Ch. 1031..1040

Chapter 1031 Declaration of Cutting Ties With Eunice

“President Sawyer, I just got word that Soren withdrew his statement when he was brought back to the police station. He is taking all the blame on himself, and Eunice is acquitted.”

Once Edward’s words reached Nicholas, the man’s expression turned gloomy in a split second, indicating he wasn’t pleased receiving such news.

In a cold tone, Nicholas growled, “What happened?”

“Our people are working on the investigation.”

With that, Edward shot a cautious glance at Nicholas, worried that the latter would blame him for the unexpected change of events.

However, Nicholas only hid his emotions beneath his eyes and gave out orders instead of taking his anger out on Edward. “Ask them to find out what happened as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Eunice was released from custody with Walter’s help.

Even though she was taken into custody for two days, she looked like she was in good shape as her father helped her in advance regarding her stay in custody.

Once the two showed up in the public eye, they were stopped in their tracks by the reporters from the news media, who received the news of Eunice’s acquittal, for an interview.

“Miss Eunice, may I have your opinion regarding the recent events?”

Eunice looked around the crowd of reporters for a moment and gestured for them to keep their silence before she began with her statement.

“It started with Soren accusing me of something I’ve never committed. However, I suppose it’s apt to say it’s Tessa’s fault in the first place. I might have done something wrong to her, thus she asked her husband to threaten Soren and eventually put the blame on me.”

At the end of her words, Eunice feigned sadness and wiped the tears away from her cheeks, but a slight note of maliciousness glinted under her eyes.

Eunice blamed Tessa for ruining her reputation, and she wouldn’t allow the other woman to get away from the situation unscathed.

Her words caused an immediate outcry among the reporters that were present at the scene. Not long after that, the news had widely spread online.

The statement took only a little time to trigger the angry feelings of Eunice’s fans once they were aware of it, and they began to take their anger out on Tessa.

‘B*tch! How dare you slander our dear Eunice?!’

‘What a wicked woman you are!’

‘I was wrong about you before. I don’t expect this from you. I thought you were a better person.’

‘Tessa, you’d better apologize to Eunice right now!’

Some of Eunice’s fans even sought justice from Sofia by asking her to state her position regarding the matter on the official website of Sofia Symphony.

‘Even though both of them are your students, there’s a difference between their order. Not only did Tessa become your student later than Eunice, she disrespected her senior. It shows that she is of questionable character and she doesn’t deserve to be your student.’

‘Petition for Tessa to leave the orchestra.’

‘Let her go!’

The fans were making a fuss over the matter due to Eunice stoking the flame and acquiescing her fans. Soon, the matter got to Sofia and she became aware of it.

After her assistant briefed her on the ins and outs of the event, she was utterly mad. “Nonsense! She’s lying about this! How dare Eunice say that to the reporters?”

The outsiders might be outraged because they knew nothing about the truth, but Sofia knew better than the public that the allegations against Tessa were nothing but slander.

The assistant took note of her anger and asked helplessly, “How should we deal with the matter? It’ll bring us a lot of trouble if Miss Eunice’s fans are not stopped.”

A glint of determination flashed across Sofia’s eyes at that.

Shortly after that, she released a statement regarding her stance via the official website of Sofia Symphony, and it shocked the netizens.

“I, Sofia Morris, hereby declare to cut ties with Eunice from now on. Additionally, the orchestra is officially removing her from any and all positions in the Sofia Symphony.”

Sofia wouldn’t have solved the problem with such a heartless declaration if it wasn’t for Eunice crossing her limit again and again, and now even risking the reputation of the orchestra.

However, Eunice’s fans had no idea about the full story. Not only did Sofia’s declaration fail to defuse their tension, it even attracted their anger toward her as they left comments on the official website to accuse her of siding with Tessa in this matter.

Fortunately, some netizens remained rational in their opinion regarding the matter, as they thought there was more to the matter than met the eye.

At the same time, Tessa heard about the fan war online from Simon after she finished recording a demo.

“I must admit that there’s something about Eunice since she was released from custody. I guess she had it coming when Sofia decided to cut ties with her and dismiss her from her positions when she’s so restless about dragging you down with her,” Simon commented, his expression solemn.

Tessa was taken aback by the news. She had never imagined the things going on on the web when she was busy working on recording the music in the recording room.

On top of everything, the thing that shocked Tessa the most was the statement about Sofia cutting ties with Eunice.

Chapter 1032 Eunice Isn’t Admitting Her Wrongdoings

“Mr. Simon, I’m worried about Miss Sofia. Can I take a day off to check on her in the orchestra?”

After all, Sofia and Eunice had been sustaining a teacher-student for almost twenty years. It must hurt Miss Sofia pretty much to decide to part ways with Eunice.

Simon was also worried about Sofia’s well-being, just like Tessa was. As her request was coinciding with his thought, he approved her leave without a hint of hesitation. “Go on. You can call me at any time if something happens.”

