A wave of shock rippled through the hall, as if a clap of thunder had struck. Every pair of eyes turned to Oscar, whose face was now flushed red with fury. His hands were almost tugging at his hair in frantic frustration, his breath coming in short, shallow bursts.
"But it wasn’t my fault!" he shouted, his wide, frantic eyes darting around the room, desperately searching for soone to bla.
Then, with a wild point toward Susanne, he scread again. "She! She’s the one who orchestrated all of this! I didn’t want any part of it, I swear! I wanted to submit my own work!"
The room fell silent for a heartbeat before all eyes shifted to Susanne. Her eyes were wide with fear and disbelief, her breath caught in her throat. She gripped the edges of her seat tightly, her knuckles turning white, her face draining even further of color.
"What?!" she finally managed, her voice shaky but loud. "What the hell are you talking about?! I have nothing to do with this!"
"Stop lying!" Oscar’s voice cracked with desperation. "You’re the one who told I needed a better piece! You said you knew how to help win! I don’t know where the hell you found that painting, but I don’t want to be a fraud anymore! It’s you—you are the fraud!"
"You idiot!" Susanne shrieked, jumping to her feet in a burst of anger. "How dare you lie like this? How dare you put this on ? I didn’t do anything! He’s the one participating in this nonsense—I’m just a guest!"
Anna watched, an almost pitiful smile tugging at her lips as Susanne puffed out her chest in defiance, her voice rising in frustration. How pathetic, Anna thought, her eyes narrowing slightly. You’re like a fish flopping on a frying pan. Maybe you should’ve listened to your own advice and prayed for a way out.
"Everyone, please, calm down!" Alie Bennett’s voice sliced through the chaos that had erupted in the hall. As the noise finally died down, she continued, her tone steady and commanding. "There is a civilized way to settle this matter once and for all."
Anna stepped forward, nodding. "There is. You can check the footage from today’s caras outside the art storage room. If the footage shows Miss Hyde entering the room with Mr. Pierce, then we’ll have our answer."
She shot a challenging glance at Susanne, noticing how much her shoulders trembled—just a few more monts, and the woman would likely crumble. But then, as if steeling herself, Susanne’s body stiffened. She took a step forward, her posture slumped in resignation.
"Fine," Susanne muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. "No need to check the footage. I’m guilty. I bought the painting and asked Oscar to submit it instead."
Anna let out a quiet sigh of relief. She had been bluffing about the footage—after all, she knew it would show her standing outside the door as well. It was lucky that Susanne had surrendered so quickly. Had she challenged Anna, things could have gone much differently.
"Goodness, Miss Hyde," Alie said, her tone dripping with condescension. "Why on earth would you do such a thing? And I thought you ca from a respectable family."
"Indeed, perhaps we should be looking at your family for the source of such behavior," William interjected smoothly, rising to his feet and casually walking around Susanne. "After all, wasn’t it your family that nurtured this habit of fraud?"
A collective gasp rippled through the room, followed by hurried whispers and furtive glances. The guests exchanged uncertain looks, speculating on what other secrets Susanne might be hiding.
William smirked, his eyes sweeping over Susanne with a slow, deliberate evaluation. "I’ve heard about you, Miss Susanne Hyde. You’ve done similar things before, haven’t you?"
Susanne’s eyes narrowed, her voice dripping with indignation as she hissed, "What... what are you talking about?"
William scoffed at her feigned innocence.
"When Mrs. Bastien ntioned your na, it clicked. I’ve heard of you before. A friend of mine went to university with you. He told that you had your friend draw pictures for you after stealing her painting during the art submission period. Since everyone knew your style, you had no choice but to bully your friend into doing the work for you. Isn’t that right?"
"Goodness, is that true?" soone gasped, and the room murmured with disbelief. The guests’ faces twisted in disappointnt.
"What a terrible thing to do! And she was allowed to join us today?"
"How unethical! She looks like such a nice young woman, too."
"Nice woman?" William chuckled darkly, turning to face Oscar. "I don’t think nice won steal soone else’s fiancé. Isn’t that right, Mr. Pierce? Weren’t you engaged to soone else just a few months ago? I clearly rember receiving an invitation to your wedding."
"I..." Oscar started, but the words died on his lips. His gaze dropped to the floor, defeated, and he gave up on any further explanation.
"Look at this gentleman," William continued, turning back to the crowd with a smug grin. "He had enough sense to tell the truth, and now that I’ve confronted him about his broken engagent, he didn’t even try to lie or make excuses. This only leads to believe that this young lady here has tainted his soul with her actions."
With that, William stepped closer to Susanne, towering over her like a nacing predator. "To think you would stoop so low as to get a man drunk and sleep with him in a storage room during his own engagent party... It must be so kind of sickness, Miss Hyde. You steal what you can’t have, and you ruin what you never could."
"Miss Hyde," Alie spoke in a calm, yet commanding tone as she gestured for the security guards to move in. "You will be taken to the police. I am now accusing you of fraud. I suggest you stay where you are, or your situation will only get worse."
"No!" Susanne’s voice trembled with panic as she took a step back, her eyes wide with fear. She shrank away from the advancing security guards. "You can’t arrest for this! I did nothing wrong! It was him! Oscar! Oscar Pierce is guilty too!"
"Oh, don’t worry, Miss Hyde," Alie’s smile was cold, almost predatory. "You weren’t alone in your cri, and you certainly won’t be alone in your punishnt."
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