Chapter 234 Finn Forces Her
Before filming started, the contestants went on stage to get familiar with their positions.
As Byron's assistant, Amelia stood below the stage, next to the photographer.
The stairs were just to her left, so during breaks, she could immediately run up on stage to touch up Byron's makeup.
A staff member told her to sit in the audience seats.
"If nothing goes wrong, we'll need to film for at least an hour before taking a break."
Amelia thanked them but didn't leave.
The stage lights were very bright and the temperature was high. She was worried the human skin mask might crack, so she needed to keep watching Byron's face.
Just then, two staff members came over carrying a chair.
"Excuse us."
Amelia stepped back a few paces to let them through.
Just as she was about to return to her spot, she saw the two people place the chair at the judges' table.
They also added a name plate: Finn.
Amelia's eyes narrowed sharply.
Finn's name hadn't been on the judges' table before - he was clearly here for her.
In that moment, Amelia truly felt angry.
She didn't understand why Finn was treating her this way!
He betrayed her, hurt her - he should stay far away from her, not come close again to disgust her!
She had truly invested her heart in that relationship and had thought about being with him forever.
Finn was the one who betrayed her.
She never owed him anything!
Amelia's nails dug deep into her palms.
By the time she noticed the pain, her palms were already marked with bloody crescents.
Only then did she release her clenched hands.
Soon, a group of people came in through the entrance.
Amelia looked up and immediately spotted Finn in the crowd.
He was tall and handsome, his suit perfectly tailored, making him stand out even more.
But in Amelia's eyes, he no longer resembled the clean, shy boy from years ago.
The boy who used to be awkward with words could now navigate social situations with ease.
The boy from back then had transformed into a mature man.
She could no longer figure out whether she had fallen for Finn as a person, or just his clean, sunny demeanor back then.
Amelia quickly looked away, focusing on Byron on stage.
Although Byron was disguised as a woman, he was the tallest in the group and quite thin, which made his figure look excellent.
But since he refused to wear padding, his chest appeared flat, which actually made him look even more sophisticated.
Sure enough, good-looking men could pull off being women without any awkwardness.
Amelia deliberately concealed his masculine features, so she chose a women's suit that covered his arms and legs, and added a blue-pink scarf to hide his Adam's apple.
The other contestants on stage couldn't help but glance at Byron a few more times.
"So beautiful. How come we haven't seen her before? I wonder which family she's from?"
"I don't know her either. Maybe she was abroad before - she does have that vibe of someone who studied overseas."
"Either way, we're just here to make up the numbers, show our faces, and be good supporting roles for her."
"True."
Samuel had already greased all the right palms, and of course all these contestants had been "taken care of" too.
All the families shared the same view.
This competition didn't carry much weight, so they might as well do Samuel a favor.
So everyone understood - today they were here to be supporting roles for this Faye.
The judges had now taken their seats, the host came on stage right after, and filming officially began.
The host first introduced the ten contestants on stage, then began explaining the competition rules.
The competition had three rounds.
The first round tested knife skills.
The second round tested baking skills.
In the third round, each person could present their best dish for the judges to taste.
The scores from the first two rounds accounted for thirty percent of the final result.
In other words, even if you fell behind in the first two rounds, if you got first place in the third round, you could still be the final winner.
And the results of each round depended on the judges' scores.
There were six judges in total, and with Finn added, there were now seven.
Soon the first round of knife skills competition began.
The other contestants all performed averagely, only Faye performed the best.
But when it came to scoring, the host had Finn score first.
Finn gave Faye a sixty.
The other judges, seeing this, quickly changed their scores while the camera wasn't on them.
So when the other scores were announced, they were all around sixty, except for Maeve, who gave 98 points.
The result was based on the average score.
Faye, who had the best performance, only averaged in the sixties.
Maeve frowned, glanced at Finn beside her, and said quietly, "Mr. O'Connor, your score doesn't seem quite right."
Finn shrugged and said, "A thousand people have a thousand different Hamlets. Ms. Sullivan thinks Faye performed well, but I think it was average. Look, the other judges also think it was average, don't they?"
Maeve gritted her teeth, really wanting to tell him off.
But in front of the camera, she forced herself to hold back.
She didn't know about Finn and Amelia's past, but she knew Finn's position.
The newly arrived inspector in Goldenvale.
Even if she didn't think about herself, she had to consider the Sullivan family.
Byron on stage saw his score and got a bit nervous, looking down toward the audience.
Amelia gently shook her head at Byron, signaling him to stay calm.