Nodding, Tessa turned on her heel and left. Once she went back to the orchestra, she headed straight for Sofia’s office and found her seniors inside.

“There you are, Tessa!” Noticing her arrival in the office, the others greeted her. She greeted each of them politely before she stopped in front of Sofia, her words showing her concern. “Miss Sofia, are you all right?”

When Sofia met the worried look on Tessa’s face, her stone-cold expression softened at the sincere gesture. “I’m fine. Why are you here, though? Aren’t you supposed to be recording at Simon’s place today?”

“Mr. Simon and I were worried about you after reading the news online, so I decided to visit you.” Tessa answered truthfully, helping Simon to convey his concern toward Sofia as well.

Sofia was glad to hear that. Tessa’s seniors joined their conversation with a chuckle. “We’re here for Miss Sofia. Nothing will happen to her.”

As the conversation went on, an idea occurred to Sofia, thus she reminded Tessa, “Lately, you need to watch out when you’re leaving home. It’s better if you stop coming to the orchestra for the moment. Eunice is a petty woman. Judging by the fact that she made a big scene on the same day she was released from custody, there’s no doubt she’ll find another opportunity to take her revenge sooner or later.”

According to what Tessa knew about Eunice, the former was sure that Eunice would find another way to get revenge. Hence, Tessa agreed with Sofia.

After all, she couldn’t depend on her luck forever to avoid others’ conspiracy on ruining her. Moreover, she couldn’t risk putting herself and her child in danger.

…

Meanwhile, Eunice saw Sofia’s statement to cut ties with her on the official website and was upset about it.

“How could the old hag do this to me?!” Gritting her teeth, Eunice headed for the orchestra with an angry look on her face.

In the orchestra, when the other members noticed her arrival, they turned to each other and started to talk among themselves.

“Why is she still here? Didn’t Sophia remove her from her position?”

“I have no idea. Let’s follow her.”

As their decisions formed, many followed Eunice to see the development of the event.

Eunice was aware of the crowd behind her, but she paid no attention to them. Rushing into Sofia’s office with abandon, she bluntly darted an accusation on the other woman.

“Is it necessary for you to do this to me on Tessa’s behalf? Soren has confessed his crimes. I’m innocent from the very beginning, so how dare you chase me away from the orchestra?”

Sofia wasn’t pleased to see Eunice breaking into her office without invitation, and it showed on her face. However, Sofia was more upset about Eunice’s insistence on her innocence after everything. “You know better than me whether you have committed those crimes or not.”

Her stern gaze met Eunice’s eyes as Sofia announced with an authoritative tone, “I couldn’t care less about your method to get out unscathed, but I won’t allow someone who has questionable morality like you to stay in the orchestra. Else, your presence will bring a great loss to us.”

“I didn’t do such things! You’re slandering me!” Eunice wasn’t able to accept such an accusation as she shrieked hysterically.

Scowling at her reaction, Sofia immediately summoned security to take Eunice out of the place, as she saw no point in wasting her time arguing with the other woman.

Eunice was eventually chased away from the orchestra, and the scene was caught by the cameras of the reporters, who were waiting outside for a scoop. They wasted no time in spreading the news online.

‘The Downfall of Group Two Leader of Sofia Symphony’

‘What Breaks the Twenty-Year Teacher-Student Relationship?’

As the headlines called the public’s attention to the matter, another round of discussion began among the netizens.

“Isn’t Eunice not guilty regarding this matter? Why did Sofia remove her from the orchestra?”

“Things might not be that simple.”

“It’s clear that Sofia is biased toward her youngest apprentice. That’s not fair to Eunice!”

‘Is Sofia out of her mind? Why would she side with the culprit? Eunice hasn’t done anything wrong!’

The netizens had different opinions on the matter.

Chapter 1033 Revealing the Truth to the Public

In the comments, Eunice’s fans didn’t bother to hide their anger as they were outrageous with the phrases they used.

The event soon reached the ears of Eunice and Tessa’s peers in the same field.

At first, when Eunice was released from custody, most thought that she was innocent and wrongly accused.

However, after Sofia declared to cut ties with her and remove her from the orchestra, they realized that there was more than met the eye.

Many were trying to figure out the truth.

If possible, they would seek clarification from Sofia, but they were aware and knew better that they weren’t in a suitable position to meddle in her affairs.

However, Sofia’s friends didn’t share their concerns as they gathered in the orchestra to check on Sofia’s wellbeing.

When her friends asked her about the recent event, Sofia didn’t hide the truth from them.

“I used to think that Eunice is merely an arrogant woman who lacks social skills but has average morality. It seems like I’m wrong about my opinion of her. She’s a vicious woman.”

Sofia briefed her friends on the story and earned support from all of them with her decision.

