Chapter 524: It Hasn’t Even Been Announced Yet, and You Already Know You’re the Champion?

Chapter 524: Chapter 524: It Hasn’t Even Been Announced Yet, and You Already Know You’re the Champion?

Estelle Lockwood said calmly, "If someone were to hurt my children, or if Christian inexplicably became a different ’Christian,’ I wouldn’t be able to stay calm.

"I would use every ounce of my strength to find my real child, instead of letting a fake Christian inherit everything we have."

Nathaniel Sloan held her hand. "I feel the same way."

Whether it was Christian, Zachery, or Mia, they couldn’t afford to lose a single one of their three children. If one of them suddenly had a change in personality, would they notice? Yes. Not only them, but the other two children who lived with them day and night would also notice.

Therefore, if Zion Yeats suddenly became a completely different person, everyone in the Yeats Family would absolutely know.

"Besides..." Estelle furrowed her brows. "After the three little ones spent time with Old Mr. Yeats, they mentioned that he seemed very lonely. He always looks out the window as if missing someone, and he even calls out Eleanor’s and Zion’s names.

"Who do you think he’s missing? My mother and his real son?

"But... I just don’t understand.

"He said he raised my mother single-handedly and that she was no different from a biological daughter to him. And Zion Yeats is his biological son.

"Both of his children left. Between Zion Yeats and the imposter, only one could remain. The imposter is the current Family Head, and since the real Zion Yeats once lived in that villa, we can be certain he is the one who left. My mother also left because her brother changed. Under these circumstances, why would Old Mr. Yeats cover up for an imposter?

"Unless he’s hiding something—a secret he’d protect even at the cost of his own children. But in the Yeats Family’s current state, what secret could they possibly be hiding? Is he covering for Old Mrs. Yeats? For the imposter? Or for Claire Yeats?"

Estelle pressed her temples. "He’s truly full of contradictions."

Nathaniel Sloan poured her a glass of red wine. "Estelle, don’t overthink it.

"I told you, I will tear a rift in the Yeats Family. Don’t worry, alright?"

Estelle looked into his eyes. "Alright."

A week quickly passed.

The final results for the XM design competition were out. The ten finalists were invited back to the awards banquet hall. This time, it was the real awards ceremony. The champion was finally going to be crowned.

The judges had already gone through several rounds of scoring, which were now completely finalized. When the results were announced, the marks given by each judge in every round would also be made public to ensure complete fairness.

Finally, there would be an online voting segment asking the public if they were satisfied with the champion. If yes, they could select ’Yes’; if not, they could cast a vote for their preferred candidate.

Years ago, Ember had won the championship with perfect tens across the board, securing over seventy percent of the online votes and achieving instant fame. Therefore, everyone was paying close attention to Claire Yeats this time, eager to see if she could create another miracle.

Inside, the banquet hall was bustling with activity. More reporters had shown up this time. Claire was currently being interviewed.

"Miss Yeats, there was a lot of negative public opinion directed at you previously. How did you manage to stabilize your mindset and continue with the competition?"

Claire first took a polite bow. "Regarding what happened before, although I was misled by others, it ultimately boils down to my own lack of caution. The criticism I received wasn’t wrong, and I accept everyone’s reprimands.

"But design is sacred. I never bring my personal emotions into a competition. When I’m working on my designs, I am free of distractions."

The reporter gasped in awe. "It seems Miss Yeats is very confident in herself?"

Claire smiled softly. "I wouldn’t say I’m entirely confident, but I believe my design won’t let everyone down."

After all, her design was based on the drafts left behind by Ember.

That woman had disappeared right after her competition. Claire had spent a tremendous amount of effort trying to track her down, only to find out that the woman was dead. She had only managed to find her design drafts, which Claire naturally used for herself without hesitation.

The reporter had been specifically hired by the Yeats Family to elevate Claire’s status. "If Miss Yeats wins the championship this time, is there anything you’d like to say to the other contestants?"

Claire offered a helpless smile. "It’s not certain whether I’ll win the championship yet, but if I really do..."

She let out a sigh. "I just hope that all the contestants can dedicate themselves to studying design. Rather than overthinking frivolous matters and scheming against one another, it would be better to focus entirely on their work."

The crowd exchanged knowing glances. Wasn’t Claire subtly jabbing at Estelle Lockwood? She was telling her not to rack her brains trying to target her, because even if she did, it would be useless—Claire would still win the championship this time!

"Claire." Zion approached, holding a bouquet of flowers. "Congratulations on winning the championship."

Old Mrs. Yeats was itching to let the whole world know that Claire was about to be crowned champion. "Grandma has already booked the banquet hall. We’ll celebrate properly when the time comes!"

After saying that, she cast a sidelong glance at Estelle from the corner of her eye. "I just don’t know if *some people* will even place. They are, after all, part of the Yeats family. If Claire wins the championship while some people can’t even get a ranking, I wouldn’t even know what to do at this celebration banquet!"

Claire curved her lips into a smile. "Grandma, Estelle’s design skills earned Mr. Lynch’s praise, so I think she’ll at least place in the top three this time, either as the runner-up or in third place. I can host the celebration banquet together with Estelle."

"Hmph, you’re just too kindhearted!"

Estelle stared at them in silence. Listening to the family’s self-indulgent chatter, she found it rather amusing and asked casually, "The competition results haven’t even been announced yet, and you all already know Claire won? Didn’t they say the scoring process is completely confidential? How do you know? Don’t tell me you have someone on the judging panel?"

The onlookers instinctively turned their attention toward them, exchanging bewildered glances.

She made a point. None of them knew the scoring situation, so how could the Yeats Family be so certain that Claire was the champion? Could it be that the Yeats Family had bribed the judges again?

"You misunderstand, Estelle." Claire hurriedly explained, "It’s just that Uncle Yeats and Grandma have too much confidence in me, so... I actually don’t know my final ranking either. Estelle, you shouldn’t think so poorly of our family."

"Oh, then Miss Yeats is certainly quite confident." Estelle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said lightly, "The results aren’t out yet, so pace yourselves. Otherwise, if you end up making a fool of yourselves, there will be no saving face."

With that, she walked straight through the doors, not sparing a single glance at the Yeats and their twisted expressions outside.

The reporter stood frozen in stunned silence. She didn’t dare say a word—she was still broadcasting live!

[Hey? Now that she mentions it, the results aren’t even out yet. Why is Claire so confident?]

[Ember has the right to be confident. What’s wrong with having a little confidence?]

[But aside from Ember’s work three years ago, Claire’s other designs have been utterly unremarkable. Maybe that piece from three years ago was just a sudden burst of inspiration, and her usual mediocre works are her actual skill level.]