My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 200

Emily Blair rose to her feet, meeting the man’s gaze head-on. Her voice was calm and unwavering.

“All right. I agree to have my scoring details made public.”

Arianna George frowned, clearly displeased.

In truth, this wasn’t the first time such accusations had surfaced. Every year, there were always some eliminated contestants who claimed that those who advanced had cheated or pulled strings behind the scenes.

Arianna knew these competitors; every one of them was proud, each one convinced of their own brilliance, some so arrogant it was practically etched across their faces. They all entered the competition with one goal in mind—to take first place. So when they failed to even make it to the semifinals, the blow to their egos was devastating, and they lashed out at the other contestants with reckless abandon.

That was why, when announcing the sixty-fourth place, Arianna had specifically emphasized the fairness of the competition.

But this man was even worse.

Arianna remembered him clearly. During the competition, his performance had been mediocre at best—he didn’t even crack the top ninety. There was no way he could compare to Emily Blair. He was simply furious about not advancing and had chosen Emily, the easiest target, to vent his anger, cloaking his accusations in the guise of justice.

He talked a big game about integrity, but in reality, it was just his pride and bitterness talking.

Arianna had seen this sort of thing far too many times. She’d handle it, and she wasn’t about to let Emily Blair suffer this kind of baseless humiliation.

What did surprise her, though, was that Emily stepped forward herself and agreed to the public disclosure without hesitation.

Arianna had been about to persuade her otherwise, but Emily was firm in her decision.

Arianna watched as Emily stood tall, her expression cool and composed, untouched by the accusations hurled at her. From start to finish, she remained calm and collected—her poise was something few could match.

Arianna gave a small, approving nod.

She’s an extraordinary young woman.

At Emily’s insistence, the judges revealed her detailed scores.

Everyone had expected to see something suspicious—numbers that stood out as blatantly inflated. But nothing of the sort appeared. Every judge’s score for Emily was balanced, neither too high nor too low, entirely within the norm.

The man snatched Emily’s score sheet, his face twisting with disbelief.

“How is this possible? Did you all deliberately inflate Emily Blair’s scores?”

“You’re all conspiring with her! You want to push those of us without connections out of the running!”

Hearing his words, Emily’s lips curled into a faint, almost amused smile.

She knew she wouldn’t have to defend herself any further. The man had already pushed himself into a corner. He might have his pride and refuse to back down, but the judges were even prouder—and less likely to tolerate insult.

By accusing her of bribery, the man wasn’t just shaming Emily; he was challenging the honor of the entire panel. He was forcing the judges’ hand.

Sure enough, just as Emily had anticipated, one of the other judges finally spoke up.

“Would you stop making a scene? Even if Emily Blair were some kind of mastermind, there’s no way she could have bribed every single judge. Besides, when we tally the scores, the highest and lowest are thrown out. There’s nothing wrong with these results. Who are you to question Emily Blair? Have you even looked at your own scores? You didn’t even make the top ninety. Even without Emily, you wouldn’t have advanced.”

“No matter how angry you get, unless you have proof, there’s nothing you can do.”

“And as for the semifinals—I fully intend to be there.”

Emily couldn’t help but worry a little about missing the semifinals because of that one deliberate misstep, but she was confident in her abilities and in the fairness of her advancement.

Not just the preliminary round—she had every intention of making her mark in the next stage, too.

The man nodded furiously.

“Fine. I’ll be back. I’ll get justice for myself, one way or another!”

Emily remained perfectly calm. “All right.”

He stormed out, his every step radiating frustration and indignation.

When the dust settled, silence returned to the hall.

Emily walked up to the stage and accepted her semifinalist badge from Arianna George.

Isabella Austin was the first to break the quiet, clapping her hands. “Congratulations, Emily.”

Emily looked her way, her gaze cool and steady.