“You did the right thing. It’s too late for Eunice to change her attitude at this age. If you allow her to stay, her impact on the orchestra is only a minor concern. What worries me more is that it’ll affect your reputation.”

“Besides, you have many students other than her. Other students will more or less be dragged into the matter.”

As she listened to her friends’ advice, Sofia nodded in agreement. “That’s exactly what I think. Lately, many groups have postponed their performance due to her scandal.”

Meanwhile, the public’s opinions regarding the event were worsening, and the public only grew more interested in the matter.

Many reporters with sharp perceptions noticed that something didn’t add up in the story, thus they threw themselves into further investigation to find out the truth, as if they were Sherlock Holmes.

To their astonishment, their investigation indeed bore fruit when an unexpected piece of information emerged.

On the same night, one of the oldest media in the country sorted the new piece of information and the recent events before publishing the news online.

‘This Must Be the Reason Sofia Cut Ties With Eunice.’

It stated that there must be a mastermind behind Soren’s behavior of withdrawing his statement.

Soon after the news was published, the netizens who followed up with the update on the event immediately steered their attention to it.

‘I bet Soren was either bribed or threatened. Else, he wouldn’t withdraw his statement.’

‘Anyone with common sense can see there’s something fishy about this.’

‘In short, the truth is Eunice caused the accident but didn’t admit her mistake. Instead, she found a way to bribe Soren to take the blame. Sofia isn’t pleased with her deeds but doesn’t have a solution to it, so she decided to break ties with Eunice.’

A netizen concluded the story, and the majority of netizens agreed with it.

Thus, Eunice’s average reputation was severed after the netizens made up their mind.

At night, after Nicholas got home, he noticed that Tessa was sitting on the couch with her phone in her hand as she was lost in her thoughts.

“Earth to Tessa. What’s on your mind?”

Nicholas walked over to the woman and held her in his arms naturally, and he couldn’t help but notice the news rolling across the screen of her phone from the corner of his eye.

It was about Eunice being released from custody this morning.

Leaning against his chest, Tessa shared her concern with him as she said, “I’m wondering if her acquittal has anything to do with bribing or threatening Soren, as the netizens said.”

As Nicholas listened to her concern, he narrowed his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with it.”

There was no way Tessa would doubt his ability, so she soon changed the topic and showed concern for his condition.

The two shared a tender moment with each other before Gregory finished his homework and went down to the living room.

After the family had dinner together, Tessa brought Gregory with her to take a stroll in the garden to help with their digestion, while Nicholas headed to the study room to meet up with Edward.

In the study room, after Edward reported the summary of the day’s work to Nicholas, the latter asked, “Any update on Walter and Eunice?”

Edward merely answered truthfully. “There’s not much information about them yet.”

As soon as Eunice was released from custody, Nicholas asked Edward to carry out an investigation into her acquittal.

Chapter 1034 Soren Was Threatened

For the time being, Walter and Eunice were being cautious with their every move, leaving no traces for others to find their weak points. However, Nicholas had an alternative starting point.

“Go see the stage operator again,” he ordered in a low tone.

Edward nodded, understanding that Nicholas was trying to dig up information from Soren. Then, he left the study room and headed to the place Soren was being held at.

“Why did you withdraw your statement? Do you wish to stay behind the bars forever?” When Edward saw Soren, the former cut to the chase without wasting any second.

To his surprise, Soren answered his question with a neutral tone that betrayed no emotions. “I do.”

Edward had a hunch that Soren’s attitude seemed a little off. Furrowing his brows, Edward pressed, “Did something happen?”

However, Soren refused to answer him.

After that, no matter what question Edward shot at him, Soren kept his silence, leaving Edward with no choice but to leave for the moment.

Edward got in his car, but the more he thought about Soren’s attitude, the more his intuition was telling him that something didn’t add up. Thus, he immediately took out his phone and called Nicholas.

“President Sawyer, something is off about Soren’s attitude. I asked him if he wanted to stay in custody, and he told me that he would like to.”

Then, Edward briefed Nicholas on his meeting with Soren a while ago.

The man on the other side of the phone remained silent for a few seconds before his calm voice reached Edward. “There’s no way he doesn’t want freedom, unless he was threatened by someone. You should check on his family.”

“I understand. I’ll work on it.” Understanding dawned on Edward, and he gave the other man new insight. After ending the call, Edward headed to Soren’s house without any delay.

However, he found Evan alone in the house once he arrived at his destination. Her expression seemed a little off to him as if something was troubling her.

“Madam Evan, why are you alone? Where’s your son? I don’t see him here.”

Edward was asking out of politeness, never expecting his words would trigger something inside her mind and cause her to burst into tears before him.

“Mr. Jackson, please help me! They kidnapped my son and asked me to not tell the police.” Evan grabbed Edward’s hands with an agitated look on her face, and her wobbling legs were ready to kneel for him.

