Abby stared at him, thoroughly confused. "Take action? What do you mean, take action?"


    Joshua spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We break Harry''s hand. That way, he can''tpete."


    Abby repeated the words, stunned. "Break Harry''s hand... so he can''tpete?"


    Joshua raised his eyebrows. "What, you''d rather see Ms. Cameron lose her ability to y the violin forever?"


    Abby shook her head. "If Star agreed to this bet, it means she''spletely confident she''ll win. But you, Joshua..."


    She shot him a strange look, scrutinizing him from head to toe.


    "How did youe up with the idea of breaking Harry''s hand?"


    Joshua replied, "Harry set up this whole wager to destroy Ms. Cameron''s career. It''s no different than ruining her hand. If he''s willing to go that far, why shouldn''t we?"


    Abby thought about it and, to her own surprise, found his reasoning disturbingly logical.


    She nced around, making sure no one was listening, and lowered her voice. "Harry''s a celebrity. If something happened to his hand before thepetition, suspicion would fall on us immediately. Star''s about to headline her first major concert-she doesn''t need that kind of trouble. Not to mention..."


    She looked over at Ste, who stood poised on the stage. "Star''s already at her peak. She might be able to beat Harry fair and square."


    Before thepetition, Ste''s hand had made a full recovery under Dr. Burton''s careful treatment-no scars, no lingering pain.


    It really did pay to know a great doctor.


    Still...


    Abby shot Joshua a grateful nce. If he hadn''t noticed the warning signs in time, Ste might have ended up with a permanent injury.


    Joshua took it all in, then nodded, as if a lightbulb had gone off.


    "I get it. If we can''t touch him before thepetition... there''s always after."


    By the time their whispered conversation ended, Harry and Ste were already in position, ready to y.


    To keep the oue undisputed,


    both would perform the same piece.


    For fairness, the repertoire was decided by drawing lots: each of them submitted two pieces, and the host would pick one at random on stage.


    Harry, of course, put forth two of the most technically demanding pieces in the violin world.


    Ste, on the other hand, chose two of her mother Nora''s signaturepositions —challenging, yes, but nowhere near as punishing as Harry''s selections.


    As soon as the pieces were revealed, the inte lit up with franticments.


    “Echoes of the Wind and The Gaze? Is Harry out of his mind?" "What''s going on? I''m not a violin expert-can someone exin?"


    "Echoes of the Wind and The Gaze are legendary for being the most difficult violinpositions ever written. To put it simply, only a. handful of violinists have ever yed them perfectly, without a single mistake. They''re so tough that, together with another piéce called Emptiness, they''re nicknamed the Devil''s Trilogy-a nightmare for even the best yers."


    "Are they really that hard? Hasn''t anyone managed to master them?"


    "Some have. Mr. Walden, for one. Nora, too. And, of course... Harry himself. It''s precisely because they could perform these three hellish pieces wlessly that they became famous overnight. There may be other hidden masters out there, but if so, we''ve never seen them."


    "No matter how brilliant Ste is, she''s no match for a virtuoso like Harry. If she


    draws one of his pieces, she''s in serious trouble."