Rising From Betrayal Reborn As The Family Outcast novel Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Everyone was stunned for a reason.

Alicia had perfectly replicated both the song and the dance from the video.

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When they compared her to the screen behind her, she looked like she was part of the original group, but somehow better. Her voice was clearer, and her moves hit harder.

[Oh my God, Alicia is insane.]

[How did she even do that?]

[She must’ve learned it beforehand, right?]

[That’s not possible. The production team just remixed this MV, and it’s never been released to the public.]

[I don’t buy it. There’s no way she could’ve nailed it that perfectly in such a short time.]

[Exactly. One hour? She couldn’t have gotten it down that well. I’m not convinced.]

[Lucent Media is the biggest investor for this season, and Alicia just got signed by them. I’m calling it-there’s something shady going on.]

[Yeah, I think she cheated.]

[So, anyone who does well is automatically cheating now?]

[Is it really that hard to admit someone’s talented?]

[Just wait. Their practice footage is about to drop, and we’ll see the truth.]

The production team released the edited footage soon after, and everyone was even more shocked.

She’d learned the entire song and dance in just half an hour.

Then she spent the remaining twenty-plus minutes helping Darren fix his choreography.

In the video, trainees kept shouting things like “Alicia, you’re amazing!” and “Alicia, you’re incredible!” and “Alicia, you’re my hero!”

When the video finished playing, Chase started clapping and said, “Alicia, that finale performance was fantastic.”

But then his tone shifted, and he looked at Alicia with a slightly troubled expression. “The thing is, you learned everything so fast and performed so well that a lot of people are questioning it.”

He continued, “They think our production team gave you the choreography ahead of time so you could learn it early. A bunch of them have been flooding our X account with complaints, and they want you to prove yourself.”

There really were tons of people on X screaming about rigging and cheating, and it was driving Chase crazy.

The production team was bringing this up now because they wanted Alicia to prove her abilities in front of everyone.

At the same time, it would clear their names and show they weren’t running some rigged operation.

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Of course, this whole self-proof segment was actually added at the request of their major sponsor.

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Lucent Media had promised that, whatever MV song was selected, they’d handle all copyright issues for the production

eam.

Otherwise, the production team wouldn’t have suddenly pulled this stunt.

Before Alicia could even answer, Maxwell spoke up with a look that said he couldn’t believe this was even a question.

He said, “She has near-photographic memory for pretty much everything she learns. If it takes me an hour to pick something up, she’ll have it down in half that time. What’s so strange or suspicious about that?”

He said it with complete confidence. “I can vouch for her and guarantee there’s absolutely no shady dealings going on. She definitely didn’t cheat.”

Nicolas chimed in from the side. “Yeah, she’s always been a really fast learner at everything, and she pushes herself to do it perfectly.

Our company even invested in this show, so if there was any backdoor dealing going on, wouldn’t it be for me? I’m totally certain this is just Alicia’s real ability.”

Everyone present turned to look at them, and aside from being surprised that they’d jumped out to defend Alicia even more eagerly than she would herself, they were left with questions.

They wondered, ‘How do Maxwell and Nicolas know she has near-photographic memory and that she’s always been a fast earner at everything? Didn’t they say they barely knew each other and weren’t close? And they call this “not close”?’

The viewers watching the show had the same questions.

Alicia hasn’t even said anything yet, and they can’t wait to jump out and defend her. If this isn’t simping, what is?]

[Let’s see what their fans have to say this time.]

[Not close? This looks pretty damn close to me.]

[They’re totally panicking.]

[This drama is hitting us out of nowhere.]

[Wait, am I the only one curious if Alicia really does have near-photographic memory?]

[I’m curious too. I want to see it.]

[Production team, don’t listen to your sugar daddies. Make Alicia prove it herself. Don’t make me get on my knees and beg ]

[Exactly. We’re the audience, we’re the real bosses here. Listen to us.]

A large crowd also flooded the production team’s X account, demanding that Alicia prove herself.

This time, they weren’t yelling about scandals or raising suspicions, but were simply curious to see just how fast Alicia could actually learn.

Ross got back to Chase fast.

Chase didn’t blame Maxwell and the others for jumping in Actually, he thought it was perfect.

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Chapter 42

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This was free trending content falling right into their laps, the kind that would shoot straight to the top without them spending a dime on promotion.

The production team wanted Alicia to prove herself, too.

They hadn’t rigged anything, and they could back that up.

The whole hour had been captured on camera, showing Alicia learning the piece from scratch.

Sure, they could release the full hour of footage to prove she’d gone from not knowing the song to mastering it, but people would just say she was faking.

Chase turned to Alicia and asked, “How about it, Ms. Delaney? Want to show everyone what you can really do?”

Alicia smiled and said, “Absolutely. If I don’t clear my name now, I’ll be stuck with a cheater label and your production team will get dragged for rigging the show.”

She stood up and walked onto the stage with a confident smile on her face.

Then she said something that made the whole room buzz with energy. “However you want to test me, bring it on. I’m ready.”

Whatever they throw at me, I can handle it, she thought.

The live audience went wild, and the online viewers were just as hyped.

Chase and Marley huddled together and quickly worked out a plan. This was a curveball they hadn’t prepared for, but that was the reality of live variety shows. After a brief discussion, they reached a decision.

Chase turned to the camera and said, “If we let Ms. Delaney continue using the choreography our production team prepared, people might still question whether we gave it to her beforehand. They might think we rigged it.”

He continued, “Since the audience is the one questioning her abilities, why don’t we let the audience verify it themselves? Here’s what we came up with-we’ll do a random live video call.

“We’ll connect with a randomly selected viewer, and they can choose any song-and-dance MV they want. Then Ms. Delaney will learn part of it live, right here, right now, so everyone can see for themselves.”

He grinned and asked, “What do you all think?”

The trainees shouted back, “That’s perfect!”

The guests didn’t object either. It really was the best way to prove it.

With several million viewers watching the livestream, there was no way the production team could arrange someone in advance through random selection.

Only Nicole felt resistant to the idea.

Judging by how confident the production team and Alicia looked, it was probably true.

She’d heard before that Alicia was a fast learner, but she hadn’t realized the girl could pick up choreography that quickly

If they really did the video call and Alicia learned it on the spot, this whole challenge would just turn into Alicia’s highlight

reel instead.

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Chapter 42

But Nicole couldn’t voice her objections without looking suspicious.

She turned her head to glance at Felicity, hoping her ally would step up and say something.

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Instead, she saw Felicity wearing an expression of eager anticipation, like she was waiting for Alicia to fall flat on her face.

Nicole stared at her in disbelief.

What kind of delusional idiot is this?’ Nicole thought. ‘Has she brainwashed herself so successfully into thinking she’s the best and Alicia’s a joke that she’s actually lost touch with reality?’

Nicole’s biggest regret this time was bringing Felicity on the show.

She should’ve brought Bianca instead, because at least that woman had a brain.

In the next episode, she needed to figure out how to swap out this deadweight teammate, and fast.

Chase turned to Alicia and asked, “Ms. Delaney, are you ready?”

Alicia nodded with a smile and said, “I’m ready. Let’s connect.”

The production team activated the live connection feature, and viewers who wanted to participate began sending connection requests.

Then they randomly selected one lucky viewer.

A moment later, the video call connected, and the selected viewer appeared on screen.

It was a guy who looked about twenty years old.

The second he popped up on screen, surprise flashed across his face. “Wait, it’s actually me?”

He’d just clicked the request button on a whim, thinking he’d join in on the fun, but he never expected to actually get picked.

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