Taken aback by her sudden reaction, Edward stopped her from kneeling by grabbing her arms as he consoled her, “What happened? Calm down. I’m here for you.”

“I wasn’t allowed to call the police, and they told me that my son will come back to me safely after three days. But my husband is innocent! He can’t go to jail!”

Due to the panic spreading within her chest, Evan was unable to express herself fluently.

Even though her words were incoherent, Edward succeeded to sort them out and get a rough idea of the story—somebody held Soren and Evan’s son hostage, and threatened Soren to take responsibility for the accident.

At that moment, Edward could only ease her worries with his words. “Madam Evan, please calm yourself. We’re in this together.”

…

The next morning, as soon as Nicholas arrived at his office, Edward knocked on the door and walked inside to greet him.

“President Sawyer, I’ve talked to Evan. I can guarantee that Soren only chose to withdraw his statement due to his son being kidnapped.”

Edward then informed Nicholas of his findings last night. At last, the former concluded, “I believe that Eunice’s father, Walter, is the one behind this. He has the strongest incentive.”

After he finished his report, Nicholas’ expression fell and turned darker. “Find a way to track down this kid. Protect him at all costs.”

“Yes, President Sawyer.” Edward nodded and left, leaving Nicholas pondering alone in the office.

His cold gaze fell into a point in the distance, his eyes freezing with determination.

He wouldn’t let Eunice get away without facing the consequences. Nicholas believed that she simply had to pay for her mistakes. Moreover, she was a potential harm to his wife and son.

In the following few days, the news online related to Sofia Symphony went on, but the discussion among netizens had shifted toward the topic of the potential new leader of Group Two in the orchestra.

‘I think Tessa is the most competitive among the candidates.’

‘I agree with the last post. Most of Sofia’s students already have their own group except Tessa, who holds no position in the orchestra.’

‘Her chance is high since she’s capable and prestigious. Moreover, she is Sofia’s immediate student. That alone is enough to beat other competitors.’

Meanwhile, Eunice was staying at home, but she was beyond angry with the netizens’ comments.

Chapter 1035 Dirty Tricks

“Are they out of their mind? Tessa, that sl*t, is completely unfit to manage my Group Two!” Eunice’s teeth gritted together as she prepared to reason with the netizens. However, at this instant, an idea flashed through her mind and she paused her actions.

She logged on to her social media and posted an oblique sentence. ‘No wonder she tried so hard to kick me out…’

The moment her post went live, a rage broke out among her supporters, who were already feeling indignant for her. ‘What is Miss Sofia thinking of? I’ve never seen someone as biased as she is!’

‘Group Two is established by our idol herself! She has shed her blood and tears for it. Why must she make way for Tessa Reinhart now?!’

‘And what gives Tessa Reinhart the right to replace our idol?’

In a short period of time, Sofia Symphony’s website was flooded with negative comments from enraged fans.

Some of them even went so far as to threaten the symphony.

‘If you dare to let Tessa Reinhart manage Group Two, I guarantee I’ll cause trouble at every performance of Group Two!’

‘Group Two belongs to our idol! We will never allow anyone else to get their hands on it!’

Because of the large numbers of negative comments from the supporters, this incident was eventually reported in the news.

Sofia was completely infuriated.

Eunice must have played a role in causing the current situation, she reasoned.

Everyone else in the symphony guessed it too, and they were all furious.

“Eunice has gone completely overboard! How could she mislead the public?”

Expression dark, Sofia quickly instructed her assistant to make the necessary arrangements.

Within a short period of time, a public statement was issued on Sofia’s personal account.

Very briefly, she made it clear that Group Two was undergoing some re-coordination and changes. Once everything was completed, she would personally lead the group. With this, she hoped that the public could put an end to their groundless speculations.

All the howling supporters immediately went quiet after reading Sofia’s latest statement.

At the same time, the rumor about Tessa leading the group was debunked as well.

However, such a statement also revealed to the public that Sofia truly doted on her little protégé.

After all, Sofia was a person of high and noble standing in the field. She rarely posted on social media, and when she did, it was always related to the symphony. Now, however, she dealt with the problem herself because of Tessa.

None of her other students had received the same treatment.

As such, the media was eager to interview Tessa in order to learn what she possessed that caused Sofia to treat her differently.

However, much to their dismay, Tessa stayed inside her house all day. The reporters could not get to her at all.

Two days later, the rumors about Sofia Symphony on the internet had mostly died down.

Seeing that the matter was about to be forgotten, Eunice took the chance and made a public announcement.

‘Looking forward to having a great time with you all.’

She even tagged a famous symphony—the Twelve Knights—on her post.

The Twelve Knights was also regarded as one of the best symphonies in the field. It had a reputation similar to Sofia Symphony, and was even Sofia Symphony’s arch enemy.

When they saw this, all netizens and those in the same field were stunned.

‘What? Eunice is joining the Twelve Knights?’

