Chapter 531: Claire Yeats Assumes a False Identity!

Chapter 531: Chapter 531: Claire Yeats Assumes a False Identity!

Her words dropped an absolute bombshell.

Ms. Foster wanted to sue Claire for impersonating Ember?!

Claire wasn’t Ember?!

In a flash, all eyes darted to Claire. The crowd looked shocked, completely in disbelief.

How was that possible?!

For three years, Claire had made appearances under Ember’s identity. Even the judges of the design competition hadn’t noticed anything amiss. How could she not be Ember?

Then again, Claire hadn’t known about the blog’s existence, had never seen the complete design drafts, and had used only half of a design to compete... That alone was ridiculous enough.

"Ms. Foster, I ask that you watch your words!" Claire’s face drained of color. She looked on the verge of collapsing but put up a strong front. "How could I not be Ember? I am her! As for the design draft, I admit I didn’t think it through, and I can explain it. But you can’t use that to decide I’m not Ember and sling mud at me!"

Ms. Foster raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to explain.

Claire clenched her jaw, suppressing her dissatisfaction and anger, and said with difficulty, "The design draft... I know what the complete draft looks like... I admit that it was wrong of me to use a past work to enter this competition. The reason I didn’t provide the complete draft was also due to copyright concerns..."

Ms. Foster sneered.

Looking utterly humiliated, Claire’s eyes welled with tears. "I am willing to take responsibility for my actions and withdraw from this competition. But the worst mistake I made was ’competing with a past work.’ Ms. Foster, what gives you the right to question my identity?!"

[I mean, competing with a past work is already wild...]

[And it’s a design Ember already posted online. Who knows if she even holds the copyright anymore? Entering a competition with it like this—does she think the XM design competition is easily fooled?]

[Everyone else has been working so hard on their designs, but you just took an old piece of work and are now acting like you’re the victim. So shameless!]

[So what? That’s just because Claire has been too busy! Besides, it’s her own work to begin with—why shouldn’t she be allowed to use it!]

[Do you even know how to read the rules? Do Claire’s fans have any reading comprehension? And they actually have the nerve to ask why the competition won’t allow it?]

Ms. Foster stared at her coldly. After a long moment, she asked calmly, "So, Miss Yeats, are you refusing to admit that you’ve been impersonating Ember?"

Claire maintained her stubborn front. "I have never done such a thing, so what is there to admit?!"

Zion Yeats also wore a cold expression. "Ms. Foster, you need evidence to back up your words. If Claire has made a mistake, the Yeats family will naturally take responsibility. But that doesn’t mean you can slander her as you please!

"Regardless of what happened in this year’s competition, Claire is at least the champion of the previous one. That is beyond question!"

"Such confidence... It seems you’re certain I have no proof. Very well." Ms. Foster sighed softly. "Miss Yeats, you stole Ember’s work and brazenly impersonated her. Did you think she was dead?"

Claire’s expression stiffened.

"It makes sense. No one could dig up Ember’s true identity. She was a ghost who only appeared once three years ago and vanished as soon as the competition ended. I imagine Miss Yeats must have put a lot of effort into investigating her. When you couldn’t find anything, you naturally assumed she was dead.

"That’s why you impersonated her without a second thought. Because in your mind, there would never be anyone to expose you. However..." Ms. Foster smiled. "Who told you Ember was dead? What if she’s still alive?"

Claire’s face changed drastically, her pupils shrinking in horror.

Ember was still alive? No, that was absolutely impossible! Ms. Foster had to be bluffing. She needed to calm down!

Calm down, stay calm...

"Since Miss Yeats is a former champion, you should know that all champions have an exclusive integrated account with our competition, right?" Ms. Foster suddenly asked with faux curiosity.

Claire’s expression froze. She hadn’t actually won the championship, so how would she know?!

"I—I..."

"It’s fine. Miss Yeats might have forgotten. But now that I’ve reminded you, a normal person with a functioning memory shouldn’t draw a complete blank, right? It’s only been three years, wouldn’t you agree?" She paused, then added, "But it doesn’t matter even if you’ve forgotten. From the very beginning, our accounts recorded Miss Ember’s true appearance. You can reset the password just by using your face.

"Miss Yeats, only the real Ember would be able to log into this account, don’t you think?"

Claire gritted her teeth tightly.

[Champion contestants get an account? How come I’ve never heard of this before?]

[Wendy (Verified): They do indeed. Only the champion of each iteration gets one. It’s normal for others not to know.]

[Ahhh, it’s Ms. Wendy!]

[Ms. Wendy was a champion contestant from a competition over a decade ago, wasn’t she!]

[Sylvia (Verified): That’s exactly right. That account belongs exclusively to the champion. It’s bound to the champion’s facial data and irises, meaning only the champion themselves can open it.]

[Oh my god, Sylvia is here too. It must be true, then.]

[Sylvia is a champion too! If the champions are saying it, then it’s definitely legit.]

[Sylvia (Verified): Ember has never shown her face, but you don’t necessarily need to show your face to bind the account. That’s because the account has three access methods: iris scanning, fingerprinting, and facial recognition. Even if Ember never bound her facial data, she can still open it with her irises or fingerprints. No two people in the world have identical irises or fingerprints. Whoever can open the account is undeniably Ember herself.]

Ms. Foster also explained the account’s details at the venue. The judging panel nodded in agreement. "That’s correct. The account confirms the champion’s identity. In other words, the person who can log into the account is definitely Ember herself."

Ms. Foster smiled. "Miss Yeats, I won’t say any more. As long as you log into this account in front of everyone, I will drop all my objections."

"You all just think Claire is an easy target!" Zion said angrily. "You’re intentionally bullying her, humiliating her! She is Ember! Why should she have to prove her own identity?!"

As he spoke, six accounts appeared on the large screen, each corresponding to a past champion.

Aside from Wendy and Sylvia, there were special guest judges present at the venue, all of whom were former champions. A middle-aged woman stood up and logged into her account. Following that, a middle-aged man also nodded in greeting to the crowd and logged into his account.

Wendy and Sylvia, who couldn’t attend in person, naturally logged in from their homes.

Very quickly, only Ember’s account remained untouched.

Ms. Foster had someone bring over Claire’s phone. "Miss Yeats, please log in."

Claire’s eyes were practically bulging with panic and fury.

Why were they forcing her into such a corner? Fine, she wasn’t Ember! So what! She had found Ember’s design drafts, which meant they were hers now! Who told Ember to be so low-key and refuse to show her face? Hadn’t she just provided a loophole for someone to exploit? How could they blame her?!

Hundreds of pairs of eyes at the venue, and tens of thousands more in the live broadcast, were all staring fixedly at Claire.