Ch. 961..970
Chapter 961 Could It Be Richelle?
Tessa muttered under her breath as she recounted what happened recently, ”If I have offended anyone, it’s only Eunice. Did she steal my score?”
This idea had just formed in her mind when she immediately dismissed the thought. Even though Eunice was far from amicable toward her, Eunice was still a professional through and through.
Timothy pressed when he noticed the shift in Tessa’s eyes, ”Tess, do you have a suspect?” ”No.” She jerked back to her senses and shook her head.
He was clearly unconvinced as he insisted on an answer. Finally, out of wits, she told him about her conflict with Eunice. ”Although she’s not a likable person, I have faith in Miss Sofia’s judgment. So, I don’t think it’s her.”
Since that was her opinion, Timothy took her words as is. Despite that, he still had an awful impression of Eunice, and he couldn’t help but think derisively, The nerve of this woman to seduce Nicholas!
When the call ended, Tessa palmed her phone as she furrowed her delicate brows in thought. As expected, she really couldn’t think of anyone who would target her this way.
Just then, Nicholas came upstairs because she didn’t return for breakfast for a long time, so he decided to check on her.
When he noticed that she was standing in the hallway, frowning deeply while rubbing her fingers against the screen of her phone thoughtfully, he couldn’t help but go to her in concern. ”What happened? What has upset you?”
Tessa didn’t bother hiding anything, so she told him about her discussion with Timothy earlier. ”Timothy said that the one who deleted the surveillance must be a highly-skilled hacker, but I couldn’t think of anyone who would go through so much trouble just to steal something.”
After Nicholas listened to her concerns, his eyes turned solemn. ”It’s alright. I also asked someone to look into this matter, and I believe we’ll have answers soon. Let’s have breakfast first. Aren’t you going to the orchestra later?”
She nodded and followed him to the dining room.
Unbeknownst to them, they couldn’t find any lead to the theft because Susan smartened up after faking her death. As she had previously been through a great deal of pain because of her carelessness, she wouldn’t risk the same mistake that would lead the investigations back to her.
Hence, after she obtained the score, she asked her father to delete the surveillance so that even the best hacker wouldn’t be able to recover it.
When Tessa was finished with breakfast, she brought Gregory to the orchestra while Nicholas went to the branch office.
Not long after he was deep in work, Edward knocked on his door and came in with a report. The instant he was done with his account, he heard Nicholas’ usual dispassionate tone ring across the room, ”I asked you to check up on that Vincent before. How are things going with that?”
”I was about to tell you,” Edward answered and politely told him the results of his investigations. ”I found out that Vincent was in contact with someone from Madam Tessa’s orchestra band a few days ago.”
Nicholas’ face turned glacial when he heard that. ”Who was it?”
”A violinist from Miss Sofia’s Group Six, Richelle.”
The name was not the least familiar to Nicholas, and he narrowed his eyes as he instructed, ”Go and find out whether this person has any conflict with Tessa in the band.”
Edward nodded affirmatively as he heeded Nicholas’ instruction and left to make the necessary arrangements. That evening, Nicholas didn’t bring this up immediately when he returned home. Instead, they enjoyed a pleasant dinner harmoniously as a family.
It wasn’t until Tessa had coaxed Gregory to turn in for the night that he pulled her into his arms to tell her about this.
”I have some leads regarding the theft.”
”Did you find out who did it?” Tessa gasped, turning to him in surprise.
Nicholas nodded and briefly told her about Edward’s findings today.
”It’s the violinist from Group Six of your band named Richelle. Do you know her?”
”I do know her.”
Tessa pursed her lips when she heard the name. She had never imagined that the person who stole from her would be Richelle. Meanwhile, Nicholas could tell from her face that there was some hidden issue she had never told him of regarding this person.
”What’s wrong?” he asked softly as he lowered his head to gaze at her in worry.
She knew he was just concerned, so she shook her head as she reassured him. ”Actually, it’s not anything important. It’s just that Richelle desperately wants to be Miss Sofia’s apprentice, and she has been working very hard to achieve that goal. But it seems that she didn’t make the cut.”
Chapter 962 What Richelle Did
Despite what she said, she still couldn’t help but overthink the matter as her mind came up with several possibilities. Did Richelle do something like this because she resents me?
Little did she know that she had hit the bullseye for a part of it—Richelle really did despise her that much. However, as Sofia was too strict, she didn’t dare to do anything until an evening a few days ago.
In the vast training room of Group Six, Richelle was the only one left still practicing. She had been practicing until late evening before she started packing her things away, and Susan appeared then.
”Richelle,” she called, stopping Richelle before walking over to her.
Richelle’s eyes flashed with befuddlement when she saw Susan since they weren’t close, but she still stopped in her tracks and asked, ”What’s up?”
”Nothing. I just noticed that you’re still around, so I thought to have a little chat with you.” A scheming look flickered briefly in Susan’s eyes as she chuckled softly. ”Frankly, I think there’s no need for you to practice so hard now. Miss Sofia has already accepted Tessa as her apprentice, and she probably won’t accept anyone else for now.”
Richelle scowled when she heard Susan’s disparaging remark. One could say that Susan had stepped on Richelle’s minefield when she said all those things.
