All Chapters of I Ended My Mother's Stolen Legacy Onstage: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

The crowd erupted into an uproar.The rapid clicking of camera shutters rained down like a storm.My half-brother, Jason Gere, paled, his lips trembling as his eyes darted toward our mother, Emma Gere, who was present in the audience.Emma's face darkened, but she didn't lash out right there and then. She simply stared daggers at me, a malicious look flashing in her eyes.During the break, I left the judging panel and went to the backstage lounge.Someone barged in immediately.It was Jason. He stood in the doorway, his eyes red and his chest heaving violently."How could you?" His tone dripped with arrogance, nothing like the composed prodigy he portrayed on stage. "How could you interrupt me? Do you know how long I've prepared for this?"I plopped down on the chair. "I don't care how much time you've put into this. That piece isn't yours. I won't give you a score.""What do you mean it's not mine? Is it yours then?" Jason sneered, his temper flaring. "I composed it myself. M

Chapter 2

The next day, someone knocked on my hotel room door.When I opened the door, I saw a man in his early 50s. He was impeccably groomed, dressed in a tailored suit, with a high-end watch on his wrist.He was Mason Shaw, Emma's husband and Jason's father—the very man who had been involved with Emma long before Dad died."Mr. Litt, aren't you going to invite me in?"Even though his smile was polite, it never reached his eyes.I moved aside, allowing him to step past me into the room.He sat on the couch, crossing his legs, and glanced around the room with quiet contempt.Then, Mason spoke. "Mr. Litt, I'll be frank."He produced a check from his pocket, placed it on the coffee table, and slid it toward me.I glanced down.The amount on the check was a staggering eight figures.Mason added, "This is ten years' worth of your salary as a judge. Just issue a statement tomorrow saying you made a mistake and that you acted impulsively, and this money is yours."Besides this, the music

Chapter 3

Emma showed up on the third day, dressed in a sharp suit, her hair neatly styled. She looked every inch the successful professional.She didn't bother knocking. The hotel manager opened the door for her using a key card.Emma said, "Samuel, let's have a chat."I remained seated near the window.She shut the door and sat down across from me. "You know who I am, right?""Yeah. Emma Gere, the dean of a music academy and a renowned pianist," I replied."And?""Jason's mom."Emma nodded, crossed her legs, and spoke in the tone of someone lecturing her junior."Samuel, you interrupted my son during the competition and said he was playing a piece that wasn't his. Do you know what we call that?""Sticking to my principles."She gave me a frosty smile. "It's digging your own grave."Emma leaned in closer and said softly, "I won't beat around the bush. I don't care whether you have any evidence. I've already looked into your background."She scrolled through her phone. "Your agent's

Chapter 4

After packing my things, I checked my phone.A torrent of abuse had flooded in.Hashtags calling for me to leave the music industry reached the top spot, amassing over 300 million views.The top post was from a music critic with over a million followers."A judge like Samuel, who lacks any professional ethics, is a disgrace to the industry. He interrupted a contestant's performance just to grab attention, ruining the future of a young prodigy. I call on all concert halls, talent agencies, and music academies to boycott him."The comments section quickly filled with words of agreement."Is someone like this fit to be a judge? How powerful are his connections?""I heard he's a nobody who climbed his way to the top by selling himself.""I've suspected the competition was rigged all along.""I stand with Jason! I stand with Ms. Gere!"My agency issued a statement, not to support me but to suspend all cooperation with me until the investigation results were in.Although their wor

Chapter 5

I stepped onto the stage in a slow and deliberate manner.Camera flashes were going off wildly in my face.The host froze momentarily before snapping back to reality. "Mr. Litt, this is…""I know what's going on," I said, stepping around him and stopping in front of the microphone.Emma's face had already darkened, while Mason tugged Jason's hand and stepped back.With all the cameras pointing in my face, I finally spoke up."What you've just heard is a piece called 'Nocturne'. It does not belong to Jason Gere. Its true composer was James Litt—my father."An uproar broke out in the audience.A reporter shouted, "Who's that?"I answered, "He's a piano teacher who died in a car accident 15 years ago, and he's also Emma's first husband."Emma snapped to her feet. "Bullshit! I have no idea who that is!" Then she instructed the security guards, "Throw him out!"They rushed toward the stage.I pulled my phone from my pocket and cast a photo onto the big screen.It was a photo Gr

Chapter 6

Emma's face went deathly pale. It wasn't the kind she could fake—no, it was as if all the blood had drained from her face.Mason shouted, "You're making baseless accusations!"He rushed forward, trying to snatch the report away, but the security guards blocked him.The reporters rushed forward, their camera shutters clicking furiously.Emma fixed her gaze on me. Her lips trembled, and her hoarse voice barely escaped. "Y-you're my son?""You don't remember me anymore? My name is Samuel Litt. My dad is James Litt. I was ten years old when he died. After that, you never came to visit me even once. No wonder you don't remember what I look like."She stumbled backward, knocking a chair over.Jason burst into tears as he grabbed Emma's arm. "Mom, is he telling the truth? I didn't actually compose that piece? Did you lie to me?"Emma didn't answer. She was staring at me. "What you said… about the car accident. Do you have any evidence?""Yes." I pulled a USB drive from the file folde

Chapter 7

The recording ended, throwing the room into an uproar.Mason's face had turned chalk-white. He never imagined that his private call with Emma would be played here.The recording was of a call Mason made to Emma on the night of Dad's accident.It had taken me five years and various channels to track down the original wiretap archives.Emma had made one fatal mistake. She thought everything was flawless, but she had overlooked one thing.Back then, certain telephone lines were subjected to surveillance.And I had found that incriminating recording."Mr. Shaw, what else do you have to say?"Mason's mouth opened and closed, unable to utter a word.Emma suddenly let out a maniacal laugh. "Samuel, do you know what your dad was like?"She looked at me, a twisted glint in her eyes. "He was so stubborn. I offered to support you financially, but he refused. When I landed him performance opportunities, he rejected me, too. He was determined to make it on his own. But just how far could

Chapter 8

Emma froze on the spot, her eyes turning red. It wasn't an act. After 15 years, she was finally forced to face what she had done.But I didn't believe her tears. They were worthless.What mattered the most was the evidence—the diary Grandpa had kept tucked away in a chest all these years, the photograph Dad took before he left, the mechanic's statement, the archived recording of the wiretap, and the DNA test report.And the silent looks of everyone, both onstage and offstage, at this moment.Sirens wailed outside the hotel. A reporter had called the police for me.Two officers walked into the banquet hall."Emma Gere, Mason Shaw, you're suspected of intentional homicide, evidence fabrication, and intellectual property infringement. You're coming with us."Emma didn't resist.As they dragged her away, she turned to look at me, trying to say something.I didn't catch what she said.Perhaps she was apologizing. Perhaps she wasn't.I didn't care.Onstage, Grandpa's eyes were re

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