Chapter 132: Evil Genius Plan

Ruby wiped her nose with a tissue, letting out a shaky breath as she leaned heavily into my side, her crying finally subsiding into small, rhythmic hiccups.

Chloe, who had been quietly monitoring her tablet near the bar counter, suddenly looked up, her phone buzzing incessantly. A faint, knowing smile played on her lips as her fingers swiped through the live analytics.

"Well," Chloe said, her voice smooth and crisp, breaking the quiet tension in the bus. "If you want the good news... your live performance from tonight is currently exploding everywhere. The official upload just hit one million views in under an hour."

Ruby perked up, her head snapping up from my chest, her violet eyes wide with disbelief. "Wait... really?"

"Really," Chloe confirmed, turning the tablet screen around to show us the trending charts. "The comment section is an absolute warzone right now. Ninety percent of the top comments are calling out the judges, posting side-by-side clips of your vocal run versus ColdZon’s acceptance speech. The fan consensus is unanimous—everyone knows you were robbed."

May let out a short, triumphant laugh, kicking her feet up onto the footrest. "See? Can’t fake real talent when millions of people saw you blow the roof off the building with their own eyes."

Patricia smiled warmly, setting down a bottle of cold water for Ruby. "The people know who really won tonight, Ruby."

A genuine, relieved smile finally broke through Ruby’s tear-stained face, her chest relaxing as the weight of the loss lightened. "They... they really liked it?"

"They loved it," I said smoothly, resting my arm over the back of the sofa behind her. "Which means the stage is set."

Ruby turned to look at me, her curiosity piqued, her hyper-imaginative brain instantly catching the shift in my tone. "The stage? Wait... you said back at dinner that you had a trick up your sleeve..."

I leaned forward, swirling the glass in my hand, a cold, calculating smirk settling on my face.

"It’s time to execute the plan," I said, looking around at everyone on the bus. "Starting right now, we are issuing mass copyright strikes and takedowns. We’re wiping every single video, stream, and clip of your live performance completely off the internet."

The entire bus went dead silent.

Chloe stopped scrolling on her tablet, her jaw subtly slackening. May almost choked on her drink, her head snapping toward me in total confusion, while Patricia just stared at me as if I had spoken a foreign language.

"Wait..." Ruby stammered, her eyes practically popping out of her head as her relief instantly turned back into sheer panic. "What?! Ethan, why would we delete the only thing proving I was better?!"

"Because that’s exactly what Quin Records expects us to do," I said, a slow, predatory smirk spreading across my face as the entire bus hung on my every word.

"If we play their game, we spend millions tossing money at social media to push your live performance, begging the public to validate you. And do you know what Quin’s PR team will do the second we start fighting for that narrative?" I looked directly at Ruby. "They’ll spin it. They’ll run headlines calling you an entitled industry plant throwing a tantrum over a trophy. They’ll try to drown out your talent with manufactured drama."

Chloe’s eyes narrowed as the strategic gears in her head instantly started turning. "You’re taking away their entire defensive counter-play."

"Exactly," I continued, leaning back. "We do the absolute opposite. We confuse them. We scrub every single frame, audio rip, and fan record of that performance off the face of the internet under strict copyright enforcement. We make it completely unfindable."

May raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Okay... but wouldn’t that just make people forget?"

"Not a chance," I smiled coldly. "That performance was, without a doubt, the single greatest vocal display of the decade. By ripping it away from the public right when the controversy is at boiling point, we create absolute scarcity. People always want what they can’t have. The internet will go feral looking for clips, driving the demand into the stratosphere."

Patricia gasped softly, catching on. "They’ll think the label or the award show is trying to censor her..."

"Precisely," I said, my voice dropping into a decisive tone. "Quin Records will take the bait. They’ll assume we took the videos down out of shame or legal pressure, and they’ll start running press pieces trying to debunk your live vocals, claiming it was pre-recorded or heavily edited by the venue."

Ruby sat up, her violet eyes wide, completely captivated as my plan laid itself out. "And then?"

"And then," I chuckled, a dark glint in my eyes, "the second Quin Records publicly commits to calling your performance fake... we drop the unedited, raw soundboard audio of the entire live performance directly onto every major streaming platform as an official single."

Ruby’s eyes sparkled with absolute awe, her jaw dropping as she processed the entire trap. A sudden, breathless laugh escaped her lips, all the lingering sadness instantly vanishing.

"That... that might actually work," she whispered, looking at me like I’d just rewritten the laws of physics. "Ethan... you are an actual genius. A evil, brilliant genius!"

"I try," I smirked smoothly, shifting my gaze toward Chloe.

Chloe was already tapping away on her tablet, her legal and executive brain instantly calculating the copyright execution, media embargoes, and distribution timelines.

"Chloe," I said, my voice quiet, decisive, and commanding. "I need you to handle the heavy lifting on this. Work directly with Ruby’s manager. Issue absolute cease-and-desists, hit every streaming site, social platform, and re-upload with immediate takedowns. Clear the board before morning. Can you do that, babe?"

Chloe looked up from her screen, her dark eyes flashing with a mix of fierce competence and effortless warmth. A subtle, sharp smile touched her lips as she leaned over and gave my shoulder a lingering squeeze.

"Consider it done," Chloe said smoothly, her voice laced with absolute certainty. "For Ruby, I’ll have the lawyers and distribution teams working through the night. Not a single second of that performance will be left on the public internet by sunrise."

May leaned back against her seat, letting out a low, dangerous laugh as she cracked her knuckles. "Man, I almost feel bad for those Quin Records suits. They think they just won a trophy, but they’re walking straight into a landmine."

Patricia smiled softly, setting a warm cup of tea in Ruby’s hands. "It’s going to be something legendary to watch."

I leaned back into the plush leather sofa, wrapping my arm firmly around Ruby as she nestled tightly into my side, her heart no longer heavy, but racing with pure anticipation.