Therefore, she snapped angrily, ”What’s it got to do with you whether I work hard or not?”
It didn’t bother Susan one bit that Richelle was fuming mad because she had hit where it hurt. Instead, she merely smirked before saying suggestively, ”This indeed has nothing to do with me, but I just feel so terrible for you. You’ve been in the band for a few years, and everyone knows you want to be Miss Sofia’s student. Just when you thought that your dream was about to be realized, someone snatched it away from you just like that. Honestly, I applaud your good temperament. If I were in your shoes, I definitely wouldn’t be able to take it lying down.”
Actually, she deliberately said all of this just to incite Richelle. But then, as she considered how Richelle was now clearly foaming at the mouth to rip her head off, she successfully ignited Richelle’s suppressed fury.
”What exactly are you trying to say?” Richelle balled her fists in outrage as she shot daggers with slightly reddened eyes at Susan.
Hence, Susan decided not to beat about the bush and said bluntly, ”I know that you hate Tessa. However, if you would like to teach her a lesson, I can help you with that.”
Richelle was taken aback as she blurted, ”Why would you do that?”
Although it wasn’t a lie that she would love to see Tessa disappear from her life, nothing in life was free. So it was only natural for her to regard Susan warily. She couldn’t believe that someone would help her out of nowhere.
Susan undoubtedly noticed that Richelle had her guard up, and she chuckled lightly before saying mysteriously, ”Just think of me as doing a good deed. Or maybe, you don’t want to teach Tessa a lesson at all. If that’s the case, then just forget about it.”
After she said her piece, she pretended to leave. Then, just as she anticipated, Richelle’s somewhat agitated voice echoed from behind her. ”How are you planning to teach her a lesson?”
Clearly, Richelle was swayed by her words. With that thought in mind, Susan couldn’t help the gleeful smirk that painted across her face when she heard Richelle’s question due to the sheer delight that her plot had worked.
Nevertheless, when she twirled around, her face was wiped clean of all other emotions. She merely took out the sheet music which she had stolen from her handbag and passed it to Richelle.
Richelle gave her a puzzled look. ”What’s this?”
Susan plastered on a fake smile that didn’t reach her eyes as she hinted, ”I think Tessa dropped this by accident, and it seems very important to her…”
Although she didn’t finish her sentence, Richelle already understood what she meant.
When Richelle considered her current position in the orchestra, where she was an easily replaceable piece while Tessa was the new rising star, she tightened her jaw and decided to bite the bullet.
The next day, she heard that Vernon was collecting scores in preparation for publishing a new song; she didn’t hesitate to send the score to him without pausing to think about the consequences.
Honestly, she regretted it immediately after sending the score to Vernon.
For the past couple of days, there was quite a commotion in the band because Tessa had lost her score, and Sofia wanted to get to the bottom of this matter. As a result, Richelle was utterly terrified as she was worried that she would be sussed out almost instantly.
It was accurate to say that she had been going to the band fearfully for the past couple of days.
But Tessa didn’t know about all this, and she was dispirited after she learned of the culprit’s identity.
The following day, she brought Gregory to the band. When they arrived, she dropped him off at the training room but didn’t plan to accompany him this time.
”Sweetheart, be good and practice alone for a bit. I have to look for Miss Sofia to settle some issues. I’ll be back right after that, okay?”
Chapter 963 Do You Have Evidence?
”Okay. But you have to come back quickly, Mommy.”
Gregory nodded obediently and walked into the training room with the violin on his back, and Tessa watched him until he started practicing before she turned to leave.
In the office, Sofia was a little surprised to see Tessa. ”What brought you here?”
”My husband found the key person that stole my score,” Tessa said honestly. Sofia had not a single shard of doubt at that. After all, with Nicholas’ status, there was no reason for him to lie about this.
Sofia immediately kept her work away as she looked at Tessa sternly and asked gravely, ”Who is it?” ”Richelle,” Tessa answered right away.
”It’s her?” Sofia was taken aback when she heard the identity of the culprit responsible for such a heinous crime in the music industry. Clearly, she didn’t expect that Richelle would do such a thing as she had a relatively good impression of the woman; Richelle was a rather gifted violinist and hard-working to boot.
Despite her disbelief, she instructed her assistant to bring Richelle over. Meanwhile, Richelle’s heart almost leaped out of her throat, and it filled with anxiety when she heard that Sofia was looking for her. So, the instant she entered the office, panic swelled to insurmountable levels when she saw that Tessa was also in attendance.
Why is this woman here? Did Miss Sofia find out that it was me? Richelle thought in trepidation.
The more she dwelled on it, the more uneasy she became, but she tightened her fists and forced herself to calm down.
It didn’t matter if they learned that she was the culprit; she couldn’t afford to be all over the place at this crucial time.
Hence, she squashed all her emotions down her throat, lowered her eyes, stood in front of Sofia, and asked demurely, ”Miss Sofia, why did you ask for me?”
When Sofia saw how earnest and docile she appeared, she really couldn’t bring herself to believe that she was capable of something so vile.
”Do you know about the theft in the band recently?”
Richelle’s heart skipped a beat, and she pursed her lips. ”Yes.”
