The footage of the car ident barely caused a ripple—after all, simr evidence had already made the rounds before.


    But the videos of Ste coaching Felipa on the violin, and especially the moment she gifted Felipa a violin, immediately lit up the inte.


    "Oh my gosh, didn''t Felipa say earlier that Ste looked down on her ying, and that''s why she quit thepetition and refused to be her partner?”


    “If their rtionship was so bad, why would Ste give her the violin?”


    "Felipa imed Ste was arrogant, but there''s not a trace of condescension in these videos. If anything, Ste seems incredibly gentle with her."


    “Felipa kept making self-deprecatingments, but Ste never lost her temper—instead, she encouraged Felipa not to give up."


    “Felipa painted Ste as cold and quick-tempered, but Ste''s patience is obvious."


    "Unbelievable! Felipa deliberately lied online and fooled all of us!"


    "What a traitor. Ste treats her so kindly, and this is how she repays her? Some people truly have no conscience."


    "She should give that violin back to Ste!"


    But, as always, some people had a different take.


    "Still, it''s a fact that Ste''s absence from thepetition led to Felipa losing without a fight!"


    Someone quickly shot back, "You can me Ste for the fallout, but don''t twist the truth-Ste was never rude or dismissive. This is clearly a smear campaign against her."


    Felipa watched the videos in a cold panic. She never imagined Ste''s studio had surveince cameras. During those rehearsals, Ste had specifically brought her to her own studio. Felipa had looked around carefully and hadn''t noticed anything out of the ordinary, which gave her the confidence to say what she did online.


    And she certainly hadn''t expected Ste to strike back so quickly.


    In an instant, the public realized they''d been duped by Felipa. The same people who had hurled insults at Ste before now turned their outrage on Felipa.


    A wave of online abuse crashed over Felipa, fiercer than anything she''d ever experienced.


    Still, some self-righteous voices criticized Ste, saying she shouldn''t have released the footage during thepetition, as it might unfairly impact Felipa''s performance.


    For a long while, Ste had remained silent. Now, she finally spoke up online.


    She posted a single sentence:


    "If you don''t wrong me, I won''t wrong you."


    P.n


    She went on to exin: the car ident had prevented her from attending, and the fact that Felipa was caught in the fallout was, in part, her responsibility. If anyone wanted her to apologize or even withdraw from thepetition, she would ept that. But she would not stand for nder and lies.


    After everything, Ste''s poprity soared. She gained a whole new legion of loyal fans, and the once-nichepetition began attracting unprecedented attention.


    Some were so inspired by Ste that they signed up for violin sses, eager to learn more about the instrument.


    Ste seized the moment to promote other instruments too, encouraging gifted musicians to join and represent their country on the world stage.


    In fact, more people enrolled in violin sses in recent weeks than in the entire previous year. Peggie Smith, an official at the Music Association, was so moved she nearly burst into tears.


    Talent in Novaris had dwindled in


    recent years-not because the people were inferior to other countries, but because the new generation simply wasn''t interested in music anymore. ''


    Given the choice, most young people preferred to chase inte fame after all, celebrities earned more, made money faster, and were far more popr than musicians who spent decades honing their craft.


    But now, led by Antoney Watson, a group of renowned violinists began openly voicing their support for Ste. Lauretta Chapman, Katrina Greene, and Wendy Burke soon followed suit.


    Ste''s reputation underwent aplete reversal. Tickets to her concerts were suddenly impossible to get.