect scores in the first two rounds. What if—”

“Don’t worry,” Lydia cut her off. “I’ll take care of it. She won’t get in your way. You’re going to win.”

Lydia’s voice lowered, almost a whisper. “Once you win and get into the Alliance’s core team, you can help me move up, too.”