‘As Miss Sofia’s student, how could she join the Twelve Knights? This is such a humiliation to Miss Sofia!’

‘Our idol is no longer the student of that old woman! Of course she is free to go wherever she wants!’

In contrast to the netizens’ disapproval, Eunice’s supporters were unwavering in their support for their idol.

As a result, both sides got into heated debates on the Internet.

But their attention was soon diverted.

The Twelve Knights played along after seeing Eunice’s post. Several of their members and sub-groups reposted Eunice’s post.

‘We welcome Eunice into the big family of the Twelve Knights,’ they wrote.

They then grandly and proudly announced Eunice’s joining.

Kussen Hershey, the leader of the Twelve Knights, even candidly posted on the Internet, ‘Eunice is an exceptional musician. Sofia Symphony doesn’t know how to appreciate her, but we do. We are currently preparing for her first performance with the Twelve Knights. I’ll be performing alongside her, so please look forward to it.’

Chapter 1036 Flawed Character

‘Oh my goodness, Mr. Kussen is going to perform a duet with Eunice!’ ‘Mr. Kussen, please treat our idol well. She will never let you down.’

‘Excellent decision, Eunice! Since Sofia, that old lady, does not appreciate you, you indeed should move on and have a change in scenery.’

Those who left such comments were obviously Eunice’s fans. Some even boasted about it on Sofia Symphony’s official website and on their own social media.

‘Do you think our idol would have nowhere to go after you chased her away, you old hag? Eunice is always the extraordinary lady that we know, no matter where she goes.’

‘Mr. Kussen has announced that he will be performing a duet with our idol at her first philharmonic concert!’

‘Our idol will only grow in stature in the future. Sooner or later, you will regret chasing her away!’

Seeing how the situation developed, all of the reporters seemed to sense that such news would make it to the headlines, and they rushed to Sofia Symphony for an interview.

They couldn’t get Sofia, of course. Hence, they could only interview the rest of the members.

“What are your thoughts on Eunice joining the Twelve Knights?”

“Will Eunice’s departure have an impact on the orchestra?”

“Of course not. The orchestra is functioning normally.”

“Miss Eunice was indeed one of our main forces previously, but to put it bluntly, our orchestra can withstand losing a few more main forces as long as Miss Sofia holds the fort.”

“Our orchestra is doing great, and everything is in order. Thanks for the concern.”

As if the members had agreed among themselves, no matter how the reporters posed their questions, all answers were positive.

But the truth was that Eunice’s leaving, as well as her joining an orchestra that was Sofia Symphony’s arch enemy, had a significant impact on Sofia Symphony.

This was especially so, given Eunice’s supporters’ arrogant bragging and mockery on Sofia Symphony’s official website, which pushed the symphony to the forefront of the rumors.

Sofia was even in the news as a result of the supporters’ scolding.

‘You don’t know any better, you old lady! With her stunning appearance, talent, and well-known works, our idol is perfect! Do you really think you’ll be able to shut her out of the field simply by chasing her out?’

‘Speaking of which, now that our idol has left Sofia Symphony, you should remove her works from the orchestra! That’s her own creation!’

‘Sofia Morris, you’ll be sorry one day!’

Meanwhile, Sofia was aware of such remarks.

At first, she intended to ignore them. However, judging by the attitude of those supporters, it appeared that they would never let the matter go if Sofia did not speak up.

As such, she agreed to an interview with a media agency.

During the interview, the host asked, “Do you have anything to say about Eunice leaving your orchestra and joining the Twelve Knights?”

“As her former mentor, I wish her the best in her future endeavors. But… What I can say is that, while she is clearly talented in the musical field, she still has room to improve as a human being.”

“Are you implying that Eunice’s character is flawed, Miss Sofia?”

The host interestedly pursued further.

Sofia only responded with a smile. “Well, it all boils down to personal opinions.”

This interview was quickly broadcasted on the Internet.

Eunice was also aware of such an interview. She deliberately searched for it online and watched the interview to see if Sofia had regretted her actions.

But unexpected to Eunice, all she saw on the Internet was Sofia’s nonchalant attitude.

She became even angrier when she saw Sofia point out her flaws.

“What rights does this old lady have to cast such an imputation on me?! My character is flawed, huh? All of you are the ones to be blamed!”

As she glared fiercely at the video of Sofia’s interview, a vicious idea arose in Eunice’s mind.

Later that night, Eunice instructed someone to spread rumors on the Internet.

Tessa was said to want to make a name for herself in the music industry after marrying into a wealthy family. She gave Sofia numerous benefits for this purpose, which led to Sofia assisting Tessa and even favoring her whenever Sofia could.

Such news sparked outrage on the Internet.

Chapter 1037 The Increasing Rumors

‘Miss Sofia isn’t that kind of person, is she?’ ‘From what I recall, Sofia Symphony has a number of performances each year. She shouldn’t be short of money.’