”I heard that you met Vernon the other day,” Sofia said, narrowing her eyes at Richelle with an unreadable expression.
On the other hand, Richelle’s heart was hammering against her chest in fright, and she had never been this nervous in her life. She tightened her fists briefly and used the stinging pain to calm down. At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but she finally decided to ‘come clean’.
”Yes, I did because I know Vernon as a friend. So, I hung out with him for a chat.”
She’s still being stubborn, eh? Tessa thought when she heard her excuse.
Therefore, she interrogated Richelle mercilessly with a stony expression, ”Was it only just a chat and nothing else?”
Richelle’s heart shuddered at her sharp inquiry. Still, she shot Tessa a glance, feigning annoyance as she argued, ”What are you implying, Miss Reinhart? Do you suspect me of stealing your score just because I was in contact with Vernon?”
Tessa huffed in anger at the sight of the self-righteous act the woman was pulling before her.
”No, I’m past being suspicious of you. I’m sure that you’re the one who took my score!”
Her words sent a chill down Richelle’s spine, and she swept her gaze over Sofia, who had a sullen look. Sofia’s attitude made it clear that she wouldn’t be interjecting in her conflict with Tessa. Finally, she decided not to admit to the theft no matter what, or else she wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences.
”Miss Reinhart, you need to have proof for saying that. Do you have any proof to show that it’s me?”
She glared at Tessa in frustration as though she had been framed and a victim as well. Frankly, if Tessa didn’t have the necessary evidence at hand, she may have been fooled by Richelle’s compelling act.
Tessa sneered as she retorted, ”Since you want proof, I’ll show you proof.”
Then, she played the surveillance recording that Nicholas had obtained. The recording showed Richelle inviting Vernon privately and the process of their deal. As expected, Sofia looked grim after watching the recording, and she shot a sharp look at Richelle.
”What else do you have to say with the evidence here?”
Blood drained from Richelle’s face, and her knees buckled, which resulted in her slumping down to the floor on her knees.
Never did she imagine that Tessa would come into possession of the recording of her deal with Vernon.
Finally, she snapped back to her senses as the pain in her knees registered and quickly begged for forgiveness tremulously, ”I was wrong. I shouldn’t have done something like this in a moment of folly.”
Unfortunately, her pleas were not sufficient to appease Sofia’s ire.
Chapter 964 Get Back the Score
”What has Tessa ever done to you? Why did you do this?!” Sofia questioned in a deep, imposing voice. Tessa also turned to stare at Richelle in disgruntlement. She, of all people, wanted to know just why this woman would do such a thing.
Richelle felt so wronged and upset under their sharp, piercing gaze that she simply blurted all the dissatisfaction she had bottled up inside her.
”I did this because I admire you very much and want to be your student, but you didn’t have any thoughts of making me your student.” She sobbed, choked on her tears as though she was the victim, and whined, ”I know that you have high expectations, and maybe I have yet to reach your requirements. For the past couple of years, I’ve been practicing so hard, but you still didn’t pay any attention to me and even accepted Tessa as your last apprentice. I’m jealous of that and slowly began to resent her, so I…”
Tessa was dumbfounded when she heard Richelle’s complaints and felt that this disaster had descended upon her out of nowhere.
Sofia felt equally conflicted as she didn’t think that Richelle would go to such extremes just because she didn’t accept her as her student. Therefore, she set her sights on Tessa and brazenly took revenge on her instead.
At this moment, she was so overwhelmed with disappointment that she could only say, ”Although I do look at talent when I accept an apprentice, there are also other factors, such as a musician’s intuition.”
In other words, she never had and would never consider Richelle as a possible candidate to be her apprentice. When Richelle understood this, she was even more inconsolable.
”However, this isn’t an excuse for you to steal someone’s work, and you even sold it off. This isn’t just a misdemeanor due to a burst of impulsiveness, but a matter of character!” Sofia continued sharply, and Richelle gave her a hurt look. Nevertheless, Sofia ignored her and said sternly, ”I want you to apologize to Tessa now. Otherwise, I would have to ask you to leave. My band cannot accommodate someone with such a foul character!”
Richelle’s face turned stark white, and because the last thing she wanted was to be fired from the band, she eventually chose to apologize. ”I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sold your music to someone else because I was jealous of you.”
Richelle appeared very pathetic, with her head hung low and her shoulders hunched, but Tessa didn’t have any sympathy for her. In her opinion, Richelle had brought this upon herself.
So, she decided to accept her apology, albeit with a condition as she replied coldly, ”Although I accept your apology, you’ll have to get my sheet music back if you want to put an end to this matter.”
After all, this sheet music was her gift to Nicholas, and she didn’t want anyone to misuse it.
A perplexed look washed over Richelle’s face at her words because she knew Vernon’s character. It was literally impossible to retrieve the sheet music back from a person like him.
Regardless, before she could say anything, Sofia also voiced her agreement over such a decision, ”Since Tessa had already said that, get the sheet music back, and we’ll sweep this issue under the rug.”
Because of Sofia, Richelle could only bite the bullet and agree. So then, on the very same afternoon, she made a trip to Vernon’s studio.
