Chapter 2

Emily's POV

Michael dragged Olivia away.

Olivia looked back and bit her lower lip. "Emily, I know you're upset with me right now, but I still want to wish you a successful show and hope your new song tonight is a huge hit..."

I frowned.

New song? What was she talking about?

After getting my wound treated, I was in the dressing room for final makeup and styling.

Twenty minutes before showtime, the door suddenly burst open.

A middle-aged man rushed in. "Emily! You thief!"

Behind him was a bunch of entertainment reporters, camera flashes going off non-stop in my direction.

Someone even started a live stream in the chaos.

Staff members desperately tried to stop them. "Mr. Davis! You can't go in there!"

"No photos! Photography is forbidden backstage!"

The man pointed at me and roared, "You stole my song!"

I was stunned.

Henry Davis?

That washed-up singer?

He pulled out his phone and played a demo. "Listen! This is the demo I recorded a year ago!"

Through the rough audio quality, a melody slowly flowed out.

Henry turned to the staff. "What's the first song in tonight's performance lineup?"

The staff hesitantly glanced at me. "It's 'Lost Stars, Shining Still.'"

"Play it for everyone to hear now!" Henry demanded loudly.

The staff pulled up the audio file and hit play.

The two melodies were identical.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

[Is this the new song? It sounds so good!]

[A top celebrity plagiarizing? This is so disillusioning!]

Viewers in the live stream demanded that the management company cancel my performance.

Reporters asked one after another, "Miss Johnson, what's going on here?"

I looked at them calmly. "I have no idea what he's talking about."

The event organizer was also called out, sweating nervously. "Miss Johnson, if you can't prove your innocence, we may have to suspend the performance."

Henry sneered. "If you know what's good for you, apologize and pay up now. Don't make me take legal action."

"I didn't plagiarize."

Everyone erupted, "Still won't admit it even now?!"

I smiled faintly. "Because this isn't even my song. "

"This is my special guest Sophia Brown's song."

At a charity event a month ago, I met Sophia who was singing for left-behind children. After we talked, I learned she was also a singer, just never had the luck to appear before the public.

This song was written by her for all confused children. Her voice moved me, so I decided to give up one song slot and invite her as a guest.

I turned to Henry, "So you're accusing my special guest of plagiarizing your song?"

Henry's face paled for a moment, but he quickly composed himself. "Since it's not yours, then bring out Sophia."

The corner of my mouth lifted. "Mr. Davis, don't be in such a hurry. Why don't you tell us who informed you that this was my new song?"

"Isn't this your concert? It's perfectly reasonable for me to mistake it as your song!" He glanced at Michael, who had followed the reporters back in, his voice somewhat guilty.

"What's going on? Why is everyone online saying my song is plagiarized?" A fresh-faced young woman pushed her way in.

I recapped the situation for her, and her eyes immediately widened.

Sophia said, "Mr. Davis says he made the demo a year ago, but I wrote this song three years ago for my school graduation performance."

"My school still has archived footage of my performance. Mr. Davis, can you explain why your demo is identical to my already published song?"

"Or should I say, Mr. Davis, did you take money to slander Emily on purpose, hoping to regain fame?" She tilted her head with a sweet smile, "What a spectacular show."

Henry frantically interrupted her, "You're talking nonsense!"

"If you admit now that you were used by someone, your losses will be smaller."

Henry completely panicked. He gave up and confessed, "It was Michael! He gave me five million dollars! He said this was Emily's new song and told me to cause trouble! He said if I ruined Emily's reputation, he'd give me another five million!"