‘I believe it is possible. Well, no one will think they have too much money.’ ‘Furthermore, every expense in the artistic field is exorbitant. They earn a lot, but they spend a lot as well.’

‘If that’s the case, Miss Sofia has truly disappointed everyone.’ ‘How could she ditch her protégé, who has been following her for twenty years, just for money?’

“Given this, I’m concerned about the other members as well.” ‘Tessa Reinhart is the root of all problems. What’s the big deal about marrying into a wealthy family? Does this mean she can look down on others and replace their efforts for more than ten years?’

For some unknown reason, the fire of the rumors spread to Tessa. Eunice, on the other hand, was pleased with such a development. Tessa was the one who landed Eunice into her current situation in the first place.

Now that Eunice wasn’t having a good time, she would never let Tessa live her life peacefully as well. Edward’s attention was drawn to the matter too because of all the commotion on the Internet, and he immediately conducted an investigation into it.

He soon discovered that Eunice was the mastermind behind all the rumors, and he immediately informed Nicholas. Edward looked attentively at Nicholas and asked, “Such a woman who can easily mislead the public is never simple. Shall we do something to stop the rumors?”

Hearing that, Nicholas squinted his eyes and became deep in thought. After a few beats, he stated coldly, “It doesn’t matter. She was the one who got herself into this mess. Someone will deal with her soon. Just wait for it; she won’t be able to maintain such a front for long.”

Nicholas’ words were indeed true.

When the other members of the orchestra read the rumors online, they were both enraged and speechless.

“How could Eunice slander Sofia in this way?”

“The orchestra’s annual income is more than enough for Miss Sofia to enjoy herself for the rest of her life, not to mention her other incomes.”

Eunice has gone way overboard!”

All of the members felt indignant on Sofia’s behalf.

Even Marjorie and his gang felt disappointed with Eunice.

When all of them got together, their main subject of conversation was Eunice as well.

“Though I’ve always thought Eunice has some issues with her personality, I’ve never disliked her as much as I do now. Isn’t it true that Miss Sofia treated her well? How could Eunice do something like that?”

Jenny was so angry that she gritted her teeth as she spoke.

Meanwhile, Daniela was furious as well. “She previously even had the audacity to harm our little junior! Now that she has fallen out with Miss Sofia, of course she dares to say anything. She lacks both integrity and ethics.”

“On account of our relationship, we even spoke on her behalf when she had her disputes with Miss Sofia previously, but she is completely unconcerned about our predicament now.”

Hearing that, Kellen grimaced and muttered, “I’m not going to defend this woman online anymore.”

The moment he finished his words, those around him followed suit and declared that they would never be on Eunice’s side nor speak for her again.

Marjorie, the most senior of them all, remained silent.

In fact, he was of the same mind as the others.

After all, what Eunice did went way beyond his limit.

Meanwhile, Eunice felt despised after receiving no response from Sofia Symphony despite all the slanders against them. Hence, she again directed her men to aggravate the rumors.

For the next few days, more and more rumors about Sofia Symphony’s surfaced on the Internet, each one more outrageous than the last.

Sofia was even said to have offered the orchestra’s pretty musicians to wealthy men in exchange for money and fame.

Such news created an uproar online.

‘This is definitely not true!’

‘Miss Sofia is a person of great virtue and prestige. She would never do something like this!’

‘A person can never be understood just by looking at his exterior.’

To aggravate the matter, Eunice deliberately posted a specious sentence on her account at this point of time.

Seeing that, many of the netizens went to her in search of the truth.

‘Do you know any insider information, Eunice?’

‘Please tell us the truth and seek justice for those innocent and naïve young girls!’

No matter how hard they tried to ask her for an answer, Eunice remained silent, though.

As a result, the netizens interpreted her silence as an admission and began criticizing Sofia Symphony.

Some of them even filed a police report, requesting that Sofia Symphony be thoroughly investigated for all sorts of allegations, including illegal fundraising.

Chapter 1038 The Truth

After Marjorie helped Sofia handle the cops, she was thoroughly enraged to the point where she maliciously criticized Eunice when the press came for an interview.

“Miss Sofia didn’t want to have a fallout with you on account of your history, but you’ve been shameless. Since it has come to this, and I’ve held it in for way too long, let’s talk facts, shall we? Aside from the fact that Miss Sofia earns hundreds of millions per year, just the profits from the orchestra alone amount to almost a hundred million. Why does she need to source money from another revenue or betray one of the band members to support herself? You’re just spouting rubbish, Eunice. Please, if you want to lie, at least make it believable.”

The media was stunned to see such a livid Marjorie. After all, they had never seen the man, who had always been polite and gentle, being so exasperated like he was now.

Noticing something was off, some of the journalists asked, “Then, does that mean that Miss Eunice isn’t who she seems to be?”

