The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 148

Chapter 148 Whispers Catch Fire 2

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A production crew member stood near the corner, listening too intently. Another crew member leaned in,

whispered something, then glanced quickly toward Eve and looked away.

The rumour wasn’t staying in the contestant circle.

It was leaking into production.

And if it reached production, it could reach editing rooms.

It could reach social media teams.

It could become content.

It could become a scandal served in a package neat enough for people to digest without thinking.

Ryan leaned closer to Eve.

“We need to get ahead of it,” he said. “Before it becomes a storm we can’t control.”

Eve’s throat tightened. “How?”

Ryan’s eyes were hard. “We control the narrative. We speak before they decide what the story is.”

Camila’s brows lifted slightly. “Speak how?”

Ryan glanced at her briefly. “Strategically.”

Eve understood what he meant.

Not a messy defence. Not emotional pleading. Not a public fight.

A statement. An action. A move that proved impartiality before the world decided she was guilty.

But before Eve could form the thought into words, a production assistant hurried toward them with a

phone in hand.

The assistant’s face was pale.

Not nervous pale.

Bad-news pale.

She stopped in front of Eve and swallowed hard.

“Mrs Ashbrook,” she said, voice tight. “It’s… it’s already online.”

Eve’s heart dropped so fast it felt like a physical jolt.

Ryan’s posture went rigid. “What is?”

The assistant held out the phone as though it burned.

<Chapter 148 Whispers Catch Fire 2

Eve hesitated for half a second, then took it.

The screen was open to a video.

A clip from the risotto round, edited.

Not the full moment. Not the actual judging. Not the balanced comments.

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A sharp slice of footage. A pause. A reaction shot of Mathew’s face looking wounded. Then a cut to Eve’s expression, neutral, professional, framed as cold.

Over it, bold captions screamed:

RIGGED?

Eve’s fingers went numb around the phone.

She scrolled.

Another post.

Another clip.

Different angle. Different cut. Same story.

The captions were worse:

EVE TARGETS MATHEW.

POWER PLAY IN THE KITCHEN.

FAVOURITISM? VENGEANCE? CORRUPTION?

Comments poured in underneath, piling up faster than her eyes could read.

Of course it’s rigged.

Billionaire wife running a competition? Please.

Poor Mathew, they’re bullying him.

She’s using her power to ruin him.

This is why rich people shouldn’t touch anything fair.

Look at her face. She hates him.

Her friends are contestants too, lol.

This is corruption in real time.

Eve felt the blood drain from her face.

Camila leaned in, eyes scanning the screen, and her expression turned murderous.

Mitre’s mouth tightened. His hand curled slowly into a fist.

Chapter 148 Whispers Catch Fire 2

Ryan took a breath so controlled it sounded like restraint rather than air.

Eve’s throat tightened, her stomach churning.

Not because she believed them.

Because she knew how quickly the world decided.

It didn’t matter what was true.

It mattered what was repeatable.

It mattered what made people feel righteous when they attacked.

Eve looked up from the screen.

Her gaze swept the corridor.

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Contestants had begun to glance at their own phones now, faces shifting as the rumour took shape into

something tangible. A few eyes turned toward her, sharp, suspicious, hungry.

She saw Ashley in the distance, holding her phone with both hands, her face blanching as she read. Mateo

leaned over her shoulder, his expression hardening.

Ashley’s eyes lifted.

They met Eve’s.

There was no accusation in Ashley’s gaze.

Only fear.

Fear that everything she worked for would be dismissed as favouritism. Fear that even if she cooked perfectly, people would say it was because Eve wanted it that way. Fear that her own win would turn into a

stain she couldn’t scrub off.

Eve’s chest tightened painfully.

She wanted to cross the corridor and hold Ashley’s face and say, I know your work. I know your talent. I will

not let them do this to you.

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