Chapter 97 Exposing Evil Deeds
Rachel's emotions were all over the place in just a few minutes.
When Amelia's score was announced, Rachel thought she had lost first place. But then Thea pointed out that Amelia had played Rosy's piece instead of her own, and Rachel felt a wave of relief and excitement.
The championship was hers again!
But her joy didn't last long. Things took a wild turn when Amelia declared she was Rosy.
Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.
Rachel had been learning piano since she was five, spending thousands of dollars on weekly lessons, competing in various international and national piano competitions, yet she still wasn't even half as good as Rosy.
How could Amelia be Rosy? How could Rosy be this girl who grew up in the countryside, who might never have taken piano lessons, and who had never participated in any piano competitions?
She couldn't believe it.
She refused to believe it!
Jealousy clouded Rachel's mind, but the audience, online viewers, and other judges and contestants weren't fools.
If any random high school girl claimed to be Rosy, they wouldn't buy it either.
But Amelia had just delivered a nearly perfect, breathtaking performance that captivated everyone, playing without sheet music and with complete composure.
This level of skill far exceeded that of an ordinary person and was even better than some of the judges.
And if the piece wasn't her own, how could she express its emotions so vividly?
Before Amelia could respond, Osborne from the judges' panel stood up, visibly emotional.
He walked straight to the stage, frowning at Rachel, and said, "What do you mean Rosy can't come forward to refute? Amelia is Rosy!"
With Osborne's statement, everyone realized something.
The piece "Daylight Fireworks" was sent directly to Osborne's email by Rosy a year ago.
Even though no one knew who Rosy was, Osborne certainly did.
Facing the camera, Osborne said, "A week ago, I saw a video online of a girl from Celestria playing the piano at a banquet. I wanted to meet her, so I arranged my trip to River City."
"After emailing Rosy about it, I found out that the girl I admired was Rosy herself, which thrilled me."
"So, I immediately changed my flight, met Amelia in River City, and after dinner, she kindly took me back to my hotel."
"I personally recommended Rosy to the Celestria Piano Competition committee. Miss Martinez, do you have any questions?"
Since Thea pointed out that Amelia played Rosy's piece, the live stream audience had surged to millions.
Some viewers were there for the drama, some to watch the contestants argue, and some Rosy fans came to criticize Amelia.
But Osborne's brief words revealed so much.
[Mr. Stevens must be talking about Amelia's performance at the Williams family's charity banquet, right?]
[So, Mr. Stevens didn't know Rosy's true identity either. Now I understand his shock when he received the email.]
[The key point is that Mr. Stevens said Amelia was personally invited by the committee, meaning she didn't need to pull any strings to compete. Those rumors about Amelia having inappropriate relations with the committee are laughable.]
[Wait, I compared the photo of Amelia and the guy at the hotel front desk. That guy looks exactly like Mr. Stevens from the back and his hair color.]
[Mr. Stevens said Amelia took him back to the hotel. That photo must have been taken when she was dropping him off!]
[Mr. Stevens is known worldwide for his integrity, and he publicly stated Rosy is his confidante. It's absurd that their innocent relationship was smeared on social media. Good thing Mr. Stevens isn't on social media, or he'd be furious.]
[Someone has already shared those nasty comments from our social media on international platforms. Now, people abroad will think Celestria's netizens are brainless, rude, and foul-mouthed.]
[Blame the person who took that photo without knowing the facts and the media accounts that spread lies for attention. Social media needs to crack down on these accounts!]
Sitting in the audience, Kelly's face turned pale and then red with embarrassment, gripping her clothes tightly.
So, Grace was right. The older man with Amelia at the hotel was indeed Osborne!
Everyone now understood why Osborne had been looking for Amelia in the hall and was so excited to see her.
And why he personally arranged for the whole class to get front-row tickets.
This was too dramatic.
Amelia's true identity made the already dramatic scene even more theatrical, with the audience and live stream chat buzzing non-stop.
Gabriel, regaining his composure, spoke excitedly, "Since Mr. Stevens has confirmed Miss Martinez's identity, I can announce that Miss Martinez is undoubtedly the champion of the 7th Celestria Piano Competition."
He continued, "The runner-up is contestant number 17, Miss Martinez, and the third place goes to..."
"Wait."
Before Gabriel could finish, Amelia interrupted, silencing the room.
Gabriel was taken aback, "Miss Martinez, is there an issue?"
Amelia replied, "Since the competition rules state we must play our own compositions, I'd like to know the consequences for using someone else's work."
"Using someone else's piece disqualifies the contestant," Gabriel said.
"And stealing someone's work is even worse than having someone else write for you. Such contestants are banned from future Celestria Piano Competitions."
From the moment Amelia said "wait," Rachel had been frozen in place.
Amelia's next words made Rachel's shoulders tremble uncontrollably.
No, please!
Rachel knew what Amelia was about to say. She was going to expose her! Amelia was going to ruin her in front of everyone and the entire internet!
Amelia looked around the audience, "The reason I didn't have sheet music for my performance is that the piece I wrote for the competition was played by someone else first."
Gabriel's eyes widened, "You mean..."
Amelia shot a cold glance at Rachel, "The one who used someone else's piece is Rachel. The piece she played, 'Mich Drowning,' is mine."