Halfway through Adah’s routine, the judges were already sweating, faced with a scoring crisis. To be honest, more than one of them had hesitated to give Rowena a perfect score. But the crowd’s wild energy and relentless nudging from the two heavyweight judges Rowena had in her pocket swept them along. Now, with no way out, regret gnawed at them.

Meanwhile, as Adah’s routine soared toward its finale, chaos broke out online.

Many viewers, convinced Rowena had clinched the win, had stopped watching the broadcast and jumped to her personal live stream.

But those who stayed were in for a shock. Blown away by Adah, they flooded the chat, shouting for everyone to tune back in.

“The last contestant is the ultimate ace—this is the real showstopper!”

Word spread like wildfire, and Adah’s fame soared in an instant. Viewers who had left the broadcast earlier rushed back, desperate to catch what they could, but they arrived too late to see the entire show. Still, the closing moments were unforgettable, and the finale left everyone stunned.

Those who missed the beginning could only regret their choice.

“I can’t believe I clicked away! What was I thinking?”

“Why did I dismiss the possibility of a dark horse waiting backstage?”

“I really thought Rowena was unbeatable, but Adah just blew her out of the water.”

“Rowena’s choreography was nice, but she can’t touch Adah’s technique. If you ask me, Adah deserves first place, hands down. Rowena should settle for second.”

“The judges must be dying inside right now. They already gave Rowena perfect marks. How are they going to score Adah after this? This is going to be awkward.”

The judges scrolled through the comments, faces burning. With thousands watching, all they wanted was to disappear. Desperate to avoid turning the event into a farce, they quickly huddled with the organizers, hoping to come up with a solution on the fly.

Meanwhile, backstage, Rowena was seething. She had been so sure of her victory, brushing off Adah as a joke.

While Adah was still on stage, Rowena had gone live herself, expecting to soak in endless compliments and drag Adah’s name through the mud as soon as the contest ended.

But barely had Rowena’s stream started before half her viewers dropped out. Only then did she realize that they had all rushed back to the main stage, raving that Adah was the true star.

Rowena glared at the big screen backstage, unable to tear her eyes away from Adah’s breathtaking performance. How could this be possible? Adah, the rude bumpkin with no formal training, danced this well?

As Rowena was consumed by disbelief, Kimberly and the others in the audience were spiraling.

Kimberly stared at the stage, unable to process what she was seeing. “How could this be happening? Adah grew up in a backwater town without ever receiving any training in dance. How did she even create that choreography, let alone dance it? Something’s not right here!”

Panic took hold of Westley. He clung to Gia’s arm, desperation in his voice. “Mom, this has to be Leonel’s doing! He must have pulled some strings!”

Snapping out of her shock, Gia turned on Leonel, her voice sharp. “Well? Explain yourself! Did you have something to do with this? Did you rig the competition?”

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