Chapter 85 You Lied to Me!
Amelia smiled and said, "Grant, don't underestimate me. For something this small, I don't need to ask anyone for help."
Grant certainly didn't underestimate Amelia.
Back when they were still in the countryside, when he saw her change a tire with her bare hands, he knew Amelia was no ordinary person.
Now that he knew she was Taylor, he dared even less to underestimate her.
"I'm not underestimating you, it's just that this matter involves the Crawford family."
The Richardson family's situation was already worse than the Crawford family's before, let alone now.
Amelia patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry, I have my ways. Leave this to me."
Grant nodded.
For some reason, he always felt there was nothing in the world that could stump Amelia.
Soon after, Holden rushed over.
Because Samuel had given advance notice, he had a smooth journey all the way and was led by York to Samuel's side.
The judges were all arranged to wait in the conference area.
Within ten minutes, all the judges returned to the main exhibition area with Samuel.
Samuel took the microphone from Jeremy's hand and passed it to Geraldo.
"This is your student, so you should be the one to announce this."
Geraldo's heart ached whenever he heard the word "student" now.
He cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone: "Everyone."
The crowd quickly gathered around.
As Geraldo began speaking, everyone quieted down.
Yasmin's face showed calm and composure, with a confident smile even playing at the corners of her mouth.
Finally, the moment had arrived.
The moment when she would be announced as the sole champion.
She looked up at Grant in the distance.
Grant seemed to sense it and met Yasmin's gaze.
But after just one second, Grant showed a look of disgust and turned his face away.
Yasmin didn't care about his attitude.
After all, she had already gotten what she wanted.
She didn't care at all how Grant felt about her.
Besides, it was only natural for Grant to hate her.
The person who should have received the applause and spotlight had changed from Grant to her.
She had stolen Grant's work.
So it was only right that he hated her.
She could understand that.
The crowd buzzed with anticipation, all waiting for Geraldo to announce the final champion.
Because this champion would not only become the lead designer for the Crawford Group's new energy vehicles, but would also become a rising star in the painting world.
Soon their name would resound throughout all of Phoenicia.
Geraldo spoke:
"I announce that the final champion is..."
Yasmin lifted her chin, waiting for everyone to congratulate her.
Also waiting for Bobby to congratulate her once again.
However, the next second, a different name came through the microphone.
"The champion is Grant!"
Yasmin instinctively smiled, but when she realized whose name Geraldo had said, her smile froze on her face.
Grant?
The champion was actually Grant?
How was this possible?
This couldn't be!
There must be some mistake!
According to their agreement, Grant should have already withdrawn from the competition by now.
"Yasmin, why aren't you the champion?"
Before Steven could finish speaking, Yasmin was already walking toward Grant.
He was talking to Amelia, and when he saw Yasmin approaching, he stopped mid-sentence.
"Can I help you?"
"Can you help me?" Yasmin laughed in anger. "You're asking me that? You clearly promised me! How could you go back on your word?"
Amelia looked at Grant in confusion.
"Grant, what did you promise her?"
Grant said it was nothing, then shrugged and turned to the aggressive Yasmin: "I did promise you, but I also promised Amelia I'd win a championship for her to see. Amelia asked first, so according to the rule of first come, first served..."
"You lied to me!"
Yasmin's eyes turned red with rage, and she raised her hand to slap Grant.
But as soon as she lifted her hand, Amelia grabbed it tightly.
"Yasmin, there's a limit to throwing tantrums. Hitting my brother in front of me? Do you think I'm dead?"
"Bitch! You deserve to be hit too! It's all your fault, all of this is your fault!"
She struggled to pull her hand back to slap Amelia too, but Amelia held her hand firmly and she couldn't move at all.
She raised her other hand to strike at Amelia, but Amelia reacted quickly and pushed her back hard.
Yasmin was caught off guard and stumbled backward.
Just then, Steven appeared in time and steadied Yasmin by the waist.
"Steven."
A layer of mist immediately appeared in Yasmin's eyes.
Steven felt a pang of sympathy.
They had been together for almost two years now. When Yasmin was wronged, he couldn't help but feel something.
Steven gently patted Yasmin's shoulder, indicating he was by her side.
Then he frowned at Amelia.
"Ms. Richardson, even when punishing a dog, you should consider its owner. How can you bully Yasmin like this?"
When Steven arrived, he only saw Amelia push Yasmin.
He hadn't seen Yasmin trying to hit Grant and Amelia earlier.
Amelia couldn't be bothered to explain to him. She just sneered and said, "A dog? Don't insult dogs. Dogs are loyal and devoted. Your girlfriend is just an ungrateful bitch."
Steven's face darkened.
"You!"
Just as he was about to lose his temper, Geraldo's voice came through the speakers again.
"Besides announcing the final champion, we have one more thing to announce."
"That is,"
"We are permanently revoking Yasmin's qualification to enter the Luminance Art Gallery, and also revoking her qualification to participate in all official painting competitions."
As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned, including Yasmin herself.
"Why?" Steven was the first to react and demanded: "What did Yasmin do wrong? Why are you revoking her qualification to participate in other competitions and not allowing her to enter the Luminance Art Gallery?"
Yasmin's face went pale, and she instinctively tugged at Steven's sleeve.
"Steven, forget it."
"Forget what? Just because you're good-tempered doesn't mean I am. I will never allow anyone to bully you!"
"Steven."
Steven ignored what Yasmin was saying and was about to continue questioning when Geraldo said,
"Since Mr. Sullivan wants to know the reason, I'll tell you!"
"Because the work Yasmin submitted for this competition has been proven to be plagiarized from Grant's painting."
"And not just this time. In the last Goldenvale painting competition, the work she won the championship with was also plagiarized from Grant's work."
"If you don't believe me, please look at the big screen!"
The big screen showed Grant's original work alongside Yasmin's plagiarized piece.
The two paintings were almost identical, with the only difference being that Grant's brushwork was more skilled and natural.
Steven stared in shock with wide eyes, then suddenly turned to look at Yasmin.
"Your paintings were all copied from your brother's?"