Chapter 247

Charlotte woke up gasping for air, her heart pounding from the nightmare that clung to her even in the morning light.
In her dream, she was a small girl again, trapped in a suffocating, pitch-black room, barely enough space to move. Every window was boarded up tight, and the air was thick with a sickening, rotten smell that made it hard to breathe.
Suddenly, the door slammed open. A shadowy figure stormed in and forced her to the ground. The words that came out of his mouth were cruel and sharp.
“You came to me on purpose, didn’t you? Just for this?”
“You want to compete in the piano competition? Fine. Let me have you tonight and I’ll give you the test pieces.”
“You’ll do anything for the competition. How shameless.”
“She’s got serious schizophrenia, so nothing she says can be trusted.”
“Shameless, shameless
She tried to fight back, but the darkness swallowed her. There was no escape, no hope. She was completely lost.
Then, just when it felt like she’d sink forever, a pair of warm, steady hands reached out. Someone pulled her up, gentle and strong, carrying her out of the pit. A sliver of light slipped through a crack, shining into the darkness and bringing a little bit of hope into her broken world.
A harsh ringtone shattered everything.
Charlotte jerked awake, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. She grabbed her phone and answered without thinking.
“Yeah?”
“Charlotte, do you really have to ruin Olivia’s life?” Steven’s voice blasted through the speaker, raw and angry. Even over the phone, his fury was impossible to ignore.
Her grip on the phone tightened, lashes still damp with sweat. A hard glint flashed in her eyes. “Did you call just to piss me off?”
The chill in her voice made Steven stumble. He’d almost forgotten why he’d called in the first place. He was supposed to be pleading, not picking a fight.
Olivia was sitting next to him, her face blotchy and swollen from crying. Steven tried to swallow hise anger and soften his tone.
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“Charlotte, Olivia made a mistake, I know that. But the piano has her whole life since she was a kid. Can’t you, for my sake… maybe ask Laura to let her off the hook and drop the lifetime ban?”
“For your sake?” Charlotte let out a little laugh, sharp and cold. “Honestly, calling you worse than a dog would be unfair to dogs.”
“And let me make something clear. If Olivia ever tries to call herself my sister again, I’ll slap her every time I see her.”
“You”
“And one more thing.” Charlotte’s voice was icy, every word clear and cutting. “This call really pissed me off. So now Olivia owes me an extra million. Add that to the compensation.”
Most of the pieces Olivia played at competitions were stolen from Charlotte. If Charlotte wanted, she could take them for every penny they had.
“Charlotte—” Steven’s mind went blank. Before he could finish, Charlotte hung up on him without a hint of hesitation.
He hadn’t just failed to help Olivia. Now they owed even more. Charlotte had completely cut them off, no going back.
She was a computer genius, always top of her class, and now she was making a name for herself as Echo on the international stage. Something must have happened to her while she was out in the countryside but he couldn’t find out a thing.
Olivia broke down, covering her face as she cried. Her piano career was over, everyone at school knew she’d plagiarized her music, and her reputation was shot. How was she supposed to show her face at school now? sŵnovels
It was all Charlotte’s fault.
She looked up, her voice shaking with anger. “Mom, I’m going to tell everyone the truth about Charlotte. How she tried to seduce Uncle… and almost killed him