”So, you want me to remove my new song and return the original score to you?” Vernon repeated in the reception room as though he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
Richelle, seated on a couch across from him, nodded without any confidence. ”That’s right.”
”Are you kidding me, missy? You’re the one who gave that score to me. What makes you think I should give it back to you now?” Vernon pointed out with a look of ridicule. ”In addition, if I remove my song now, that’s as good as admitting that I stole it.”
A dumbfounded Richelle didn’t know how to refute him, so she could only say doggedly, ”But you’re not the one who composed this song, to begin with.”
”So what? It’s fine as long as I hold all of its rights,” Vernon retorted nonchalantly. ”I don’t care how you got your hands on this music score and what complications it has caused you. All of that is unrelated to me.”
Those words were as good as saying that he would definitely not return this sheet music.
After Richelle heard his shameless proclamation, no words could describe how much regret she currently felt. If she had known this, she wouldn’t have handed the score to this guy.
Despite that, the most important thing now was to get the score back. ”Aren’t you worried that our band will pursue you for plagiarizing?”
She tried using the band’s reputation in an attempt to make Vernon budge.
Chapter 965 You Don’t Know Me
Richelle didn’t expect that her threat would fall flat as Vernon merely sneered as he taunted, ”Why should I be afraid? This is a scandal within your band, to begin with. So, even if word of this got out, it would only add to my already bad reputation. However, the Sofia Symphony has more to lose. So, I would advise you to let this go.”
Although his words were appalling, she couldn’t find fault in his logic. Unfortunately, he was right; to him, it would only make his ill reputation worse, but it would leave a terrible mark on their orchestra.
Out of wits, she could only reluctantly leave empty-handed.
Back at the band, Sofia immediately called her to the office when she knew that she had returned. But, then, she requested Tessa’s presence almost in the same breath, hoping against all hope that Richelle had somehow gotten Vernon to return the music score.
Sofia’s face was austere as she fixed her steely eyes on Richelle, and Tessa was also watching her intently. ”What did he say when you went to look for him?”
Richelle didn’t dare to hide anything under their interrogative glares and told them about her conversation with Vernon.
”That’s roughly it, and he doesn’t want me to look for him again after this.”
How can there be such a shameless person in this world?! Sofia thought, fuming mad.
At the same time, she felt that he was provoking her.
At the end of the day, Richelle had made it clear that this was her demand, but he even had the audacity to turn the tables on her.
Tessa was equally disgruntled, and there was no way she would ever give up on her own score just like that.
Right then, an idea came into her mind, and she tilted her head, saying, ”Miss Sofia, I would like to meet this Vernon in person.”
Sofia agreed once she saw the determined look on Tessa’s face.
”Okay, I’ll ask someone to contact him.”
On the same afternoon, they met Vernon in a private club.
When Vernon entered the private room, he was surprised to see Sofia on the couch as he didn’t think she would handle this in person. But then, his eyes fell on Tessa next to her, and they lit up, pleasantly surprised at the sight of her.
Clearly, this was the owner of that sheet music.
”I would never imagine Miss Sofia coming forward personally for this matter. I’m terrified, really.”
Despite what he said, there was not a single shard of fear. If anything, his eyes made it apparent that he was far from afraid.
In his opinion, the more famous the people involved, the more unlikely they would be willing to drag the matter to court. Therefore, the current situation was more favorable for him.
Although Sofia had never personally met him, she had far more experience with plenty of dregs in the music industry, so she read him like a book and said stoically, ”The music you stole is composed by my student for her husband. You couldn’t be more off the mark if you think I’m going to let you off because I cared about my status!”
When Tessa heard Sofia’s proclamation, she was very touched as she knew how badly it would affect Sofia’s status if things got out of hand. Hence, she soothed, ”Don’t be mad, Miss Sofia. Let me handle this.”
Sofia looked at her and finally agreed, ”Okay, I’ll let you handle it.”
She planned to deal with it herself once Tessa couldn’t handle it. No matter what, she wouldn’t let someone like Vernon take credit for her student’s hard work.
After assuring Sofia, Tessa turned to size up Vernon. He looked in his thirties and, despite wearing a black suit, looked like a brute and exuded none of the poise and elegance a musician should possess.
Once she was satisfied with her observation, she lowered her eyes as her face turned stony and said emotionlessly, ”Mr. Vernon, we’re all musicians. Setting everything aside, you should have the most basic respect for professionalism in music, shouldn’t you?”
”Professionalism? Are you honestly talking to me about this? This just tells me that you don’t know me very well, Miss.”
Vernon cast her a look of amusement as though he had heard the best joke of the decade. Tessa’s face turned glum at his jeers and apparent disdain for her.
”Even so, your current behavior is an insult to your identity as a musician.”
”So, what? Furthermore, Richelle was the one who gave me the sheet music. I didn’t steal or snatch it from anyone. How is that an insult to my identity?”
He shot her a derisive look at the end of his remark. The look in his eyes was basically a neon sign saying, ‘so what can you do about it?’
Tessa immediately understood what he was getting at. Finally, she was so worked up that ire was written across her face, and she raised her voice angrily, ”Aren’t you afraid that I’ll sue you for plagiarism?”
