Betrayed by Blood: My Second Life as a Queen novel Chapter 94

A female judge frowned at his outburst. "A judge's duty is fairness and impartiality. While Willow's piece didn't follow the conventional narrative of family, she certainly didn't stray from the theme. If family can be sweet, it can also be controlling and destructive. Attacking her for going off-topic makes absolutely no sense."

Furthermore, there was an unspoken rule in the industry: no matter how poorly a piece was constructed, judges were expected to give a sympathy score of at least a two or three. Handing out a blatant zero like Curtis did... wasn't that just a targeted attack?

Curtis's face twisted into an ugly scowl. Viciously, he attacked Willow. "Your mind is rotten! People like you will corrupt children! You're a cancer to society!"

Willow almost laughed at the sheer absurdity. "Mr. Cole, I had some free time earlier and looked up your breakout piece. Ironically, it was about domestic abuse. By your logic, shouldn't I say you're unfit for your position? That you're the cancer to society?"

Curtis nearly choked. For a moment, he couldn't formulate a single counterargument! He could only stare daggers at Willow, his face flushing crimson.

But Willow wasn't done yet. She said smoothly, "Also, Mr. Cole, given your blatant favoritism toward Tessa... could it be that the two of you made some sort of shady deal?"

Tessa's face froze instantly. Leo Shaw, who had been watching the drama unfold from the audience, couldn't sit still any longer. He stormed onto the stage and glared at Willow. "What nonsense are you spewing? You couldn't beat Tessa, so now you're resorting to slander? Willow, when did you become so repulsive! I regret ever having you as a sister..."

Before he could finish, his phone buzzed with a flurry of notifications. Leo's eyes lit up; it was exactly what he was waiting for—the private investigator's report.

He sneered as he opened the file. "Since you insist on bullying Tessa, don't blame me for disowning you! This time, I'm going to ruin your reputation for good!"

As the document loaded, his fingers scrolled rapidly. But a second later, his eyes locked onto a single line of text, and the color instantly drained from his face!

[When Willow was eight, she saved Leo from drowning and suffered a high fever for three days. Her teachers marked her absent without reason and punished her by making her stand in the hallway during class for an entire semester...]

When Willow was eight, Tessa was ten.

Leo stared in disbelief. Hadn't Tessa been the one who saved him? When did it become Willow?!

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify