True Heiress Returns to Her Unemployed Rich Family (Arabella) novel Chapter 617

This needed to be handled quickly, before it started to interfere with the hospital's daily operations.

"There she is—that's her!" someone yelled, pointing toward Arabella. "Don't let her leave!"

A few people in the crowd immediately began pushing forward, but a sharp command cut through the noise.

"Quiet! Step back, everyone!" Alfred's voice carried authority, and for a moment, those surging toward Arabella halted.

"We're here to address the situation, so let's keep this orderly," he added firmly.

Much to everyone's surprise, the commotion actually settled down.

Seizing the moment, Arabella spoke clearly, "Please, everyone—I only just learned about this myself, and I came as soon as I could.

"You have my word, I will give a full and fair explanation." Then, lowering her voice slightly, she spoke into her phone, "Bring all my credentials to the main lobby."

"You're sure?" Colton's voice came through.

"Yes," Arabella confirmed before ending the call.

"Dr. Hamilton," Orion said, hurrying over with an apologetic look. "I can't believe this has dragged you into it. We didn't see this coming. The hospital's already working on a statement to clarify everything."

"I heard, so I came to see it for myself," Arabella replied, gesturing for him not to worry.

"Orion, someone's clearly behind this—they're targeting the hospital because they're jealous we managed to bring Dr. Hamilton on board," the deputy director said, clearly frustrated. "This is just low."

"It's alright," Arabella reassured both of them. "With all these press here anyway, this might actually be a good opportunity to set the record straight once and for all."

"I'm really sorry you have to deal with this, Dr. Hamilton," Orion said, guilt weighing on his tone. Having Arabella at their hospital was a huge win, and now she was caught up in this mess.

"No need to apologize," Arabella replied. "If anything, this could be my fault for unintentionally pulling the hospital into it."

"What?" Orion and the deputy director exchanged surprised glances.

"Let's wait for everything to come out," Arabella said calmly. "Right now, we should focus on handling what's in front of us."

Alfred stepped in again. "Since the media is already here, why don't we hold an impromptu press conference right now and clear up these false claims?"

Hearing that, the reporters stirred, each trying to move closer to Arabella to capture better footage and audio.

"No pushing, please." Arabella raised her voice slightly, then turned to Orion. "Could we borrow a conference room?"

"You want to use a conference room, Dr. Hamilton?" Orion asked.

"Yes." She nodded. "Having everyone gathered here like this is disrupting hospital operations. If an emergency came in, it could delay care."

"That's very considerate of you, Dr. Hamilton," the deputy director said. "I'll arrange one right away."

"That's more people than I expected," Alfred murmured, a bit taken aback. It hadn't looked this packed from outside.

"Probably family members of current patients heard what was happening and came down," Arabella replied quietly.

"Doesn't matter how many showed up," Alfred said. "As long as the right people are in the room." His gaze lingered on the handful still holding their signs.

Arabella gave them one more thoughtful look before walking to the front and taking a seat at the table that had been set up.

Once she was seated, Alfred, Orion, and the deputy director took their places beside her.

"Alright, let's begin," Arabella started, directing her attention first to the group with the signs. "You're claiming I've been practicing medicine without a license and endangering patients?"

"That's right," one of them shot back, putting on an indignant tone. "How can you treat anyone if you're not properly licensed?"

"Let's set that aside for just a moment," Arabella replied evenly. "Can you tell me specifically when I endangered a patient's life?"

The protester hesitated, but another jumped in. "If you don't have a license, treating patients is endangering them. It's the same thing."

"I've helped a lot of people, and I haven't harmed a single one," Arabella stated firmly. "So accusing me of endangering lives isn't just false—it's defamation."

"You can't practice without a license, period!" another voice shouted from the group.