Chapter 12 The Plagiarism Scandal

People online had no clue about the real deal. When they found out that Amnesia was actually Aria, who'd been all over the tabloids lately, they totally freaked out.

Especially Laura's fans—they went off like fireworks, attacking Aria all over the internet.

[No way she's Amnesia! She shouldn't be performing on the stage with such a promiscuous personal life, no matter how talented she is.]

[Someone with no moral boundaries shouldn't be in the spotlight!]

[All those scandals had proof. She should be blacklisted!]

Despite the online hate storm, Aria stayed cool and collected in the spotlight.

The music kicked in, and her voice was like a mountain stream, angelic and haunting.

When the song wrapped up, the whole place was stunned.

Everyone seemed lost in that magical musical moment, unable to snap out of it.

The live stream viewers were also blown away, with comments flying like crazy.

But the peace didn't last long. Laura's fans started stirring up trouble again.

They thought Aria's voice sounded a lot like Laura's, so they went nuts accusing her of lip-syncing.

[This voice is way too similar to Laura's! She must be lip-syncing!]

[Amnesia is a fraud, using Laura's voice to get famous!]

The judge, who'd been bribed by Laura, saw these comments and a nasty glint flashed in his eyes. He thought this was the perfect chance to eliminate Aria.

"This candidate's voice is too similar to a previous singer. I seriously suspect her of lip-syncing, which is a major violation of our talent show rules!" The judge stood up, looking all righteous at Aria.

"Aria, I know you're jealous of me, but you can't use my new song to compete. I worked hard to create it!" Laura rushed onto the stage, tears in her eyes, acting like she was the victim.

At this point, other singers who were jealous of Aria also jumped in.

They were all shouting, demanding Aria be kicked out of the competition.

The host stood there, totally lost in the chaos.

"I believe Aria didn't lip-sync. She's got the talent." Simon stood up, looking determined.

He had just heard Aria sing; she was way better than these singers, no need to lip-sync.

"Do you have any proof of the accusation of her lip-syncing?" Lewis frowned, his eyes full of authority.

Seeing Lewis stand up for his future wife, Simon didn't want to steal his thunder.

So he quickly sat back down, giving Lewis a playful look.

With both Lewis and Simon backing Aria, no one dared to question her openly anymore.

Laura gritted her teeth in frustration but couldn't do anything.

Even though Aria didn't care about the comments, she wasn't going to let the rumors slide.

"Laura, since you say this song is yours, you should be able to sing it!" Aria paused deliberately.

"Oh, but you have a cold and can't sing, right?" The sarcasm in Aria's eyes was clear.

Laura's face went pale.

She opened her mouth but had no comeback, just glaring at Aria with hatred.

"How about this, I'll sing another new song." Aria said calmly.

The host glanced at Lewis, looking a bit unsure.

Lewis gave a slight nod, and the host turned to Aria, saying, "We don't have any other background music ready."

"No problem. Since they're accusing me of lip-syncing and plagiarism, I'll sing a cappella." Aria's eyes flashed with sarcasm as she stared directly at Laura.

Without any music, the venue fell into a hushed silence.

Aria started singing a new song a cappella, her voice shining like the brightest star in the night sky, captivating everyone in the quiet.

The melody of the new song was even more beautiful, like a heavenly sound.

But what Aria didn't expect was that this new song would almost land her in even bigger trouble.

[This melody sounds like something from the genius musician Clea Russell! Aria must have plagiarized it, how shameless!]

[Exactly, even though Clea hasn't composed anything new in five years, we fans still remember her style clearly.]

[Clea is the first love of the current head of the Windsor family, Lewis. Aria is definitely done for.]

[Clea is my idol, anyone who plagiarizes her should go to hell!]

[But it seems this song isn't in Clea's repertoire!]

[You must be an Aria fan! This clearly sounds like Clea's style, some melodies are even the same. You can be the fan of anybody else, but not this bitch Aria!]

Those who defended Aria were in the minority, and after being angrily scolded by Laura and Clea's fans, no one dared to speak up for her.

Hearing the familiar melody, Lewis's gaze became complicated. He looked at Aria, but it seemed as if he was looking through her at someone else.

'Oh my god, this Aria, how dare she!' Simon was also very surprised, staring at Aria on the stage.

There was nothing wrong with the song itself, but the problem was that it touched the most forbidden line in Lewis's heart.

"Lewis, there must be some misunderstanding." Simon swallowed, a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

Lewis turned to Simon, not expecting Simon to be quite protective of Aria.

Simon thought Lewis had agreed with him and continued, "No matter what, Aria's talent is clear to all of us."

"Yes." Lewis responded softly.

His eyes were somewhat dazed, indeed, in many ways, they were very similar!

Simon also felt that Aria's song was too consistent with Clea's style, even though he had some doubts about Aria had really plagiarized.

But after all, Aria was the future wife of the head of the Windsor family, they couldn't let the plagiarism charge stick!

"I think Aria's performance is good enough to make her the first place." Simon looked at the host and said loudly.

Seeing Lewis deep in thought, Simon quickly secured the ranking before Lewis could react.

The host looked at Lewis again, but Lewis was lost in his thoughts, so the host could only follow Simon's request and announce today's champion.

"Today, our champion is Amnesia, Ms. Aria York!" the host shouted.

But the scene was silent, everyone was full of doubts about today's champion, some even thought that the organizer was to promote Aria by arranging this show.

Aria understood that bringing Laura down wouldn't be easy.

Today, revealing Laura's inability to sing to the public was already a significant achievement. She knew she couldn't rush things, the road had to be taken step by step.

The talent show ended amidst everyone's doubts.

Laura, unable to swallow her anger, prepared to confront Aria.

"Aria, stop right there!" Laura shouted from behind Aria.