From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace novel Chapter 129

Harden gripped his phone and moved quickly through the crowd, searching for a quiet spot to call Finn.

When he first heard the whispers around him, he thought someone had leaked Aileen’s low scores online. He pulled out his phone to check, but what he saw was so much worse than he’d expected.

Everything was unraveling fast. Before he could dial Finn, another scandal dropped — a recording of Aileen threatening a contestant. It wasn’t just Aileen’s reputation on the line anymore. Both the Gates and Charles families were about to get dragged into the mess. This was bad. Really bad.

“You little brat, how dare you record me? Do you even know who you’re messing with—”

Aileen didn’t get to finish. A sharp slap cut through the noise. A woman with a fierce, commanding presence stepped forward and struck her across the face, bringing the whole room to a sudden hush.

“Watch your mouth,” the woman snapped, her hand still raised like she might slap Aileen again. “Aileen, if you don’t want everyone to find out how your daughter actually got those awards, you’ll apologize. You think you’re so above everyone else? I could drag all your dirty secrets out, but I won’t waste my breath. You’re the one who messed up here, so why are you yelling at him?”

It was Lea, staring Aileen down with fire in her eyes.

Aggie saw her mom get slapped and, forgetting her own tears, lunged at Lea. But halfway there, her knees buckled. She went down hard, her forehead smacking the stage.

Aileen was still in shock from the slap, but seeing Aggie fall snapped her back. She rushed to her daughter’s side, helping her up off the floor.

“Aggie, are you okay?”

“Mom…” Aggie sobbed, clutching her aching head. Her voice was shaky and weak, like she might pass out at any second.

“Don’t worry, Aggie. I’ll take you to the hospital right now.” Aileen scooped Aggie up onto her back, shooting a venomous look at Lea. “Lea, I swear, I won’t let this go.”

Lea didn’t back down. “You should worry about yourself. I already sent all the evidence of your dirty tricks to the piano association. Those talented pianists you tried to block? They all signed a petition. You can expect to get kicked out of the association soon.”

Aileen’s legs gave out at that. She staggered, nearly dropping Aggie.

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