Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 796

Those whispers—Harper realized with a chill—were supposed to be about Camila Davis. Now, every venomous word was directed at her instead.

Her face had gone pale. The contempt in everyone’s eyes, their barely concealed sneers, made her heart pound with panic. How had things gotten so out of hand? She’d only meant to trip Camila up, to give herself a little boost at Camila’s expense. But somehow, the tables had turned, and now she was the one under fire, her credentials and motives the subject of pointed doubt.

This wasn’t how she’d pictured things going at all. For a moment, her mind went blank. Desperate, she looked to Lavinia Roberts, hoping for an ally, some kind of rescue.

But Lavinia could hardly believe how quickly Harper was crumbling under pressure. A few pointed questions and Harper was already floundering, unable to defend herself. Lavinia shot her a sharp look, then stepped forward with an easy confidence.

“Harper’s only here to help me out while I’m recovering,” Lavinia explained, lifting her bandaged hand for emphasis. “My wrist still isn’t back to normal, and while Harper doesn’t come from a fancy background, her medical skills and character are excellent. She’s one of the lead specialists at the National Research Institute, after all. I’ve always admired her work ethic, which is why we became friends in the first place.”

She paused, then turned to Camila with a knowing smile. “Actually, Harper and Ms. Davis are colleagues. Isn’t that right? Do you two know each other well?”

Relief washed over Harper as Lavinia took control of the situation, and she quickly nodded in agreement. “Ms. Roberts, you might not know this, but we’re not just acquaintances—we work on the same team. Ms. Davis is actually our team leader.”

“Oh?” Lavinia’s smile widened, her tone bright with mock admiration. “No wonder you’re the star at the medical school, Ms. Davis. It’s impressive—didn’t you join the Institute just recently? Rising to team leader so quickly, with all that competition… that’s no small feat.”

Then, feigning a mild rebuke, she turned to Harper. “Harper, if you two are so close, shouldn’t you show a bit more courtesy? It pays to have someone looking out for you in these circles.”

“Did I miss some big announcement?”

All eyes shifted to Harper, hungry for the next revelation. Sensing her audience, Harper’s voice grew sharper, her glare at Camila full of malice.

“It’s simple. Someone made a critical error on a research project—innocent people paid the price, while the culprit refused to take responsibility. The higher-ups were furious. To calm things down and as a favor to Mr. Morris, they had no choice but to suspend her temporarily. Officially, they said they needed time to investigate. But it’s been more than two weeks and there’s still no verdict. Who really believes that story? We all know what’s going on—they’re just trying not to embarrass the wrong people. The Institute doesn’t tolerate dead weight. The official termination letter? I’d say that’ll be arriving any day now.”

The words had barely left her lips before the room erupted in a storm of shocked voices, like a kettle boiling over.