After reassuring Byron with her eyes, Amelia turned and looked deeply at Finn.
Finn clearly noticed her gaze but deliberately looked away, as if he hadn't noticed her at all.
Amelia's brow furrowed deeply.
She didn't know if she was thinking too badly of Finn, or if he really was deliberately targeting her.
She took a deep breath, telling herself to control her emotions first.
Maybe it was just a coincidence.
After all, Finn gave low scores to others too, all around sixty.
This didn't prove Finn was targeting Byron.
The first round of filming finished, exactly one hour.
Byron came off stage.
He had been deliberately imitating a woman's voice on stage, which was very uncomfortable.
The two of them returned to the makeup room.
Since the makeup room was private, he didn't need to strain his voice anymore.
"Amelia, what does Finn mean? Is he targeting me? Did he recognize me? No, even if he recognized me, there's no reason to target me. Back then, he was the one who wronged you."
Amelia said, "He gave low scores to others too. Stay calm. The first round doesn't count for much of the total score. You're not far behind, just catch up in the later rounds."
Byron nodded.
Amelia readjusted his mask, making sure there were no flaws showing.
During this time, Amelia called Maeve and asked her to help investigate something.
Maeve readily agreed.
Soon the second round began filming.
This round was about baking.
Baking was simpler than cooking - as long as you remembered the proportions, what you made wouldn't taste too bad.
Byron made caramel almond cream cheese pudding.
This wasn't common, and while the taste was average, it won points for being novel.
Amelia thought Byron would definitely get a high score this time.
But when it came to scoring, Finn gave it a forty.
The lowest score in the entire competition.
Finn commented, "All show, no substance."
Even Amelia's face twisted a bit.
The anger on Byron's face was impossible to hide.
As soon as he came off stage, Amelia had him wait in the makeup room while she went to find Maeve.
"How did it go?"
She had called Maeve earlier to ask her to check if Finn had any private contact with the other judges.
Maeve had already checked for her.
She wasn't a contestant but a judge, and as the new heir of the Sullivan family, she wasn't controlled like Amelia and Byron were, and could come and go freely.
She reported what she found: "Before the competition started, Douglas brought Finn to meet with us judges. Among the judges, except for me, the rest are all men. Finn handed out cigarettes to everyone, and they went to the lounge. I didn't go."
"But I asked the server who was in the lounge. When she left, she heard Finn say he wanted everyone to do him a favor."
"When the first round ended and we took a break, I saw them go smoke again. I secretly followed them. Finn was smiling at them very warmly. Given his position, he didn't need to smile like that."
After speaking, Maeve drew her own conclusion: "He's targeting you and Faye, Amelia."
Amelia nodded, "Okay, I understand."
"What are you going to do? Should I go ask him? He has to show me some respect."
"No need." Amelia said, "He's coming after me. I just needed to confirm that. You go do your thing, I'll find him myself."
"Do you need my help? In case you can't see him."
"No need." Amelia said with certainty, "He's doing this to force me to find him. So I'll definitely be able to see him."
Maeve's eyes showed some concern.
"Why is he treating you this way?"
"It's a long story. When we have a chance later, I'll tell you slowly."
"Okay, then go quickly. The break is only twenty minutes, and ten minutes have already passed."
Amelia nodded. After asking Maeve to help calm "Faye" down, she didn't delay any longer and headed to the judges' lounge.
On the way, she made a phone call and said a few words before hanging up.
...
There were signs on all the room doors. She easily found Finn's room.
Two guards stood at the door.
Just as Amelia expected, the two guards only glanced at her, and without her even introducing herself, they opened the door for her.
"Ms. Richardson, please."
Amelia wasn't surprised, so there was no extra expression on her face as she walked straight in.
Finn was smoking.
He didn't use to smoke.
But as soon as Amelia entered, he put out his cigarette.
"You're here?"
There was no surprise in Finn's eyes either.
This angered Amelia even more.
She had already adjusted her emotions before entering, but now her anger couldn't be controlled and shot straight to her eyes.
"Finn, what exactly do you want?"
Finn was slightly stunned.
The Amelia before him had a pale face, wide eyes, looking at him with cold disgust.
This was the first time he'd seen Amelia look at him like this.
Even back when he cheated with Scarlett and Amelia caught them at the flower shop, she hadn't shown him this expression.
Back then, she had been angry, disappointed and heartbroken. Now all those emotions were gone, leaving only disgust and cold.
Finn's heart ached sharply.