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 ounts. But the timing is a bit fishy. It looks like someone''s trying to manipte 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 Ste and Rachel were called back onto the stage.


    The host announced, "Let''s wee our judges to give their scores to the contestants."


    The judges'' panel consisted of the country''s top violinists-well-respected, though not as internationally renowned as someone like Rena. Still, for a national contest, inviting foreign judges just wasn''t done.


    Foreign musicians could offerments and serve as special guests, but the scoring was strictly domestic.


    The judges huddled together, whispering among themselves for a few moments, before jotting down their scores. Of the ten judges, nine gave a perfect ten. Only one judge gave a nine.


    Ste''s total: a staggering ny-nine points!


    Rachel, on the other hand, scored mostly eights, with her highest being a nine. Her total: eighty-eight.


    Abby let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I was worried the judges might fall for Rachel''s act."


    Antoney, himself a former judge,


    was unbothered. "A judge''s job is to be objective and fair, not to get swayed by emotion. Especially after that scandal a while


    back everyone''s extra canter


    now.


    The whole country is watching, after all."


    V


    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 internationalpetitions, no one would cut you ck just because you were sick or chasing ast 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 ce, 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


    second ce."


    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 ce. It''s


    embarrassing when that kind of thing makes international headlines."