Chapter 210: A Grander Scheme

"All!" Shania cried, her eyes wide with terror.

Maggie, observing Shania's actions in the mirror, responded quickly without turning around. She promptly stood and stepped aside as the coffee spilled. However, Shania, seemingly unprepared, drenched both Heidi and Maggie.

"I'm so sorry, Maggie! It was an accident, I swear!" Shania said, her face etched with worry as she apologized repeatedly.

Maggie, maintaining a neutral expression, silently assessed her, feeling the dampness spreading across her shoulders. Danielle rushed in, hearing the commotion. Seeing Maggie soaked in coffee, she blanched.

Tears welling, Shania stammered, "I'm so sorry. I didn't notice Heidi wasn't ready. I was trying to pass the coffee quickly and spilled it on Maggie."

Heidi grimaced. "You let go even though I clearly wasn't ready," she interjected.

Sierra scowled. "Are you stupid? You can't even manage this simple task. If this delays the competition, you'll be hearing from me!"

Shania burst into tears at Sierra's reprimand.

"You're fired," Sierra stated icily.

Danielle and Heidi, seething, refrained from rebuking Sierra.

Danielle, concerned for Maggie, said, "Maggie, there's still plenty of time before your performance. Take care of this first. Ms. Agnes just delivered your clothes."

Maggie, maintaining her composure, nodded. "Okay."

Feeling remorseful, Heidi followed Maggie to another room to help her change and remove the stains, having been splashed herself.

Before leaving, Maggie checked the backstage monitoring setup and messaged Lucas: "Keep an eye on the backstage monitors for me. I need to know if Sierra is up to something."

Lucas, skilled in digital security, hacked into the arena's system, tracking both Sierra and Maggie. Though no camera was directly above them, one was positioned about four or five meters away. In the room, Heidi helped Maggie clean the coffee stains.

Luckily, they were wearing loose robes, minimizing the problem.

"I'm really sorry, Maggie. If I hadn't taken that coffee" Heidi apologized.

"Ms. Brook, this isn't your fault. Even without the coffee, they would find another way to harm me," Maggie reassured her gently. Heidi, the school's makeup artist and a respected teacher at the School of Arts, was in her thirties and highly skilled.

"Ms. Brook, I'm fine now. Let's look at the clothes," Maggie suggested.

"But the time" Heidi worried about delaying Maggie's performance.

"Don't worry, it won't take long. I trust you," Maggie encouraged, smiling.

Reassured, Heidi hurried to clean up.

After Heidi left, Lucas called. "Maggie, Sierra's assistant photographer tampered with your dress. They cut between the straps."

"As expected," Maggie said coldly. Yesterday's coffee spill hadn't raised her suspicions, but today's incident confirmed her doubts.

"Also, her makeup artist was near your dressing table, but her back was to the camera," Lucas added. He adjusted the surveillance angle. "She messed with your foundation—added something." His expression grew serious.

"Got it. Investigate Sierra's recent contacts and financial transactions," Maggie instructed. She then messaged Leo to watch Shania, hoping to gather incriminating evidence.

A chill flashed through Maggie's eyes upon Leo's confirmation. This was leverage Sierra had unwittingly given her.

"Mia, we have a backup dress, right? I need it, along with a new bottle of this foundation."

"Okay, fifteen minutes," Mia replied, quickly checking the foundation's picture. It wasn't unique, so she promptly contacted a nearby mall.

While Maggie arranged this, Heidi returned, clean. Backstage, Sierra, having finished her makeup, feigned concern. "Maggie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Maggie replied calmly.

Sierra, secretly hoping for Maggie's embarrassment, briefly smirked before returning to her phone. She saw a trending video of a piano piece, "First Love." Frowning, she clicked on it. Her makeup artist whispered, "It's viral. Many people are sharing it."

Sierra's face soured. The makeup artist added, "We amateurs don't understand the performance, but the visuals are beautiful." Sierra watched silently.

Originally, Sierra would have scoffed, but the pianist's skill silenced her.

"Ms. Cameron, is that you?" exclaimed the photographer. The makeup artist and assistants paused. One said, "Ms. Cameron, is this something you do casually?" Maggie smirked.

Sierra was scheming against her, but unbeknownst to Sierra, she was also being schemed against—on a grander scale. Maggie was taller than Sierra, but seated at the piano, the difference was less noticeable. Nathael, aware of Maggie's plan, filmed a video mimicking Sierra, aiming to sway public opinion.