CHAPTER 951: CHAPTER 951 LUCAS’S STATEMENT

She would want him to grow stronger and more powerful, so that, when she finally had them, they would stand like an unshakable wall, able to protect and cradle her like a delicate flower, showering her with love and care.

As for the plagiarism, Alice wouldn’t care who was at fault. If it were Lucas, she would help him crush Logan underfoot without hesitation. The idea of Alice deliberately undermining him was simply impossible.

Since her reincarnation, Alice had been aware of Lucas’s meteoric rise to fame in her previous life. However, because she hadn’t been involved in the music industry, she lacked the insider knowledge about him, particularly regarding the plagiarism scandal.

Yes, she had heard of the incident, but in her memory, Lucas had won decisively against the person accused of stealing his work. She remembered how big the news became, yet she had no idea who the opposing party was.

Back then, she hadn’t paid much attention; her own life had been consumed by the struggle to survive among the stars in the entertainment industry, especially while being targeted. All she had seen was Lucas’s victory in court and the public condemnation of the other side.

And the worst part? The reason Lucas won the lawsuit was because the other party’s own parents testified in his favor.

Hera remembered this detail, or at least a hazy version of it, based on what Athena had once mentioned from reading the novel. In the story, Lucas was a supporting character meant to highlight Alice’s deep friendship with him after her supposed rebirth.

As part of her strategy to build connections with rising stars, she brought Lucas into Rafael’s company, both to support Rafael and to secure a talent who was said to possess the potential to reach unprecedented heights in the music industry.

Lucas was widely regarded as a genius songwriter with an extraordinary voice, and his addition alone could turn Lucas into another "money tree" on par with Xavier for Rafael.

With Lucas, Rafael’s company could dominate both the acting and music industries, completely outshining Universal Entertainment and positioning itself as the country’s leading entertainment powerhouse, one that could finally step confidently onto the international stage. This was exactly what Rafael had been missing.

Although Xavier had already achieved international fame as an actor, he was still a single entity, and that alone wasn’t enough to cement Rafael’s company as number one or give it the final say in the industry.

Universal Entertainment still held the advantage with a roster of internationally acclaimed actors, including multiple Best Actor, Best Actress, and even Grand Slam award winners.

The only domain where UE had yet to secure dominance was the music industry, and that was precisely where Lucas could give Rafael the decisive breakthrough to surpass his rival.

The novel described that, when the plagiarism scandal exploded and trended everywhere, Lucas had already made a public statement: he had been composing music sheets since high school, but had never dared to pursue it seriously, thinking it was just a boy’s dream.

It wasn’t until he decided to enter the university’s arts department, knowing he wasn’t the academic type but rather the artistic one, that he began to take it seriously. Outgoing and charming, Lucas was well-liked; people often heard him sing, whether at events or casually in quiet corners.

Logan, on the other hand—the one accused of plagiarism—was nothing like him. He was gloomy, withdrawn, and generally avoided by others. He was often seen as Lucas’s shadow, and even his own parents preferred Lucas.

If given the choice, they would undoubtedly choose Lucas over their own son, openly showing disdain toward Logan.

And so, everyone came to believe that Logan had stolen Lucas’s songs and music sheets out of jealousy, desperate to prove he was worth something compared to Lucas’s talent. Because Lucas was well-liked and had the so-called witnesses who claimed to have heard him perform some of the very songs Logan presented, no one believed Logan.

Back then, Logan was a complete nobody; no lawyer was willing to take his case. In court, he suffered a crushing defeat, while Lucas’s fame soared higher than ever. The scandal only painted Lucas as not just talented, but also charming and kind-hearted, especially since, even during the hearings, he pleaded for leniency on Logan’s behalf and comforted Logan’s family.

To Logan’s family, however, this was nothing but humiliation. They grew to wish they had never given birth to him. Publicly, they sided with Lucas, testifying against their own son.

They declared that they had recognized Lucas’s talent since he was young, how he loved tinkering with instruments and writing songs, yet they claimed they had never seen Logan write a single piece, nor heard him sing.

They even accused Logan of using autotune in his recordings to undermine his credibility further, ensuring their own son’s downfall.

Hera had almost forgotten about Logan amid everything happening around her. She had even promised to attend his debut, yet the chaos in her life, and the accident she later suffered, had made her break that promise.

Now, thinking back, she remembered exactly why she had recruited him in the first place: she had seen genuine talent in him.

Unlike Lucas, who loudly proclaimed his brilliance and wanted the entire world to hear his voice, Logan was the opposite. He didn’t seek the spotlight; he simply loved composing music and singing from the heart. His voice carried soul because it came from passion, not vanity.

After Hera realized that the storyline wasn’t what she had expected, especially after seeing the truth about Minerva and Alice, she began to suspect that many other side characters and so-called cannon fodder might not be who they were portrayed to be in the novel.

Take Alice, for example. In the novel, she was supposed to be a resilient yet pure woman, determined to change her tragic fate from her past life and work hard to become the best actress she could be.

But in reality, Alice was nothing like that. She wasn’t pure or resilient; she was calculating and narrow-minded. Instead of honing her skills, she spent her time seducing the male leads, creating "accidental" encounters to forge connections, and using them to pave her way forward.

She had no interest in real self-improvement.

So if Alice’s supposed purity and determination had been a lie, how could Hera believe that Logan was truly the one who plagiarized—and not Lucas?

For all she knew, Lucas was the real thief, accusing others while secretly stealing their hard work. He was the perfect example of the kettle calling the pot black.

Hera listened to Minerva speak over the phone, and she believed every word. After all, in the novel, it had indeed been Alice who discovered Lucas and introduced him to Minerva. Her goal was to help Lucas rise to fame as quickly as possible, ensuring he would feel indebted to her.

Once he became famous, he would return the favor, whether through publicity or by letting her ride his coattails.

At the same time, Alice had hoped to make Rafael see her in a better light, showcasing her supposed "good qualities" to win his affection. In the novel, Rafael already had a favorable impression of Alice because of her positive influence on Minerva.

This only deepened when he believed she had a good eye for talent and was charming enough to have Lucas follow her around like a devoted little brother.

Hera pulled out her phone and swiped to the trending topics. At this hour, online traffic was at its peak, most people were already off work or out of school, making it the perfect time for the PR team to act.

Sure enough, Lucas had just released a statement on his own account.

[Lucas_Freed (Verified): Good evening, everyone. You may have already heard my newly released song. I’ve been working on it for a long time, pouring my feelings into every note, and I’ve wanted to share it with my best friend, Logan Walker, for just as long. After all, he’s been by my side for years, and his family has always treated me kindly.

It’s possible we drew inspiration from the same place, after all, we’ve shared so much over the years. We’ve played the same instruments, spent countless hours together, and could practically finish each other’s sentences. We could even enter each other’s rooms without worries. With that kind of closeness, it’s no wonder we might end up creating something similar.

I truly hope we can resolve this matter quickly. I’m simply happy to share my passion and love for music with all of you. Please, let’s stop fighting over this.(Image attached)]

Seeing the statement, Hera could only sneer. On the surface, Lucas’s so-called clarification sounded like an attempt to calm the netizens, but in reality, he was shoving Logan even deeper into the mire.

His words subtly painted a picture of Logan sneaking into his room and copying his composition without permission, while also planting the idea that he was the true creator and the first to release the song.