Chapter 233

Vivian Laurent curled her lips in disdain. "Is this all Maestro Fredette's prized student can do?"

Victoria Roscente's face turned ashen with rage. "How dare you say that, Vivian? Why don't you try playing it yourself?"

"Play as poorly as you?" Vivian scoffed. "I wouldn't dirty my hands."

Victoria clenched her fists. "The judges praised my performance. Who do you think you are?"

"Just because the judges missed your mistakes doesn't mean they weren't there." Vivian pulled out her phone. "Would you like to hear your performance again?"

The slowed-down recording played. At 0.2x speed, the missed notes and sloppy rhythm were unmistakable.

Gasps rippled through the audience.

The judges exchanged uneasy glances. The Devil's Waltz was notoriously difficult, and they had indeed overlooked those minor flaws.

Victoria paled. "This—"

The head judge cleared his throat. "There may be some imperfections, but the overall execution was impressive."

Victoria seized the lifeline. "See? Just completing this piece is an achievement!"

"For an amateur, perhaps." Vivian adjusted her cuffs with deliberate calm. "But you're Maestro Fredette's protégé. Fifteen years of training, and this is what you produce?"

She locked eyes with Victoria. "I wonder what expression the maestro would wear if he heard his star student butcher the Devil's Waltz into the Out-of-Tune Waltz?"

Victoria's fingers trembled.

Whispers spread through the crowd. Phones lifted, cameras zooming in on her frozen figure.

Vivian turned toward the grand piano. "Let me show you what a real performance sounds like."