Chapter 513: Want Me to Prioritize the Big Picture?

Chapter 513: Chapter 513: Want Me to Prioritize the Big Picture?

However, Estelle Lockwood remained motionless.

Mr. Ellis frowned. He had accepted money from the Yeats family, so naturally, he couldn’t let the matter blow up now.

"Miss Lockwood, we know we wrongly accused you, but the most important thing right now is the awards ceremony, followed by the start of the competition. Do you have any other questions?"

Estelle asked curiously, "Does Mr. Ellis think this matter ends here?"

"Naturally—"

"But on my end, it doesn’t." Estelle chuckled softly. "Although the organizing committee has cleared my name, why did Benjamin Carter come to my room? Why did he frame me? Who reported me? And why did the judges remain completely silent despite clearly seeing the evidence?

"Not a single explanation has been given to me. Tell me, Mr. Ellis, do you expect me to just accept a simple ’ends here’ and return to the competition with peace of mind? What... Do you think I should be grateful that you’re giving me the chance to compete again?"

Mr. Ellis’s face darkened. "Estelle Lockwood, I know you’ve been wronged, but please prioritize the bigger picture!"

"As everyone knows, when someone is asked to prioritize the bigger picture, that person is usually not included in that bigger picture."

Estelle sighed softly. "Obviously, someone in the design competition is deliberately targeting me. I don’t know if it’s a judge, a contestant, or both.

"Under these circumstances, how can you expect me to compete with peace of mind? What if, in the middle of the competition, I get framed again, reported again, and inexplicably disqualified again?

"Furthermore, there is someone within your design competition who files arbitrary reports and treats a contestant’s reputation as a joke. Yet you, Mr. Ellis, have no intention of investigating this clearly?"

Mr. Ellis gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached. "Then what do you want?"

"It’s not about what I want; it’s about what the judging panel intends to do." Estelle smiled. "I want the panel to find out who bribed Benjamin Carter, to publicly reveal who reported me, to list the evidence on the official website, to issue a formal apology to me, and to explain why the panel stayed silent despite seeing the evidence... Can you do that?"

Claire Yeats clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, resentment and malice practically spilling from her eyes.

She thought frantically, "No, no..."

Liza Shelby was absolutely dumbfounded! She felt incredibly unlucky; she had already made it to the semi-finals, yet Estelle had to be so damn detestable!

Mr. Ellis’s expression stiffened. He subconsciously glanced at Claire but quickly looked away, his eyes darting evasively as he changed the subject. "Estelle! Don’t push your luck just because you’re in the right! These things can be investigated after the awards ceremony!

"Do you know how important the awards ceremony at this time of year is to designers? What are your intentions, insisting on being so petty at a time like this!"

Mr. Ellis grew more self-righteous as he spoke, standing with his hands behind his back in a condescending manner. "If you insist on using withdrawal as a threat, fine! I announce right now that you are kicked out of the design competition! We are a serious competitive arena, and it’s impossible for us to change the rules just because of a single word from you!"

Liza heaved a sigh of relief. As long as Estelle was gone, she could continue competing.

Who told Estelle to be so ungrateful and insist on getting to the bottom of things? People like her simply refused to appreciate the favors given to them.

The venue immediately fell silent.

Estelle lowered her eyes slightly and sighed. "It seems the judging panel of the design competition and I cannot come to an agreement. Mr. Lynch, what do you say?"

"I just don’t want you alone to affect everyone else," Mr. Ellis said righteously. "You need to see the bigger picture! I believe even Mr. Lynch will agree with me!"

In Mr. Ellis’s mind, the Yeats family was the most important.

Besides, he had heard that Mr. Lynch thought highly of Ember and had already signed a private cooperation agreement with the Yeats family. Under these circumstances, why would Mr. Lynch help Estelle?

Even if Estelle had been wronged, smeared, and slandered, so what? Not having a powerful background was her original sin.

Mr. Ellis had already latched onto the Yeats family and wasn’t the least bit afraid of offending Estelle.

Liza’s eyes darted around before she spoke up loudly. "Exactly, Estelle! What are your intentions, clinging to such a minor mistake and refusing to let go?! You must be here to cause trouble! Mr. Lynch certainly won’t stand for it. If you want to withdraw, then just withdraw!"

Nathaniel Sloan’s gaze swept carelessly over the crowd. "Miss Lockwood wishes to withdraw?"

Estelle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "If they refuse to answer even a few of the simplest questions, I find it hard to believe that this competition is fair."

Mr. Ellis’s face looked ugly. "Estelle Lockwood, be careful, or I’ll sue you for defamation—"

"I feel the same way." The eyes beneath Nathaniel’s mask were bone-chillingly cold and meaningful. "If Miss Lockwood withdraws from this unfair event, I naturally have no desire to associate myself with this design competition either.

"If they can’t even protect a contestant’s innocence or handle the most basic of matters, then this competition is indeed quite unnecessary."

Nathaniel nodded. "Miss Lockwood, please. I will leave with you."

The entire venue fell dead silent for several seconds.

The smug expression Mr. Ellis had worn just moments ago froze in disbelief.

He thought in a panic, "What... What does this mean?! Mr. Lynch is going to leave with Estelle?! Because the design competition didn’t give her justice?!

"But... But we already let her come back to compete!

"If Mr. Lynch withdraws, then the competition’s funding, the champion’s prize, the collaborations... won’t they all be gone?!"

Moreover, with Estelle threatening to withdraw, the organizing committee could have ’helplessly’ claimed that they had planned to investigate after the competition, as investigations took time. But now that Mr. Lynch was withdrawing, even if the committee were in the right, they would be perceived as being in the wrong!

Before Mr. Ellis could speak, another judge nervously chimed in. "Mr. Lynch—no, no, no, Miss Lockwood, please stay. We beg you to stay! We will definitely find out the truth and give you justice!

"Yes, yes! Whoever tried to frame you, whoever reported you—we will investigate it thoroughly!"

Estelle chuckled lightly. "Alright, then let’s investigate it right now. Rooting out the parasite will benefit the other contestants as well. I’ll wait."

The judges exchanged helpless glances.

Claire’s expression turned ugly. She thought, "What a bunch of fence-sitters!"

Biting her lower lip, she feigned concern. "Estelle, it’s getting late. Today is supposed to be the awards ceremony. How about... how about you wait until the ceremony is over for the investigation to take place?

"After all, you’re not the only one here. There are other contestants as well. Do you really intend to make the other contestants waste their time with you?"

Liza shrieked loudly, "Exactly! You’re so shameless! Deliberately delaying everyone’s time over a little personal matter!"

The other contestants also voiced their complaints.

However, Estelle merely smiled. "Miss Yeats, Miss Shelby, I simply feel that the person who framed me might also be one of the contestants. Otherwise, what would be the point of framing me?

"Since this person is a contestant, if we don’t root her out, wouldn’t she be able to attend the awards ceremony and continue competing alongside honest, hardworking contestants who don’t resort to underhanded tricks?"