Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 470

Lucinda wanted nothing more than to blow everyone away at tomorrow’s international piano competition. After grabbing a quick lunch with Grace at the hotel, she went straight to the grand piano in the restaurant. That piano was gorgeous, and honestly, she needed every minute she could get to practice.

But she had another plan too. She wanted to record her new piece and send it to her mentor, Master Richie, for some honest feedback. If he thought she needed more help, maybe he’d even ask his own mentor, the legendary Melody Mastro, to take a look. And if Melody Mastro gave her any advice at all, Lucinda was convinced that tomorrow’s championship would be hers.

She poured her heart into the music, and soon everyone in the restaurant was listening. People couldn’t help but stop and watch. They whispered to each other about how talented she was, how beautiful she looked at the piano, calling her a true prodigy, someone who seemed to have been born under a lucky star.

All that attention made Lucinda feel unstoppable. She lifted her head a little higher, her posture perfect, her pinkies pointed gracefully as her fingers danced over the keys.

Meanwhile, Lydia finished up lunch with everyone else and headed back to watch Chris' race in the afternoon. Kylie and Cameron decided to tag along too, since their schedules were wide open. Blake had to get back to work, but promised they’d all go together to Lucinda’s competition the next day.

Iceblade stuck close to Lydia the whole time, which really got on Connor’s nerves. He felt like he’d hit his jealousy quota for life, all in one afternoon.

Just as the race was starting, Lydia’s phone buzzed with a message from Richie.

[I have a student competing tomorrow. She just finished a new piece. Do you have time to take a look and maybe give some advice?]

Richie happened to be in France too, planning to attend the competition in person. He could have critiqued Lucinda’s piece himself, but since Lucinda had mentioned Melody Mastro a couple of times, he knew what she was hoping for. Lucinda was definitely one of his star students, so he decided to help her out. After all, tomorrow’s results would decide if she could claim an international title. Winning at home was one thing, but going up against the world was a whole new challenge. Richie wanted her to do her best, so he took a deep breath and sent the piece to his own teacher.

The new piece was lovely, with a gentle, flowing melody that pulled you in right away. Still, there were some issues. Some parts repeated a little too much, which might bore the audience, and the emotion behind the music could be stronger.

Lydia thought it over, made a few quick changes to the score, and sent it back to Richie along with a message. [Whether she can really bring out the feeling in this—that’s up to her.]

Richie was sitting at a piano when the message came in. He started playing the new version right away. The more he played, the more excited he got.

This was it. Absolutely brilliant! His mentor had taken the piece to a whole new level in almost no time. With this, Lucinda had a real shot at winning tomorrow.