She Turned Her Grief Into Wings novel Chapter 63

With her heart pounding, she sent a direct message to Felipa Pembroke.

[Ms. Pembroke, thank you so much for speaking up for me and for your incredible validation. I have admired your work for a long time. I was wondering if I might have the honor of visiting you, provided it wouldn't be too much of an imposition.]

Staring at the sent message, she pressed her lips together, her eyes glued to the screen.

The reply came quickly.

[Yes.]

It was just one word, but it carried the weight of the world.

Shera's nose stung with emotion. In a single day, two industry heavyweights had stood up for her. It proved her talent was undeniable; she was finally being seen.

Whether it was due to the masters speaking out or the mounting pressure from the internet, things shifted.

Early the next morning, Shera finally received a call from the organizing committee.

"Hello, Ms. Jewell. This is Simon Scanlon, Secretary General of the competition. We've received your request, and it's currently going through our internal review."

Shera let out a massive sigh of relief. Simon continued, "We just reviewed your scores, and there are no discrepancies. Professor Croft gave you the highest score in the entire round, and the other judges ranked you near the top. Even if we subtract the sponsor's bonus points, your total score still comfortably places you in the finals."

Those words confirmed what she had known all along: her placement in the competition was completely legitimate.

"And regarding my request to make the scores public..."

"The committee is discussing it, but in my professional opinion, since there's absolutely no issue with your scores, the request will likely be approved. It's the best way to protect the integrity of the competition."

"Understood. I'll wait to hear from you."

Only when the call disconnected did she finally feel her heart settle back into her chest.

So, Caden's "good word" hadn't been needed after all.

Catching her breath, she texted the news to Zena.

Zena: [Shera, you're so badass! You actually called the committee directly?]

The hashtag #Shera Jewell Cleared shot up the trending charts, and Evegrace's official page gained tens of thousands of followers overnight.

Her DMs were flooded with messages—apologies, words of encouragement, and even lucrative collaboration offers.

Simon called her back. "This is a first in the history of this competition," he said with a warm laugh. "Ms. Jewell, your unwavering stance has brought unprecedented transparency to the entire event."

Shera thanked him and ended the call.

She opened her social media, shared the committee's official statement, and added a single line: *The truth may be delayed, but it will not be denied. Thank you to the committee for handling this fairly, and to everyone who paid attention to the facts.*

Zena's eyes were red with excitement. "Shera, your name is finally cleared."

Shera just smiled, saying nothing.

She had been stressing about how to get the brand noticed, but as it turned out, someone had handed her free marketing.

Whoever engineered this smear campaign had basically gift-wrapped the perfect launch for Evegrace.