After I Amazed the World the Cold Alpha Regretted

Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Aria's voice rang out, sharp and clear, cutting through the celebratory atmosphere like a knife.

The room fell into a stunned silence as all eyes turned to her.

"This competition was rigged!" she declared, her tone accusatory.

"Orlando Martin, one of the judges and Elizabeth's father, couldn't possibly be unbiased. She only won because of her connections! This entire competition is a sham!"

Murmurs rippled through the audience, disbelief and shock on every face.

The judges exchanged uneasy glances, unsure how to proceed.

The atmosphere that had been jubilant just moments before was now thick with tension.

But at this point I was the only one standing very calmly on the stage, as if I had known this was going to happen.

Before anyone could respond, a member of the competition's staff stepped forward, microphone in hand.

"In this connection, please allow me to introduce the rules of the competition," he began calmly, "in cases where a participant has a close relationship with a judge, that judge is required to abstain from scoring that participant. In this instance, Mr. Orlando Martin did not participate in the scoring of Miss Elizabeth Martin's performance. He recused himself to maintain fairness and transparency."

The staff member's explanation seemed to quell some of the murmurs, but Aria wasn't done.

She opened her mouth to argue further when suddenly, the large screen behind the stage flickered to life.

The audience gasped as security footage began to play.

There, on the screen, was Aria, instructing a staff member to swap out my sheet music.

her handing over money and giving specific instructions to

The evidence was undeniable,

at the screen, her bravado crumbling in an instant. The room erupted into chaos, with gasps and whispers filling the space as the truth came to light. The judges were quick to react, calling

the score that had been replaced with the abusive words at Aria's

to play from," I said, my voice steady despite the emotions roiling

fully aware of what had transpired, erupted into applause,

minutes without the score.

after reviewing the footage and questioning the bribed staff member,

with deep regret that we must disqualify Aria from the competition,"

the first time in the history of this competition that such a penalty has been necessary. We uphold the

her face a mask of shock and humiliation, was escorted off the stage

flashed relentlessly, capturing every

was no

shook her head incredulously, "No, it wasn't

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World, the Cold

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Chapter #1

thy face of evidence, no one believed her sophistry

stage, the host turned back to me, the golden trophy still in

anew, this time louder and more

A

reassuring in my hands, and

held the trophy aloft, the gold medal hanging

who was leading the applause with a proud,

smiled back at him, knowing that this moment, this victory,

Serevia International Piano Competition was one I would