”Go ahead and do it if you have what it takes!”
Chapter 966 Let Me Handle It
Vernon’s tone was brazen and arrogant and sounded nothing like a professional musician. If one were to make a comparison, he would come closer to being likened to a typical bully. ”Whatever it is, this music is mine, and I’ve had so many lawsuits over the years that another one doesn’t make a difference.”
Tessa’s face was livid with fury, and Sofia didn’t bother hiding the displeased scowl on her face.
Then, she narrowed her eyes dangerously as she threatened, ”Aren’t you afraid I’ll ruin your career?”
”Of course, I’m afraid when this threat originates from your lips, Miss Sofia. But I’m clearly not at fault this time, so you can’t just abuse your power because you aren’t satisfied with the outcome, right?”
While he taunted and laughed boisterously, Tessa barely held on to her sanity as she gritted her teeth and thought, I’ve never met such an outrageous person!
Finally, she inhaled deeply as she squashed her anger into a box. She knew right then that this man wouldn’t budge even if they continued the negotiations. ”Alright, I’ll do as you suggest. Please await my lawyer’s letter, Mr. Vernon.”
That night, Tessa was in a foul mood when she returned home. As she didn’t bother masking the frown on her face, Nicholas pulled her into a seat next to himself after he sent Gregory away, asking, ”What happened? The issue isn’t settled yet?”
She didn’t see the need to conceal such a matter from him and told him everything word for word. Eventually, she was so worked up at the end that she couldn’t help herself from exclaiming, ”I’ve never met such a shameless person in my life!”
After he listened to her recounting the failed discussion with Vernon, his face also sank. However, he had other matters to attend to at the moment as he lowered his eyes at his angry wife in his arms. So, he suppressed his anger as he reassured her gently, ”Alright, don’t be mad. It’s not worth it to get so upset over someone like that.”
He’s right, she thought. It’s not worth it for me to get so riled up over this kind of person.
After a long while, she composed herself and said calmly, ”I’ll get a lawyer tomorrow to take care of this matter.”
”Let me handle this. Just focus on your training in the orchestra.”
As he didn’t want her to be too exhausted, he decided to deal with this problem personally. Tessa knew the kind intentions behind his actions, so she didn’t turn down his offer.
…
Early the following day, Nicholas went to work and instructed Edward to ask the company’s legal team to draft a lawyer’s letter. By midday, Vernon was charged with plagiarism.
In the meantime, Nicholas also had a voice recording of Tessa’s conversation with Vernon and sent it to various media outlets to expose Vernon’s shamelessness. His actions naturally caused an uproar among the netizens.
After all, many people liked Vernon’s new music when it was first released, and some even said that he had finally repented and come up with good music. Alas, all the praises they showered on him back then returned as harsh slaps in their faces.
‘I even thought that this Vernon is a changed man and specially bought his music online to support him. Who knew that it was plagiarized work? A leopard can’t change its spots. He makes me sick!’
‘Refund me, you piece of trash.’
‘Boycott this thief.’
‘I told you so. It’s impossible for this guy to repent, and some people argued with me. Now that this is exposed, isn’t that like a slap in their faces?’
‘When I heard the conversation in the recording, I wanted to give this jerk a beating. He’s an utter embarrassment to the other musicians.’
‘I really don’t know why Vernon can be so brazen, acting so disrespectfully to Miss Sofia.’
‘He’s literally the scum in the music industry. I support Miss Sofia’s decision to ruin this guy’s career!’
The netizens were frothing at the mouth for justice, and there were even people who used this chance to bring up his previous cases of theft.
‘It’s not the first day that this guy is a thief. Therefore, I strongly request that everyone boycott this guy and let peace return to the music industry.’
As soon as the post was posted, it garnered massive support from the netizens. In the beginning, Vernon had not a single clue about the commotion on the Internet, and he only found out about it after his personal assistant called him.
After he logged into his social media app, he saw that the netizens had slaughtered him in the comments section with all sorts of vulgarities.
”Damn it. They even made a voice recording!”
By the time he had read through the whole thing, he was so mad that he wanted to throw his phone out, but he restrained his anger as he schemed a way out. Thus, he snarled through gritted teeth, ”Since you’re not showing any mercy, I should return you in kind as well.”
Then, he started to draft a text with the cell phone in his hands, beginning to do an exposé as well. ‘First of all, I didn’t steal anyone’s work this time. As for the sheet music, it was given to me by somebody.’
Chapter 967 A Mole in Sofia Symphony
As soon as it was published, the netizens immediately saw it. Most didn’t believe it; someone even asked Vernon to expose the whistleblower.
When he saw that the hype was dying down, he posted again. ‘The person who sent me the tune is none other than an insider from Sofia Symphony.’ There was another uproar on the Internet when the post was up.
‘What is going on? Are they plagiarizing each other’s songs?’
‘No way! Vernon must be trying to slander them! If a theft occurs between the members of Sofia Symphony, they won’t blow it up like this.’
‘The person above is making sense. A statement from a man with no credibility also gives the post no credibility. When Vernon saw that the netizens were doubting him, he was prepared with plan B.
