Chapter 238
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”
The judges paused, then it hit them. Right, they still hadn’t sorted out the mess with Echo being plagiarized.
They hurried back to their seats. Laura, quick on the uptake, stood up and moved behind Charlotte. Her gaze was cold as she stared Olivia down. “Echo is right here. We have both the witness and the evidence. Are you still not going to admit you stole her work?”
Olivia’s mind was spinning. Laura’s words yanked her back to the present.
Charlotte was Echo? There was no way that could be true.
“She’s lying!” Olivia blurted out, pointing at Charlotte, her voice sharp as she met the crowd’s skeptical stares. “Charlotte barely touched a piano growing up. She never really took lessons. Then she moved to the countryside and had no access to any training at all.”
“How could someone like that suddenly turn into the famous pianist and composer, Echo?” Olivia’s lips curled in a mocking smile. “Do any of you actually buy that?”
The room buzzed with hushed voices. Finding out Echo was just a teenager had already shocked everyone. If Laura hadn’t confirmed it herself, no one would have believed it.
Olivia saw the uncertainty on their faces and pressed on. “And another thing, she was sick as a kid. Diagnosed with severe schizophrenia. Are you really going to trust what a mental patient says?”
“Laura, is this your backup plan? Since the real Echo couldn’t make it, did you just pick someone to pretend so you wouldn’t be embarrassed?”
A mental patient? The accusation sent another wave of doubt rippling through the audience. Who was telling the truth? Was Charlotte really Echo?
י
“What a nerve,” someone muttered. “Slandering Echo and Laura like that.”
Laura’s brows drew together in anger. She was ready to snap back, but Charlotte gently pressed her hand. Without looking away from Olivia, Charlotte arched a brow and spoke, her voice calm and clear.
“I wrote ‘Light’ five years ago, just for fun. Never thought Olivia would try to pass it off as her own
That couldn’t be right. Olivia
remembered the story-hadn’t
Charlotte’s mother written it? Five
years ago Charlotte Would Have
been just thirteen. How could a thirteen-year-old compose something like that?
Charlotte’s expression didn’t change. Olivia’s heart thudded in her chest. She squeezed out, “You’re making this up. Your name isn’t on the draft. How can you prove you wrote it?”
Charlotte pressed her lips together, stood up, and walked to the piano.
No one had any idea what she was about to do. The air around her was so intense,
it felt like the whole hall was holding its breath.
Before anyone could react, the
opening notes of ‘Light’ drifted through the hall. The first half sounded just like the version Olivia had played. But when Charlotte reached the second half, the music shifted. The melody was the same, but the way she played it the feeling the transitions, the energy-was on another level Suddenly, it was clear. Olivia’s version was a rough draft, full of small mistakes. Charlotte’s was polished, every note almost perfect.
What really stunned the crowd was that Charlotte played the whole piece from memory. She didn’t glance at any sheet music. Her、 technique, rhythm, and touch were flawless every detail magnified on the big screen for everyone to see.
One of the judges, a dedicated Echo fan, slammed his hand down on the table. He was certain. This was Echo.