Had the journalists questioned this in the past, Marjorie would have tried to cover it up for Eunice, but he spoke his mind this time.

“Being another man’s mistress is all that’s on her mind these days. A homewrecker, basically. Do you think she’s as she seems?” Marjorie then sneered before walking away to go on with his day.

Yet, these journalists seemed to have been intrigued by his statement, for they started to interview the whole orchestra soon after.

Perhaps it was because Marjorie had taken the lead to expose Eunice, so the other members also kept no secrets about her problematic personality.

“Are you referring to Eunice? She’s actually quite selfish and overly ambitious.”

“In the past, we kept our mouths shut on account of Miss Sofia, but she really has a twisted morale. All she thinks about all day is someone else’s husband.”

“Stubborn and haughty. I remembered that once, our performance was delayed because she was busy hooking up with a man. In the end, the orchestra had to pay for the extra time we used while booking the venue.”

“My friend is a member of Group Two. I heard that Eunice often scolded and hit them in the orchestra. She even made them do physical punishments.”

“Do you see the scar on my forehead? She hit me with an instrument, all because I made a tiny mistake. Our members are often admitted to the hospital because she’d always knock us out with the instruments.” A female member was exposing Eunice’s evil deeds while pointing at her forehead angrily.

Then, a journalist asked, “Did you sue her?”

“How would I dare to do that? She threatened me, saying that if I dared to blow this incident up, she would blacklist me from the industry.”

The statements recorded by the media opened their eyes up to who Eunice really was.

After all, it would not mean much if only one person accused her. However, it was a different story when there were multiple similar statements.

Soon, the interview was uploaded online, which attracted a lot of buzz.

“My gosh. Are they really talking about the same Eunic that we know?”

“I hate mistresses the most, especially when Eunice actually wants to be the mistress and destroy the family.”

“If these are true, then I think that Sofia made the right choice in banishing her from the orchestra.”

“Having such an evil person in the orchestra is akin to having a time bomb lying around; who knows, one day, she’s gonna bring the whole orchestra down with one scandal of hers!”

“Now, I’m curious as to whether the Twelve Knights knew about these when they invited Eunice to their orchestra.”

“It’d be better if they say they didn’t. However, it’d be interesting if they still invited Eunice after knowing about her deeds.”

On the other hand, some of her fans even felt cheated as their admiration turned to disgust, prompting them to voice their hatred toward Eunice online.

Some even questioned the Twelve Knights as to why they signed such a problematic musician like her on their official account.

Kussen Hershey, who did not expect the sudden backlash upon signing Eunice, was livid.

Immediately, he called her to the orchestra for a meeting.

Chapter 1039 Misled

“Eunice, it all started because of you. I want you to settle this matter within a day. I’ll never allow this scandal to tarnish the reputation of the orchestra!”

Despite staying at home for the past few days, Tessa had been keeping tabs on what was circulating online. Seeing how much buzz was on this incident, she sighed, albeit without an ounce of pity for Eunice.

She has this coming.

Yet, she did not predict that things would blow out of proportion to the point where the orchestra members would stand up for her and expose Eunice. Frankly, she was moved by their actions.

When the night dawned, she was still in disbelief when she reiterated this to Nicholas in his embrace.

“I didn’t think that the members would protect me. This was something that I didn’t expect.”

“They’re not blinded by the truth. They can tell who’s sincere and who’s a hypocrite.” Nicholas lowered his head and looked at Tessa gently.

He meant it wholeheartedly, though, as Tessa was very generous in the orchestra. She had never abused her position and used it against others; instead, she was kind enough to be a helpful peer to the members whenever they encountered challenges.

…

The next day, Tessa received a call from Simon in the middle of her practice at home.

“I heard from your mentor that you’ve been resting at home recently? Is it because of what’s happening online?”

“It’s not that. Miss Sofia is worried that Eunice might seek revenge against me, so she wanted me to rest at home,” Tessa explained with a smile.

Simon relaxed upon hearing this. “With how much trouble she’s in, I don’t think that Eunice has the time to mess with you.”

Thinking about the events that had been unfolding online these past few days, Tessa nodded before asking the reason he called.

“Nothing much. I’m just worried about you. Of course, if you’re not bothered by the rumors, you can come over and record your piece. Just ignore them.”

In actuality, Simon believed that all this happened because Tessa had yet to produce any notable works, which led her to be bullied so easily. He was hoping that she would quickly finish recording the album so that she could show the haters just how good she was when the album was released.

Not knowing about Simon’s thoughts, Tessa agreed to the recording. Yet, what she did not know was that another storm was incoming just as she was occupied with her session. It was Eunice’s strike once again.