He posted a video of himself meeting Richelle, and the trend of the public’s opinion on the Internet immediately changed. ‘Oh my God, it turns out the members of Sofia Symphony are really stealing things from each other. What is going on?’
‘What else could it be? There must be an internal fight.’
‘No one knows what’s really going on. So let’s not speculate, everybody.’
‘I think it’s better to let them come out with their own explanation.’
As soon as this remark came out, many netizens went to tag Sofia Symphony on their official account.
After all, Sofia Symphony had never had such a scandal before. So naturally, everyone, especially the Sofia Symphony fans, wanted an explanation.
Tessa had been silently watching the situation on the Internet unfold.
When she saw that everyone began questioning the orchestra and teachers, she immediately used her verified account to speak up.
‘I am the original composer of the song. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, but my teacher is completely unaware of this. I hope all of you will not implicate other orchestra members.’
As soon as she posted this, those who kept up with the issue immediately forwarded it. In a quick second, the post gained a lot of attention.
‘Isn’t this Virtuoso from some time ago? So, she’s the original composer.’
‘I just want to know what the hell is going on here!’
‘Me too! After all, Sofia Symphony has always been a well-known and harmonious orchestra group. There has never been such a scandal before.’
Alas, no matter how many times they tagged Tessa, she did not reply.
Richelle was also aware of the turmoil on the Internet. The instant she saw that Tessa had spoken up, she had no choice but to put up an apology statement online with gritted teeth.
‘I’m sorry that I’ve disappointed all of you. I was deceived into doing such a stupid thing. I am very remorseful right now, and I’m very grateful for Miss Sofia and Miss Tessa’s kindness so as to not hold it against me.’
As Richelle was already a veteran of the orchestra and had a lot of fans of her own, the comments she received were mixed.
Her fans felt that for their idols to have the courage to own up for their mistakes would mean that they were good people and worthy of forgiveness.
Regardless, it was only natural that Tessa’s fans disagreed with that attitude.
Although Tessa didn’t have many performances, she still had a group of die-hard fans.
There were also opinions from fans of other orchestras as well.
They felt that Richelle had tarnished Sofia’s reputation and went on a crusade on the Internet.
‘What’s the use of regret when you already did what you did?’
‘People like you are a disgrace to the Sofia Symphony. You don’t deserve to be in there.’
‘Although our idol is okay with you, it doesn’t mean we don’t care.’
When Richelle saw these comments, she was filled with discomfort and continued apologizing.
However, maybe it was her good nature to admit her mistakes; the netizens gradually turned back to bash Vernon instead.
After all, compared to Richelle, Vernon did not admit to his wrongs. And for them, this was unacceptable behavior.
‘How can you take someone’s thing and use it just like that? How disappointing.’
‘For a man your age, you sure don’t have any shame. It’s disgusting.’
‘If you’re talentless, don’t try to get into the music industry. Do you take us as fools?’
The netizens did not spare Vernon any mercy.
On the contrary, Tessa was experiencing a whole different phenomenon.
The comments under her post were all sorts of flattery.
For example, her fans were all singing her praises.
‘Tessa, you’re amazing!’
‘My students are naturally incredible.’
Chapter 968 A Fan War
At this time, Simon’s social account also joined in on the fun as he tagged Tessa. The netizens were surprised to see this.
This excited some of the fans even more. ‘Tessa is amazing! She’s not only Miss Sofia’s apprentice, but Mr. Simon is also her teacher.’ ‘I’m really looking forward to Tessa performing again now.’
‘Me too!’ ‘Am I the only one who wants to hear her perform her original songs?’
‘No, you’re not. I also want to see her play her songs!’
The netizens caused an uproar on the official website of Sofia Symphony, asking for Tessa’s original soundtracks. Even Sofia was alarmed by the number of people asking for Tessa’s songs.
She figured this was a perfect opportunity for Tessa, so she called Tessa and said with a smile, ”Countless people on the Internet are begging for you to release your original song. So why don’t you record it and post it on our official website?”
Tessa did not refuse her suggestion and immediately went to the recording room of the orchestra.
That afternoon, she posted the newly recorded audio on Sofia Symphony’s official website and left a message. ‘This is the original track that you all asked for. Thank you for your support.’
As soon as the song was out, the netizens couldn’t wait to play it. It didn’t take long for the song to blow up online. ‘As expected from a God-sent angel, this sounds amazing.’
‘This song makes me want to experience romantic love.’ ‘I agree. This is a million times better than Vernon’s version. It really is different when the original composer produces the song.’
‘How can Vernon’s trash be comparable to this?’
‘The way Tessa sang this song is filled with emotions. It is as if she is speaking to her loved one, telling him how she feels. As for Vernon, who knows what kind of sound he was going for? It’s just a copy of the track, and there were no feelings to speak of.’
‘Well, it’s hard to do well when you’re a plagiarizing scumbag.’ When Tessa saw the comments, she was delighted.
She even took screenshots of them and sent them to Nicholas. ‘Look, they’re all praising me.’ On the other side, when he saw her message, a doting smile appeared on his face.
‘They have good taste.’ Once he typed out the text and sent it, he went to the official website to download the song before setting it as his ringtone.
