Chapter 212
Chapter 212:
Paola’s trembling fingers lost grip of the ID, letting it drop to the stage floor with a muted thud.
Isabella swiftly retrieved it, reading in an increasingly weak voice, “Wesdown International Piano Competition Eshea Region Special Guest Judge… Rylie Owen…” Her voice faded to a whisper as realization dawned. “Rylie is… X. Aria’s disciple?”
The audience went silent. An odd hush swept across the concert hall.
People who had spoken in defense of Paola now exchanged confused glances.
Then a man with thick glasses slapped his thigh. “Oh! I remember now. Five years ago, Mr. X. Aria showed up at Olissa Golden Hall and introduced a young pianist from Eshea!”
The woman sitting beside him leaned forward, her voice rising with excitement. “I recall that too. She was a child prodigy. The media covered it, but they kept her face out of the news because of her age! Now that I look at Rylie, that girl should be the same age as her.”
“If she really is X. Aria’s protégé, then saying she stole music is ridiculous.”
At that moment, the lights overhead seemed to blaze. Paola stood frozen. Her legs felt heavy, as if she were rooted to the floor. Every part of her carefully laid plan had collapsed. What was supposed to be clever had become comical.
Isabella looked as pale as chalk. “No,” she muttered again and again. “No way. How could this even happen?”
All this time, she had mocked Rylie for being a copycat. But now it turned out this woman was indeed the disciple of a piano legend.
Had she made the wrong call from the beginning?
Someone from the crowd spoke up with a steady voice. “If X. Aria officially recognized her, why would she need to plagiarize at all? That doesn’t make any sense. There must be a mistake somewhere.”
“Exactly. If she really had a history of stealing music, it would’ve tarnished X. Aria’s name. No way would he stand for that.”
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Another voice piped up, firm and direct. “So, is it true, Miss Garrett? Did your cousin really steal your work?”
The question came from someone who clearly admired X. Aria and wanted the truth.
After Rylie’s identity became known, the way people stared at Paola changed completely.
Everything clicked. That strange laugh from Rylie earlier wasn’t just amusement. She had been mocking Paola and her friends the entire time. To Rylie, Paola had been flailing around like a jester for all to see.
Rylie bent down and picked up her work ID, flicking away imaginary dust. Her movements were steady, as if none of the chaos had ever touched her.
She turned to the audience. “Good evening. I’m Rylie Owen, here as a special guest judge. I am also the disciple of Mr. X. Aria. My mentor had planned to attend, but upon learning that someone tried to bribe the judges, he became furious and decided not to come. I took his place today as a judge and performed with Novalee under the proper rules. The outcome was valid.”
Her voice resonated across the venue through the microphone. “That said, if contestant thirty-four doubts the fairness of the process because of my presence, I’m open to exploring another path forward.”