She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 158

Just before it was Sybil’s turn to perform, her mother, Alicia, squeezed her hand. “Just play steadily for this second round, darling,” she whispered. “I’ve already taken care of the judges.”

Sybil nodded, squared her shoulders, and walked onto the stage. She bowed toward a large pane of one-way glass in front of her. “Hello, everyone. I am contestant number thirty-four, and this is my performance.”

On the other side of the glass, the judges could hear her but could not see her face.

Loyce held her score sheet, twirling a pen between her fingers. After Sybil finished both her pieces, she gave a fair, objective score. It was a mediocre mark, right in the middle.

But when averaged with the scores from the other judges, it was glaringly low. Loyce’s eyes darkened as she scanned the sheet of near-perfect scores from her colleagues.

Just before Sybil, contestant number thirty-three—the young girl from the restroom, whose voice was still thick with tears—had played with remarkable skill. Her original composition was impressive, a clear sign of raw talent. Loyce had given her the high score she deserved, which had slightly offset the inexplicably low marks from the other judges. Sybil’s overall performance had been technically inferior to the other girl's, yet she had received the highest scores from nearly every judge on the panel.

This was a level of corruption unacceptable for a prestigious event like the Steinway competition. It was impossible to deny that something was wrong.

Suddenly, Loyce pushed her chair back, the harsh scrape echoing through the quiet room. The other judges turned to look at her. “Mr. X, is something the matter?”

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