Reborn, She's Back for Revenge novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157

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The piano finals included around forty to fifty contestants and weren’t scheduled to finish until noon. The final rankings would be announced then, followed by an awards party and ceremony the next afternoon, officially closing the National Piano Competition.

Edith waited backstage in the dressing room, largely indifferent to the other performances. She was focused on finishing a practice test, barely looking up.

Kerrie, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves. She couldn’t help it. Every time a contestant finished, the host would drag out the suspense, leaving Kerrie gripping the edge of her seat.

She hadn’t allowed herself to hope much at first, but Edith’s performance had been stellar. Now, Kerrie dared to imagine the unthinkable: first place.

She thought, ‘If a student of mine wins the national championship… Oh, the thought is almost too much. My studio would be flooded with new students.‘

Kerrie’s eyes remained glued to the monitor until the very last note was played. No one’s score ever surpassed Edith’s.

“Edith! Pinch me. Actually, pinch me,” Kerrie stammered, grabbing Edith’s hand and pressing it to her own cheek in disbelief. “You did it. You’re number one, Edith. You won the National Piano Competition. Oh my god, this feels like a dream.”

Edith glanced at the screen. The stage had gone dark. The judges and organizers were finalizing the results. It wasn’t official yet, but first place was hers. She looked at Kerrie and smiled softly. “Thank you, Ms. Clark.”

Kerrie’s mind flashed back to the first day she met Edith. She had been skeptical, even resistant. She hadn’t believed this quiet girl could play anything worth hearing, and she certainly hadn’t offered much warmth.

Now she realized she’d been looking at a pearl still hidden under a layer of dust. In just four short weeks, a single month of polishing, the pearl had begun to blaze with a light that left her breathless.

While the two of them basked in relief and quiet joy, the dressing room next door felt as though a storm cloud had parked itself overhead. Hallie had finished sixth overall, still within the third–prize bracket, an honor most kids only dreamed of.

To Hallie, however, third prize felt like public humiliation. Next to Edith’s first place, sixth might as well have been slaps across the face, each sting hotter than the last.

Karen felt the burn, too, but she swallowed her own disappointment and tried to soothe her only daughter.

June stood apart, nails digging crescents into her palms. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Edith had said to her on the staircase just days before.

At the time, June had met those words with scorn and mockery, even laughing outright. She’d made a point of saying she never wanted to teach Edith, that she wouldn’t acknowledge her as a student.

But now… Edith had won first place.

9:49 Thu, Sep 18 G..

Chapter 157

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First place in the National Piano Competition. Judged by the ten most respected figures in the industry. June, as an insider, knew better than anyone how prestigious that was.

Winning didn’t just elevate the pianist. The teacher who produced that winner would rise dozens, perhaps hundreds, of rungs on the professional ladder. This was exactly why she had wanted Hallie to win.

‘If only I had chosen Edith… The thought sliced through June like a blade of regret.

Meanwhile, Hallie had reached her breaking point. She needed an outlet. Tearing herself from Karen’s arms, she stormed out of the room and slammed open the door to the adjacent dressing suite.

There she saw Edith, with a calm smile on her face. That smile was like gasoline poured straight onto the fire of Hallie’s rage. Her temper flared out of control.

“You think you’re so great now, don’t you?!” Hallie screamed, her voice shaking with fury. “You think just because you got first place, you’re better than me? You believe one shiny medal lets you grind me into the dirt?”

Kerrie jumped up immediately, moving protectively in front of Edith.

But Edith gently signaled that it wasn’t necessary. She crossed her arms, a faint smirk playing on her lips. “If first place isn’t impressive, I’d love to know what sixth is.”

Hallie’s face contorted.

[You have received the Ultimate Envy. Reward: Curse Talisman ×1.]

A thin, black slip of paper materialized between Edith’s fingers, curling with faint wisps of dark vapor. A curse talisman. Edith studied it as though weighing options. Then her gaze drifted, calm and cool, to Hallie.

The look was idle, almost bored, yet it carried the chill of a scalpel pressed to skin. Hallie stumbled backward one involuntary step.

Karen burst through the doorway, shoving Hallie behind her. She crossed the small room in three deliberate strides, stopping inches from Edith’s face. Her voice was low, lethal, meant for only the two of them.

“I took Melinda’s place once,” she hissed. “Hallie will take yours now.”

Edith’s eyes went glacial. She curled the talisman inside her fist. “My mother’s death. Were you part of it?”

Karen’s smile was thin, triumphant. “Does it matter? She’s dead. I’m Mrs. Lovett. I shipped you off once. I can do it again.

“And those four brothers of yours… Do you really think forcing them to study will actually protect them?

Don’t be naive”

Edith’s grip tightened around the Curse Talisman. She spoke evenly, every word a hammer blow. “Whoever

my mother will die the same way. Alone, bleeding out on the street.”

killed

As she finished speaking, the talisman in her hand vanished without a sound.

9:49 Thu, Sep 18 G

Chapter 157

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78

55 vouchers

A sudden, icy gust seemed to sweep over Karen’s head. An unexplainable dread crawled up her spine. She couldn’t believe she was actually afraid of this girl, this nobody.

“Get out,” Edith said coldly. “Don’t disturb my studying.”

Kerrie stepped in. “Mrs. Lovett, Hallie, please leave. Edith needs a quiet environment to focus.” She firmly escorted them out and shut the door behind them.

Turning back, Kerrie looked at Edith, who had already lowered her head to continue working on her exam. She sighed quietly and thought, “To think I once admired Hallie as a student… How could I have been so blind?‘

Edith tried to concentrate on her test, but her mind was far from calm. She knew the system was powerful.

If the curse talisman worked as intended, her mother’s killer would soon die in a tragic accident, bleeding out alone on the streets. But she still didn’t know for sure if it was Karen.

As she wrestled with her thoughts, the final results of the National Piano Competition were announced. All contestants were called back to the main hall to hear the official rankings.

As expected, Edith was named the first–place winner.

[Mission complete.]

[You have won First Place in the National Piano Competition. Reward: True Intentions Talisman, capable of discerning a pursuer’s sincerity.]

Edith glanced at the item now in her hand. It was pink, though not overly bright like the Love charm, more of a deep rose hue. She wasn’t sure yet how it would detect someone’s true intentions, but she tucked it away carefully.

After all the rankings had been announced, the host smiled warmly and addressed the crowd. “All contestants are invited to tomorrow evening’s awards party. Ms. Cornell and the other nine judges will also be present to hand out the prizes-”

“Wait!“A sharp voice cut through the hall. Karen shot to her feet. “I’m lodging a formal complaint. The first- place winner does not deserve the title,” she declared loudly.

She knew exactly what that gold medal would mean. If Hallie couldn’t have it, then neither would Edith.

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