Classic Novel
210
210
Chapter 210 A Grander Scheme
“All” Shania cried out, her eyes wide with terror.
Maggie responded quickly, observing Shania’s actions in the mirror without turning around..
Thus, she promptly stood and stepped aside when the coffee spilled.
Yet Shania came prepared, and soon, the coffee drenched both Heidi and Maggie.
“I’m so sorry, Maggie! It was an accident, I swear!” Shania said, her face wrought with worry as she apologized repeatedly.
Maggie looked on with a neutral expression, silently assessing her. Meanwhile, she could feel the dampness on her shoulders as she watched the coffee stains spread across her attire.
“What’s going on here?” Danielle rushed in upon hearing the disturbance.
Upon seeing Maggie soaked in coffee, she blanched.
Tears welling up, Shania stammered, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice Heidi wasn’t ready to take it. I was just trying to pass it quickly and ended up spilling it on Maggic.
Heidi grimaced, interjecting, “You let go of your hand even though I clearly wasn’t ready.”
Sierra scowled and chided, “Are you stupid? You can’t even manage this simple task. If this delays the competition today, you’ll be hearing from me!”
At Sierra’s reprimand, Shania burst into tears.
“You’re fired,” Sierra stated icily.
Danielle and Heidi were seething but held back from rebuking Sierra at that moment.
“Maggie, there’s still plenty of time before your performance. Take care of this first. Ms. Agnes just delivered the clothes, so you have time.”
Danielle looked at Maggie in concern, worried that she would be affected.
Maggie kept her composure and nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
Feeling particularly remorseful, Heidi followed Maggie to another room to help her remove the stains and change clothes, as she, too, had been splashed with coffee. NôvelDrama.Org is the owner.
Before leaving, Maggie took a quick look at the backstage monitoring setup and then sent a message to Lucas. ‘Keep an eye on the backstage monitors for me. I need to know if Sierra is up to something.
Lucas, adept at navigating digital security, hacked into the arena’s backstage monitoring system, tracking both Sierra and Maggie.
Although no camera was positioned directly above them, one was aimed at their location from about four or five meters away.
After reaching the room, Heidi assisted Maggie in cleaning the coffee stains from her body.
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Chapter 210 A Grander Scheme
Luckily, they were wearing loose robes typically used during makeup application, so the stains did not pose a significant problem.
“I’m really sorry, Maggie. If I hadn’t taken that coffee, none of this would have happened…” Heidi apologised.
“Ms. Brook, this isn’t your fault. Even if it hadn’t been for that coffee, they would find another way if they wanted to harm me,” Maggie reassured her softly
Heidi, although known as the school’s makeup artist, was also a respected teacher at the School of Arts. She was in her thirties and highly skilled.
“Ms. Brook, I should be fine now. Why don’t you see the clothes?” Maggie suggested gently.
“But the time… “Heidi was covered in coffee stains herself, and she was concerned about delaying Maggie’s upcoming performance.
“Don’t worry, it won’t take long, and I trust in your ability; a few minutes will hardly make a difference,” Maggie encouraged with a smile.
Heidi, moved by the reassurance, hurried to the bathroom to clean up.
After Heidi left, Maggie received a call from Lucas, “Maggie, Sierra’s assistant photographer tampered with your dress. They’ve cut in between the straps.”
“As expected.” Maggie’s tone was chilled.
If Sierra had spilled coffee on her yesterday, Maggie might not have suspected foul play. However, her makeup artist was also doused in coffee under suspicious circumstances today.
So, Maggie’s suspicions were confirmed.
“Also, her makeup artist was lurking around your dressing table. However, she had her back to the camera, so I couldn’t see exactly what she was doing.”
As he spoke, Lucas adjusted the surveillance angle.
“She messed with your foundation with the black cap; it looks like she added something inside.” Lucas checked again, his expression turning serious.
“Got it. Start digging into Sierra’s recent contacts and financial transactions. See if we can uncover anything.”
After Maggie gave out her instructions, she sent a message to Leo to arrange for someone to keep a close watch on the makeup artist Shania, hoping to gather any incriminating evidence.
A chill flashed through Maggie’s eyes upon hearing Leo’s confirmation.
This was leverage Sierra had unwittingly given her, and she was determined to preserve the evidence,
“Mia, we have a backup dress, right? I’ll need it sent over, along with a new bottle of this brand of foundation.
“Okay, I’ll have it delivered to you in fifteen minutes,” Mia responded after quickly checking the picture of the foundation. It was not a unique brand, so she made a prompt call to the person in charge at a nearby
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Chapter 210 A Grander Scheme
mall to arrange the delivery.
As Maggie was setting this up, Heidi returned, freshly cleaned up.
By the time they returned to the backstage area, Sierra had finished her makeup. She noticed Maggie and could not resist expressing a feigned concern, “Maggie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing major,” Maggie replied with composed assurance.
Sierra briefly allowed a mocking smirk to cross her face, secretly hoping Maggie would embarrass herself
later.
Yet she restrained herself for the moment, returning her attention to her phone.
She casually browsed through updates about the competition until a trending video of a piano piece titled “First Love” caught her eye.
Frowning slightly, Sierra clicked on the video. Then, the makeup artist beside her whispered, “This video has been going viral. It’s been trending on several platforms, and I saw a lot of people sharing it on social media.”
Sierra’s face soured, so the makeup artist added, “We amateurs are just here for the show. We don’t really understand the quality of the performance; we just think the visuals are beautiful.”
After hearing that, Sierra watched the entire video without saying anything.
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Originally, Sierra had prepared to dismiss the video with a scoff, ready to label it as “What nonsense!” and toss a few sarcastic remarks Maggie’s way.
However, as the video played, the skill and grace of the pianist were undeniable, leaving Sierra unexpectedly impressed and silenced.
“Ms. Cameron, is that you? You have a similar figure with her!” exclaimed the photographer who had been recording the video.
The makeup artist and the assistants momentarily paused, then one chimed in, “Yes, Ms. Cameron, is this. something you do casually when you’re bored, never anticipating it would catch on like this?”
Maggie smirked after hearing that.
Sierra was scheming against her, yet unbeknownst to her, she was also being schemed against.
The distinction lay in the scale of her scheme, which was grander.
Naturally, Sierra’s physique differed from hers; Maggie was taller than Sierra, but when seated at the piano, this was less noticeable.
Moreover, Nathael, aware of her goals, deliberately filmed a video mimicking Sierra’s, aiming to sway public opinion online as he was confident that Sierra would not refute it.