Chapter 509: You Look Like This, Yet You Still Claim Ignorance?

Chapter 509: Chapter 509: You Look Like This, Yet You Still Claim Ignorance?

Old Mrs. Yeats screamed hoarsely, "Estelle Lockwood! How dare you frame Claire! Damn you! You bitch!"

Zion Yeats’s face was flushed red, looking at Estelle as if she were incredibly disobedient and unreasonable. "Estelle, why must you do this?! Claire didn’t even do anything to you, and even wanted to withdraw from the competition. How... how could you treat her like this?! Do you even have a conscience?!"

Evan Yeats roared furiously, "Why can’t you just get lost?! Get out!"

Claire Yeats also cried and shook her head, looking helplessly at the judges. "I don’t know... I don’t know what this recording is about, Estelle..."

She wondered how there could be a recording from that time. It was impossible. Did Benjamin Carter record it? No, no, who on earth could it be...

Ms. Foster kept a cold expression.

Estelle slowly raised her eyes, a faint, mocking smile on her lips. "Strange. There are so many people with the surname Yeats. Why are the Yeats getting so worked up?"

Claire’s crying came to an abrupt halt, her breath catching in her throat. The crowd also stared blankly.

Estelle chuckled lightly and said, "I merely played a recording. No one else reacted, so why is the Yeats Family reacting so strongly? Could it be a guilty conscience?"

Ms. Foster sneered. "What a way to tell on yourselves! Do you have any idea how many contestants with the surname Yeats entered this competition? This recording was taken at the start of the qualifiers. At that time, there were at least two million participants, and eight of them shared the Yeats surname.

"So why didn’t Miss Yeats assume it was someone else, but instead immediately burst into tears, claiming Miss Lockwood was wronging you?

"If that isn’t a guilty conscience speaking, what is?"

Claire stiffened, her breathing hitching abruptly. A strong sense of foreboding washed over her, and she screamed almost instinctively, "It wasn’t me!"

Estelle curled her lips and said unhurriedly, "If it wasn’t you, it wasn’t you. Why are you getting so agitated?"

Claire froze, her face turning stiff and deathly pale. The other contestants also glanced over subconsciously.

Right, if it wasn’t her, it wasn’t her. What was she getting so worked up about? Yelling out of nowhere just made her look incredibly guilty. Besides, the female voice in the recording did sound quite a lot like Claire, but Estelle hadn’t named anyone. If it wasn’t Claire, there was no need for her to panic so much.

For instance, there was another contestant present with the surname Yeats. When she heard the words "Miss Yeats" in the recording, she had zero reaction because she knew it had nothing to do with her. She had no reason to panic. On the contrary, Claire and the Yeats Family... putting on a show like this, while claiming they knew nothing? Tsk, tsk.

Moreover, anyone with eyes could see that Estelle’s work completely crushed Claire’s. If Claire really used such underhanded methods to force Estelle to withdraw from the competition... then she was truly manipulative. As expected of the "champion contestant" who could bribe judges to swap works.

Claire looked flustered, her eyes rimmed red. She appeared as pitiful and fragile as a weak little bunny. "I didn’t... Estelle, I didn’t..."

"Enough!"

Evan rose furiously, rushed onto the stage, and shielded Claire behind him. He glared at Estelle. "If you have a problem, take it out on me! Why are you bullying Claire?! Can’t you see she’s crying?! Apologize to Claire!"

Estelle swept a meaningful glance over him. "Mr. Yeats, why don’t you take a look at the expressions on everyone else’s faces?"

Only then did Evan realize that almost all the contestants and the support groups were looking at him with utter disdain, not to mention the audience online.

[Well, the Yeats Family is definitely overreacting.]

[Estelle presented the evidence without naming anyone, and Claire just outed herself, crying and making a scene. And now Evan is saying it’s all Estelle’s fault and demanding she apologize?]

[Oh, please! Estelle is the victim here. If his precious sister didn’t bribe the judge and spread malicious rumors, why is she crying? Since when does the victim have to apologize to the perpetrator?]

[What nonsense are you all spouting?! Estelle is obviously targeting Claire! She’s a damn bitch!]

[Claire’s fandom really is the craziest. They’re even more brain-dead than those idol fans in the entertainment circle. Better not mess with them.]

[Claire’s fans would even kill for her. You all heard about what those minors did, right? There’s nothing her fans won’t do.]

At the scene, Evan realized he seemed to have only made things worse for Claire. He hurriedly spoke with self-righteous indignation, "I admit, I got a little too agitated, but Estelle, I’m your brother! I just can’t stand seeing you act like this! It’s clearly your fault, yet you’re fabricating evidence!"

"Fabricating?" Estelle raised an eyebrow. "It seems Mr. Yeats is absolutely certain that I ’seduced’ the judge?"

Evan raised his voice. "Of course!"

Estelle then looked toward Zion. "What about you, Uncle Zion? Do you think so too?"

It was the first time Zion had heard Estelle call him ’Uncle.’ His heart skipped a beat, instantly softening, but when he subconsciously glanced at Claire’s red-rimmed eyes, he gritted his teeth again. "Estelle, stop causing a scene! Just properly admit your mistakes."

Old Mrs. Yeats’s gaze was venomous, Zion looked helpless, Evan was spiteful, and Claire appeared aggrieved.

Estelle swept her gaze over each of them, then nodded. "Make sense. These ’relatives’ of mine, despite monopolizing my father’s work, driving away my mother, and demanding I sacrifice myself for the Yeats Family even though they never raised me... they must be the most reasonable people in the world."

"PFFT—" Someone in the crowd burst out laughing.

"Honestly, those of us who aren’t familiar with Claire can’t tell if the voice in the recording is hers, but the Yeats Family definitely can. After all, they raised her by their side since she was a child, treating her like their own biological daughter," one person mocked.

"So the Yeats realized it was Claire and knew she was the one framing Estelle, yet they still insisted on backing their adopted daughter?"

"Umm... people always say the Yeats treated Estelle’s parents well, but ever since the scandal about them stealing her father’s work broke out, I’ve had a really weird feeling about the Yeats."

"Yeah, if they treated her mother so well, would Eleanor Yeats have left home at twenty and never returned?"

"Seeing how agitated they are now, it’s highly likely they want to make Estelle the scapegoat. After all, a biological niece could never be as important as Claire."

"Plus, if Estelle continues in the competition, it’s pretty clear who will take the championship. They’re just playing it smart, clearing the path for their precious adopted daughter."

The faces of the Yeats instantly changed!

Claire cried and shook her head. "It’s not like that. Uncle Yeats and Evan just care about me too much. Estelle, we’ve always believed that you were innocent..."

"Since you believe me, shall I continue?" Estelle said unhurriedly. "If I don’t produce some evidence, my good relatives will probably throw me under the bus in the name of righteousness. That’s fine—"

Zion had a bad premonition.

Claire blurted out subconsciously, "Estelle..."

Estelle seamlessly interrupted with a smile, "That’s fine. I recorded a video."

The entire venue fell into shock. What?! Estelle... had recorded a video?!

Estelle chuckled lightly and said, "Judge Benjamin Carter did indeed come to my room—"

Following her words, a video suddenly appeared on the large screen.

In it, Benjamin Carter knocked on her door. Estelle opened it, visibly shocked to see him. Benjamin Carter eyed her with a sleazy, predatory gaze, demanding that she sleep with him, or else he would have her eliminated from the competition.