Built His Empire Then Watched It Burn When He Cheated novel Chapter 703

Staff members immediately went inside to arrange Anneliese's competition equipment and setup. Meanwhile, Steven nodded in Anneliese's direction and, as an official representative, delivered the final remarks to the media and reporters.

"I would like to assure everyone that the entire competition process will be livestreamed. All submitted works will be encrypted and assigned anonymous identification numbers for blind review. The judges will see only the code logic and the execution results.

"The key scoring stages will be reviewed by multiple experts, and all evaluation criteria will be fully quantified and announced in advance."

As Steven spoke, his gaze fell on Gianna, who was still standing beside Anneliese. His voice grew slightly heavier as he continued, "Furthermore, no one will receive any additional data, hints, or priority in the review process. We will ensure that this competition is fair and impartial. I also wish all participants the best of luck and hope you can all push beyond your limits during the competition."

To Gianna, it felt like Steven was calling her out in public, which was a huge slap to her face. She forced herself to maintain a calm expression, but her teeth were clenched so hard they ached.

D*mn it, Anneliese!

It was all her fault for making things so humiliating for her.

Gianna refused to believe that Anneliese, after leaving the industry for so many years, could still outperform her. Once they were in the competition arena, she would make Anneliese pay.

If only she could crush Anneliese under her heel…

Furthermore, given how Anneliese made such a huge scene, she'd be the real joke if she walked away from the competition without any ranking at all.

When Steven finished speaking, applause erupted.

The staff began reorganizing the contestants and media in an orderly manner, guiding everyone back inside. Anneliese waited off to the side, standing by for her assigned number.

At that moment, Wendy finally appeared from the back of the crowd, holding Ellie's hand as they walked over.

"Ms. Chalmont? Ellie? You guys made it!" Seeing them, Anneliese's eyes lit up slightly.

She bent down, her eyes curved in a gentle smile, and held out her hand to Ellie. "Thank you for coming to cheer me on, Ellie."

Almost instinctively, Anneliese reached out to pick the little girl up. However, Wendy smiled and gently pulled Ellie back to her side as she said, "It wasn't easy to secure this chance to compete. Focus on the competition, and don't mess up your outfit."

Anneliese paused slightly and glanced at the white suit she was wearing.

"It's fine to hold her for a moment," she said with a smile, then added a little awkwardly, "You saw what happened earlier too, Ms. Chalmont?"

Yet, Wendy not only failed to comfort her own family member or keep her distance from Anneliese—she had even gone over to chat and laugh with her.

"She's been my mother for over twenty years. Even if we're not mother and daughter anymore, I'm still her own niece. How can she favor an outsider like this?"

Gianna's voice trembled with anger. Beside her, Pepper was holding an ice pack wrapped in a scarf against Gianna's face.

Hearing this, Pepper turned her head and glanced toward Anneliese and Wendy, a fleeting glint flashing through her eyes.

She turned back and spoke gently to Gianna. "Don't get angry. Focus on the competition. Perform well and secure a good ranking—that's the only way to silence everyone and let your father see how capable you really are."

Gianna nodded. "I know."

A few days earlier, Pepper had already said the same thing to her.

Now that Wendy had completely torn away the facade of a mother–daughter relationship with her, Adrian would soon find out about it as well.

Judging by Wendy's cold and resolute attitude, Adrian would quickly realize that trying to use Gianna to soften Wendy's stance was no longer possible.