‘Doesn’t anybody think that there’s something wrong with Tessa too? She’s like a walking disaster that creates trouble anywhere she goes. I had been with Sofia for the past twenty years without any incident; the orchestra had been operating smoothly too. Yet, ever since she appeared, not only did our play get stolen, we even experienced a fire! And now, look at what happened. Before Tessa came, the Hathaway Philharmonic was a reputable orchestra. After she joined, things have upheaved so badly that the orchestra is now considered amateurs’ play! The head of the orchestra even lost her daughter.’

Her words stunned the internet.

‘I know I sound strange, but she actually makes some sense.’

‘I agree.’

‘I think she’s right. Before Tessa joined the orchestra, everyone and everything was getting along well. It was only after she joined that the problems started.’

‘With what happened to the orchestra, I think that Tessa is a bit of a jinx.’

‘As they say, nothing happens by chance. If Tessa really is innocent, why do so many people have beef with her?’

Gradually, the netizens were starting to be misled by Eunice’s words as they agreed that there was something fishy with Tessa.

It was then someone mentioned Kathleen’s death. Again.

‘Without Tessa, Kathleen wouldn’t have committed suicide.”

‘I was curious about that too. Regardless of Kathleen’s reputation or position, she was higher than Tessa in every way. So, why would she harass Tessa?”

‘Perhaps, Tessa treated Kathleen as a mere stepping stone. Just look at how glorious her life has become after Kathleen’s death. Despite the fact that Hathaway has chased her out of the orchestra, she managed to join Sofia Symphony and even became Miss Sofia’s student.”

Chapter 1040 The Truth of Eunice

Her words shifted the hesitant public to think that Tessa was a walking catastrophe. Yet, just as they were about to criticize her, Hathaway herself voiced out.

‘I would like to state that my severance with Tessa was only because I couldn’t get past myself. Nobody has the right to blame her, including me, as a mother. I hope that the public does not get misled by such malicious comments. Tessa is a nice, sensible, polite, and hardworking woman.’

Although Hathaway did praise Tessa, she did not mention anything regarding her daughter’s death. As such, it showed that she did not blame Tessa, as the problems resided with Kathleen herself. It was precisely because of this that the misled public found their sanity again.

‘I don’t believe that a mother who doesn’t love her own child exists. Since Miss Hathaway is speaking up for Tessa in such an objective way, this means that she’s not the one causing trouble left and right.’

‘Also, I could read between the lines that Hathaway still appreciates Tessa a lot.’

‘Perhaps Tessa isn’t as bad as what Eunice made her out to be. On the contrary, she might even be brilliant.’

‘Speaking of which, oftentimes, the more outstanding a person is, the more envy and hatred are thrown her way. Do you all think that it’s because of this that she’s targeted by so many people?’

As if they had been enlightened, the public went back to criticizing Eunice again.

‘You’re her senior; how could you have the cheek to slander your junior like this?’

‘I nearly bought your nonsense.’

‘I think that the members of Sofia Symphony are correct. Eunice doesn’t seem as harmless and innocent as she looks.’

At that moment, Eunice’s character that she worked so hard to build thoroughly crumbled. The reason why she did this was to clear her own name, but she did not think that it would come back to haunt her in the end.

On the other hand, Tessa’s fans started to stand up for her upon seeing this.

Originally, Eunice wanted to fight back with claims that Tessa was not as polite as Hathaway described because she was slapped by Tessa in front of the orchestra members.

Yet, her statement was rebuked by the orchestra members soon enough.

‘Do you really not know why she slapped you?’

‘Seducing her husband time and again. Now, you can’t stand her getting angry?’

‘Even the kindest person has their limits. Honestly, who can actually endure this?’

At that point, Eunice was rebuked so harshly that she gave up on speaking.

By now, the public started to realize the truth.

‘No wonder she kept targeting Tessa. It turns out that she couldn’t get the man she wanted.’

‘What a despicable person. She failed to be a homewrecker, so she wants to ruin someone’s life instead.’

‘I’ve never seen such a shameless individual that acts so arrogantly even when she’s the mistress. Disgusting.’

At last, Eunice had become the public enemy on top of everyone’s list. They even started to boycott the orchestra that signed her, not forgetting to criticize and mocking them.

‘This is the standard of the Twelve Knights? What kind of clown did they sign?’

‘Looking back at the grand welcoming ceremony only makes me sick now.’

‘They actually cherish such a deranged person. It seems like this is why the Twelve Knights are always behind the Sofia Symphony.’

‘That’s right. They even accepted a person like Eunice. This goes to show that they must be the same kind of people!’

‘With how crazy Eunice is—on top of the people from Twelve Knights—it looks like the orchestra will be finished in the near future.’

‘The thought of that ramps me up.’

The admirers of the Twelve Knights were livid upon seeing this and started to argue with them. All of a sudden, the internet was awash with arguments.

‘Watch your mouths. Even if Sofia Symphony goes kaput, the Twelve Knights will still be here.’

‘How arrogant. Some nobody dares to compare themselves with the Sofia Symphony?’