Later in the day, the online discussion was still ongoing, and it didn’t seem like the hype was dying down. Although most people were complimenting Tessa, there were still some discordant voices. ‘So, this is it?’
‘Although it was unprofessional for Vernon to do what he did, he is still considered a senior in this industry. Tessa is really calculative. She went to meet up with someone and deliberately recorded it.’
‘What a scheming b*tch!’ Tessa’s fans were furious to see this. ‘Are you trolls sent by Vernon? Are you trying to clean up after your boss?’
‘With his reputation, do you think that’s possible?’
‘What’s wrong with the recording? Vernon is known in the industry for his conniving ways. Why didn’t he think of the consequences before acting?’
‘As a senior in this industry, why didn’t he think twice before stealing other people’s hard work?’
The fans were on the moral high ground this time, and every comment they made was also logical. Therefore, it didn’t take long for those discordant commenters to be shut down entirely.
Susan was furious when she realized the trolls she hired failed to shut the fans down.
”Are you guys stupid?!” She held her phone and shrieked at the person in charge.
Of course, she did not expect Tessa to be this popular.
Now that things had gone beyond her expectations, she was beginning to worry that she would be tattled on.
At the same time, rage was pulsing through her veins.
”Why is that b*tch, Tessa, so lucky? How does she have people helping her all the time?!”
She gritted her teeth and felt highly dissatisfied with how things had turned out.
That night, she ended up attending training in a foul mood.
Just as she was about to leave, she received an unexpected message from Hathaway.
”There’s a training session here tonight. Would you like to come and listen?”
Hathaway had specially opened up a class tonight to train other orchestra members.
Hathaway viewed Susan as a talented candidate and decided to invite her.
As for Susan, she thought acting naturally would be the best idea right now and agreed to go.
When she arrived at the Hathaway Philharmonic, many members greeted her when they saw her.
This was because she had trained here some time ago and had gotten acquainted with these people.
Chapter 969 It’s All in the Past
Since the class had yet to start, many people began to ask Susan about what had happened today. ”How is Miss Sofia going to punish the culprit?”
”Tessa is doing so well. Why didn’t Miss Sofia arrange for her to perform?”
”I didn’t expect that Tessa would be able to compose music in such a short time. She’s really amazing.”
When Susan heard the name ‘Tessa’ in almost every sentence, she felt anger bubbling in her veins, and she could barely reign in her temper.
Thankfully, she managed to keep in mind that this was the worst possible time to cause a scene and calmly said, ”I’m not sure of Miss Sofia’s decisions. Maybe she thinks Miss Tessa isn’t competent enough to perform yet.”
”My God, that is considered incompetent? Miss Sofia’s standards are really high.”
”Yeah, they are,” Susan agreed and immediately changed the subject.
She did not want to discuss Tessa any longer, fearing that she might not be able to suppress her rage if they kept going.
Lady Fortune was smiling on her that day as it didn’t take long for Hathaway to show up.
Hathaway smiled kindly when she saw Susan and greeted her, ”You’re here.”
Susan’s eyes flickered as she nodded obediently.
Then, the class started without further ado.
Initially, Susan had only planned to go through the formalities and casually listen in. However, when she found out that what Hathaway taught was very helpful to her, she gradually began to focus on Hathaway’s lecture.
Two hours later, when the class was over, Hathaway called for Susan to stay behind.
The other participants cast envious glances at Susan when they heard this.
Susan pretended not to see it and followed Hathaway to the office.
Once Susan sat down, Hathaway asked with concern, ”Is there anything that you didn’t understand during class just now?”
”No, you’re a wonderful teacher, and you have explained the material very well, so I understood everything,” Susan replied obediently.
Hathaway nodded and praised her sincerely, ”You’re very talented. As long as you put in the necessary hard work, you’d definitely be able to achieve great things in the future.”
Even though Hathaway was genuine in her praise, Susan felt that she was just being hypocritical.
Thus, although Susan felt derisive by Hathaway’s words, she still wore her good student mask well as she replied, ”I understand. I will continue to work hard.”
Hathaway was satisfied to hear this and immediately switched the topic. ”I saw everything that happened to your orchestra on the Internet today. It caused a huge uproar. That Vernon guy is a rather difficult character, isn’t he? And Tessa… Did this impact her in any way?”
Susan was momentarily taken aback by Hathaway’s concern. When she heard those words, she was so outraged that her ironclad control over her emotions nearly slipped.
Why?! Why is it that at this time, this woman still cares about that b*tch, Tessa Reinhart?!
Susan gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, fingernails digging into her palms. The stinging pain kept her sanity in check, lest it was overwhelmed by the boiling rage she currently felt.
”Isn’t she the one that killed your daughter? Yet, you are still so worried about her. You’re really kind.”
”She was my student, after all.”
Hathaway did not hear the mockery and doubt in Susan’s words, and asked again, Is Tessa alright? What is your orchestra going to do about this matter?”
”I have no idea how the orchestra will deal with this. As for Tessa, not only did nothing happen to her, but she has gotten more famous. How nice of you to keep her in mind. I think she may have forgotten about you.”
Although Susan tried to suppress her hostility, her tone was still a little sharp.
