?<strong>Chapter 852:</strong>


    Time seemed to blur as Fiona sat there, her mind spiraling into a dark, empty void. Then, the announcer’s voice cut through her thoughts, clear and sharp. “The final piece of thepetition is Paganini’s Caprice No. 24.”


    Fiona let out a bitterugh, a sound tinged with irony and regret. It was a piece she had never mastered, not because she couldn’t, but because she hadn’t cared enough to try. She had letziness rob her of this moment.


    Theugh bubbled up from deep within her, spilling out uncontrobly until tears mixed with it, streaming down her face, etching a path of sorrow across her cheeks.


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    Sheughed until the sound of it became a desperate, hollow echo. Then, amidst her despair, she heard the unmistakable rhythm of approaching footsteps, the heavy yet steady click of leather shoes against the floor.


    Fiona’s heart skipped a beat. Was it Gavin,ing to find her?


    She hastily wiped away her tears, but resentment still burned in her eyes. When she turned around, she froze. It wasn’t Gavin. It was Cody.


    Panic seized her, her breath catching in her throat. Of all people, Cody was thest person she had expected to see.


    Cody had been lurking in the shadows of the backstage, his eyes scanning the audience until theynded on a familiar figure—Fiona.


    Fiona knew Cody hade to watch Elyse perform.


    Annoyance red within her, and she hastily wiped the tears from her face. She pushed herself up, forcing aposed demeanor as she faced him. “Mr. Tucker, why are you backstage? Shouldn’t you be in the audience?” Her voice was steady, but there was an edge to it, a hint of the turmoil she was trying to suppress.


    Cody looked at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a slow sigh, he spoke, his voice heavy with disappointment. “Do you realize your mistakes?”


    His words hit Fiona like a p, and herposure shattered. Her face twisted with anger as she snapped back at him, “Mistakes? What mistakes? Where did I go wrong? I haven’t done anything wrong!”


    Cody watched as Fiona’s defenses crumbled, her anger and shame spilling over. He sighed again, the weight of regret pressing down on him. “I was genuinely pleased to see you enter the Swan Cup, but I know your abilities better than anyone. I knew you wouldn’t make it to the final.”


    “So what? What are you trying to say? Don’t forget, luck is also a part of strength. And my luck has been incredibly good.” She pounded her chest, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, trying desperately to prove something to him, perhaps even to herself.


    Cody’s heart ached as he looked at the woman before him. Fiona had once been a promising student, but now she seemed so lost, so unrecognizable.


    What had changed her? Was this who she had always been, or had something darker, something desperate, taken root in her soul?


    He didn’t have the answers, but he knew he couldn’t just stand by and watch her continue down this path. “I don’t know what you’ve done,” he said gently, “But I hope you’ll turn yourself in. Listen, don’t keep making mistakes. Otherwise, there’s really no turning back.”


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