The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 699

In the very same second, half a million new viewers surged in. The numbers were odd—suspiciously so.

Howard asked, “Are those bots?”

The tech guy shook his head. “No, they’re all verified accounts. But the timing is a bit fishy. It looks like someone’s trying to manipulate the stats.”

Howard’s frown deepened. He hated fake numbers; it was unfair to everyone else.

“Do we have any solid evidence?” he pressed.

If they did, Howard couldn’t disqualify Rachel outright, but he could definitely cut down her camera time, maybe even remove her from the highlight reel altogether.

The tech shook his head again. “Nothing concrete for now. We’ll need to keep monitoring. It’s too soon to make a call.”

Howard nodded. “Alright. Keep an eye on it.”

Meanwhile, out front, the host was wrapping up Rachel’s interview.

Next up was the judges’ scoring round.

Both Stella and Rachel were called back onto the stage.

The host announced, “Let’s welcome our judges to give their scores to the contestants.”

Rachel’s sob stories had certainly earned her a wave of sympathy, but there were also plenty who suspected she was putting on a show. Besides, when it came to international competitions, no one would cut you slack just because you were sick or chasing a last wish. The world’s top performers wouldn’t step aside for sentimentality.

Abby chuckled. “Looks like Rachel’s tricks only worked on Haynes and Jasper—not on the savvy audience. Goes to show, people aren’t as easily fooled as she thought.”

Antoney nodded. “Still, that persona she’s built? It’ll attract a lot of attention—maybe even more than the actual winner.”

Candida Fletcher looked puzzled. “Really? Isn’t the champion supposed to get the most attention?”

Abby sighed. “You’d be surprised. The whole fan culture thing is out of control these days. I once saw a contestant win first place, only to be ignored by the press—everyone was crowding around the runner-up instead. That runner-up had built a huge presence online and had an army of die-hard fans. Sure, she was good enough to be a champion, but anything can happen during a competition. She ended up with second place.”

Antoney added, “And then you get cases where the actual champion gets booed in their own country, just because the crowd’s favorite didn’t place. It’s embarrassing when that kind of thing makes international headlines.”