Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism novel Chapter 297

Lucy was taken aback to see Violeta on this stage.

Vivian was also surprised and scoffed, "Grace really overdid it, bringing her student, whom she's barely trained for two years, to compete. Does she think her student is some kind of dance prodigy? It was as if two years could stack up to ten years of hard work.

"This isn't a place where a few flips will win you a trophy. It's almost laughable!"

Lucy did not say anything.

She noticed the dance costume Violeta was wearing.

It was the same one from the school's Moon Festival.

That meant Violeta did not even have a costume specifically made for this competition!

Clearly, it was a last-minute fix.

Indeed, it was a stretch.

Lucy was puzzled. Didn't Grace have two other students? Why insist on Violeta competing?

What about Hazel and Nydia?

"Ms. Montclair, why did Grace let her compete? Shouldn't it have been Hazel and Nydia?

Vivian walked away, snickering, "Who knows? They might be dead or disabled. Hmph, probably crippled if not dead, right?"

Lucy's eyes widened.

According to Vivian, did Hazel and Nydia have a car accident?

How could this happen?

Vivian added, "Lucy, don't worry, the gold award is definitely yours this time. That woman still wants to challenge me. She never dared back then, and now she's just being delusional!"

Lucy felt uneasy. Observing Vivian's confident demeanour sent a chill down her spine.

Lucy had been rigorously preparing for the Lotus Award throughout her senior year.

Her goal was to clinch the gold award by imposing strict personal standards, including avoiding oily foods, to maintain her figure.

She was determined to win the competition, fair and square.

However, Vivian's tone made Lucy wonder—had something been orchestrated about Hazel and Nydia's car accident?

Could her teacher have really done something so drastic just for a gold award?

Lucy was sceptical.

She quickly made an excuse to leave for the bathroom, stepping away from backstage to call a contact in Quinston to check on Hazel and Nydia's situation.

Anton could tell Irene was irritated and spoke gently, "Darling, you asked me to monitor the police investigation, right? There's a new update."

Indeed, Irene had enlisted Anton's help with the investigation.

She just had not expected news so quickly.

Given the various parties involved, it would have been odd not to hear back soon.

"What's the new update?"

"The driver responsible for the accident was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer two weeks ago."

The driver's diagnosis suggested he had intentionally crashed.

The CCTV footage confirmed he did not slow down at all before hitting the guardrail, clearly attempting suicide.

This matched Hazel and Nydia's claim that the driver was suicidal.

"Are the Nelson girls just unlucky to be caught up in this suicidal driver's path?"

Anton paused, then added, "Not necessarily. Someone truly intent on dying wouldn't typically choose such an uncertain method. Isn't he scared of surviving the crash? Besides, the timing of their accident, just a day before the Lotus Award registration, is too coincidental. We need to dig deeper."

Irene replied, "Okay, I'll hang up now. I need to keep recording, so please, no more calls."