"I see what this is. It's no coincidence she took first place today. No coincidence she ran into Joanna."
He stepped closer, raising his voice for the audience. "You orchestrated the whole thing. Trained the girl to act cute, win over the judges, and deliberately let Joanna recognize her. You're using the child as a pawn to claw your way back into the Fox family fortune."
Matthew laughed darkly. "And the kid—so young, yet so manipulative. Calling her own biological mother 'Auntie,' playing hard-to-get. Like father, like daughter. Truly calculating."
As his accusations hung in the air, the atmosphere shifted. The audience's gaze turned suspicious, and murmurs rose once more—sharp and judging.
The temperature in Joanna Fox's gaze dropped to absolute zero.
She let out a sharp, caustic laugh.
"I gave you too much credit, Asher. I actually thought you had a spine—thought you were the type who'd rather jump off a building than bow his head." She stepped closer, lip curling. "Now I see how wrong I was."
"You've got it all figured out, don't you? Risk your life just to stage a scene for money. Have you no shame?"