Hathaway picked up on this and mistakenly assumed that Susan was trying to stand up for her. So, she shook her head and said with a tinge of wistfulness, ”That’s all in the past…”
Back home, Susan finally let the anger she had suppressed for hours erupt.
”Even if you have forgiven her, I haven’t!”
She was hysterical as she gritted her teeth. Her face was gloomy and terrifying.
Rorion heard the commotion in the room and went over.
”Darling, who made you angry? Tell Daddy, and I’ll teach them a lesson!”
When he saw his daughter’s wrathful expression, he immediately stepped in to coax her.
”Who else other than my beloved mother?!” She yelled. ”I really don’t understand. She has no relations with Tessa anymore, yet she still cares about that b*tch, saying everything was in the past! I think she might have forgotten her own daughter!”
After he listened to his daughter’s angry rant, he also felt dissatisfied with Hathaway’s attitude.
What does she mean that it’s all in the past?
Chapter 970 A Last Minute Trip
Did you forget about the grievances that Susan suffered? It’s no wonder Susan hates you more with each passing day. On the other hand, Tessa was in a good mood now that everything was settled. She even had the time to cook dinner.
Gregory gorged on the food during dinner, and his stomach bulged in protest. “Mommy, my stomach hurts!” He frowned as he cried for help.
Tessa was amused yet exasperated by his actions and hurriedly asked the housekeeper to bring over the bottle of Pepto-Bismol. “I told you not to eat so much. So now you know how it feels, huh?”
She poked the little guy’s forehead fondly before feeding him the medicine. “Call your Daddy. Let’s go and take a walk in the garden to help with your digestion.”
Gregory instantly ran to Nicholas and invited him, “Daddy, Mommy said to go for a walk.”
Nicholas would never disagree with spending quality time with his family.
That evening, the family of three strolled along the garden’s path.
The dim yellow light created shadows of the three, two big shades carefully encompassing the small shadow. It was a beautiful and heartwarming sight.
At this moment, Nicholas’ phone rang. When he checked the caller ID, he saw that it was a call from Kieran.
So, he picked up the call, and the two began to discuss some urgent company matters.
Tessa brought Gregory aside to play so as to not bother Nicholas.
After a while, Nicholas hung up the phone, but when he returned, he had a rather gloomy expression on his face.
The moment Tessa realized something was off, she immediately asked worriedly, “What’s wrong?”
“Something happened back in the company. I have to return to deal with it tomorrow personally.”
Although he was reluctant to go, he had no choice.
Tessa felt rather upset that he was leaving so soon, but she didn’t voice out her thoughts as she nodded and said in understanding, “It’s a good thing to go back once in a while. You haven’t been back for New Year’s or your birthday. Your parents probably miss you very much.”
On the other hand, Gregory was even more disinclined to his father leaving as he tugged on Nicholas’ pants, questioning, “Daddy, after you leave, when are you coming back again?”
“I’ll be back as soon as I’m done with work.”
Although the words were addressed to Gregory, Nicholas’ eyes were fixed on Tessa.
She just nodded and decided to stop having a stroll in the park.
Since Nicholas was leaving tomorrow, she would have to help him pack his things.
Later that night, the two hugged each other to express their reluctance to part as they lay in bed.
“When I’m not around, you must take good care of yourself and the baby. No matter what happens, you need to tell me immediately,” Nicholas instructed worriedly.
“I know. You have to take care of yourself when you go back as well. Don’t forget to eat, even if you’re busy. I’ll get Timothy and Edward to keep an eye on you.”
Then, she wrapped her arms around his waist and elaborated, “Also, when you’re back home, send my regards to mom and dad on behalf of Gregory and me. Once I’m free, I’ll bring Gregory back to visit them.”
Nicholas nodded as he pressed his cheek against her head.
…
The following day, Nicholas brought Edward to the airport with him.
Not long after they entered, they bumped into Wanda.
Wanda looked at Nicholas with bright eyes and asked, “Are you going back? What a coincidence. Me too!”
As a matter of fact, it wasn’t a coincidence. She had deliberately booked this flight when she heard about Nicholas’ schedule today.
Nicholas looked at the beaming woman in front of him coldly. “What a coincidence, indeed.”
He didn’t hide the sarcasm in his words, so it was only natural that she heard it, and the smile on her face immediately stiffened.
Then, he ignored her and boarded the plane with Edward.
Wanda watched the man’s back leave and pursed her pink lips before deciding to chase after him unwillingly.
Once she got on the plane, she sat directly next to Nicholas.
As expected, his expression immediately darkened, and the aura around him turned rather hostile and chilly.
Edward, sitting next to Nicholas, shook his head discretely when he saw this.
She’s being more and more obvious each time.
However, Wanda pretended not to notice Nicholas’ displeasure and skillfully took the initiative to talk to him. “Why didn’t Miss Tessa and Gregory go back with you? Is this a last-minute decision?”
Nicholas shot her a hard look and hummed affirmatively.
A smile grew on her face when she noticed that the man still bothered to reply even when he was unhappy.
Then, she continued to ask with concern, “It must be some emergency if you left in such a hurry. Do you need my help?”
“It’s fine. It’s just some business matters.”