Nathan's gaze shifted toward Liam, clearly trying to shift the blame onto him.

"Liam, the reason we lost this competition is largely because you underperformed. Look at Oliver—he played brilliantly! Victoria's 0.1-point deduction? That's on you."

Liam's mind was still stuck on the image of Amy standing on stage—radiant, breathtaking, unlike anything he'd ever seen. Was that really his mother? She had seemed untouchable, mesmerizing, as if she belonged to another world.

When had his mother become so extraordinary? Even more impressive than Victoria, it seemed.

Though he was young and didn’t fully grasp the nuances of music, his instincts told him Amy’s violin performance had been far more captivating than Victoria’s.

And then there was Oliver...

He hated to admit it, but Oliver’s playing had been superior to his. The harmony between Oliver and his mother had been nearly flawless.

His own performance? Well… it definitely hadn’t measured up.

Liam couldn’t argue. He lowered his head and muttered, "I'm sorry. I let Victoria down."

Nathan nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly. Without you, Victoria would have been perfect. So technically, she didn’t lose."

Margaret, however, was furious. "That’s absolute nonsense! You can feed that rubbish to a child like Liam, but don’t insult our intelligence!"

Seeing Margaret’s anger, Nathan quickly backtracked. He cleared his throat and softened his tone. "Mrs. Blackwood, I didn’t mean it like that. I just didn’t want Amy to get too arrogant! We all know Liam’s potential. But you also know Victoria made a bet with Amy just now..."

Margaret scoffed. "Victoria losing a bet has nothing to do with Liam."

Nathan pressed on. "We asked Victoria to team up with Liam for this competition, and we didn’t win. Now Amy has the victory, and she might come here to gloat. Admitting Victoria lost would mean admitting Liam lost too. Do you really want Amy to come in here and rub it in our faces? Besides, Liam is her own son. Is a mother triumphing over her child something to be proud of?"

"She wouldn’t dare boast about beating her own son," he added.

Margaret’s expression flickered at that. The thought of someone like Amy lording a victory over her was unbearable.

Just then, a soft knock sounded at the lounge door. Alexander entered with Amy at his side.

The moment Amy stepped inside, the room fell silent.

All eyes turned to her with a mix of astonishment and discomfort, as if she had walked into a completely different reality.

For someone less confident, such an unwelcoming atmosphere would have been enough to make them retreat.

But Amy ignored the stares and focused directly on Victoria.

"Ms. Langley, isn’t it time to return my mother’s necklace to its rightful owner?"

Victoria’s fingers instinctively flew to the necklace around her neck, her loose hair partially obscuring her troubled expression.

When she realized she had lost, a fleeting thought had crossed her mind—to throw the necklace away.

If she couldn’t have it, then Amy shouldn’t either. But she quickly dismissed the idea—it would be too obvious. If she did that, Alexander might suspect her of doing it deliberately.

Before Victoria could respond, Nathan cut in sharply.

"Amy, don’t get ahead of yourself. Victoria didn’t lose to you—it was your son Liam who lost."