Chapter 9 Plagiarism
The moment the light turned red, the cars behind started honking at Celeste in frustration.
She fired up the engine and slowly parked her car outside a cozy café. Once inside, she ordered a rich cup of coffee and then pulled out her phone, diving into the latest updates on Chloe.
[Chloe Sinclair’s new song ‘One and Only‘ drops with a bang.]
[Chloe Sinclair’s new track hits 100,000 likes, with over a billion plays.]
[Gorgeous Chloe Sinclair, with a voice to match, is stealing the spotlight.]
[Fresh photos of Chloe Sinclair just dropped.]
[Kingston’s own Chloe Sinclair reveals a behind–the–scenes video of her songwriting process.]
Celeste took a sip of coffee as she clicked on the video of Chloe composing.
In the clip, Chloe was dressed casually, sitting at the piano, playing and writing lyrics like it was second nature.
If she hadn’t stolen her own song, Chloe would’ve looked pretty cool in that video. But the reality? She looked like a total joke–embarrassing, really.
Celeste skimmed through the comments on Chloe’s posts. Every single one was a love fest, calling her a beauty with a voice that could melt hearts.
There wasn’t a single bad word, and it made Celeste wonder if these comments were just fake–paid bots to pump up Chloe’s image.
A sarcastic smile tugged at Celeste’s lips.
She grabbed her phone, logged into her composer account under the name Yesenia, and posted the lyrics and composition for “One and Only” with the permissions set to public.
Her account was pretty popular since tons of hit songs for top actors and singers were hers. Every song she wrote went viral, earning her the rep as a “golden composer.”
Looking at her one million followers, she couldn’t help but grin. She shared Chloe’s new song video with the caption: [This is my song, but suddenly it’s yours? I’m seriously considering taking legal action to set this straight.] Wanting to make sure it went viral, Celeste used her hacking skills to get it trending on social media.
In no time, the hashtag [Chloe Sinclair Plagiarizes Yesenia] was everywhere, blowing up like crazy.
Meanwhile, Chloe was at home celebrating with her parents when she got a call from her agent, Lachlan Stirling. “Lachlan, aren’t you supposed to be booking gigs for me? Why the hell are you calling me?” she muttered under her breath. Once the scandal about her hit the internet, it would be a miracle if those bosses didn’t drop her. And she still expected them to keep working with her? He thought it was downright laughable.
Lachlan’s angry voice came through the phone like a lightning bolt. “Did you see the news? Golden composer Yesenia just outed you for stealing her song!
“Your image as a rising star? Gone. Now you’re just known as a damn plagiarist! The boss is pissed, and they’re about to make you pay big time for breaching the contract!”
“What?” Chloe yelled, freaking out. “Lachlan, Yesenia is framing me! I didn’t steal her song!”
At this point, she was still lying to herself. Lachlan was seriously about to lose it at Chloe’s stubbornness. “Yesenia is a top composer. Do you really think she’d bother framing you, a complete nobody?
“And she’s got solid proof you ripped off her song! I checked the lyrics and the melody myself–they’re identical to yours, even the song title!
“And her release date was a full month before yours! The evidence is right there, plain as day!”
Chloe was speechless. ‘Wasn’t this song supposed to be Celeste’s original work? How the hell did it end up being credited to that famous composer?‘
When Chloe first heard it, she thought it was amazing and, without Celeste knowing, she took it for herself.
Back then, Chloe figured that even if Celeste found out, with her lack of power or connections, she wouldn’t dare make a scene. So, Chloe felt no guilt about stealing it.
Successfully unlocked!
But now? Not only was this song not Celeste’s,
Toe had str
Is Celeste trying to ruin my life on purpose? she thought bitterly.
giarized from the famous Yesenia.
Chloe gripped her phone, panic setting in, and said, “Lachlan, I’m sorry, I lied to you. This song isn’t mine Muciste
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Chapter 9 Plagiarism
“I had no idea it was plagiarized, and now it’s blown up into this mess. Lachlan, what the hell do I do now?”
Her career was just starting, and she couldn’t afford to have it all fall apart over this.
Lachlan could hear her crying on the other end of the line. He rubbed his temples, feeling frustrated.
He had always believed in her and didn’t want to see her crash now. “Since you say your sister gave you the song, then have a press conference. Get her to step up and take the blame.
“Let her own up to it and take all the responsibility. That’s the only way you can get out of this mess.”
“Will she agree?” Chloe wondered. “Even if she doesn’t want to, she has no choice–my career’s on the line.”
“Okay, I’ll contact my sister right away. Can you help me with the PR side of things, Lachlan?” Chloe said, desperate.
Lachlan agreed and hung up, immediately getting to work on managing the PR disaster.
Chloe’s parents had overheard the whole conversation. Her father’s face went dark as he asked, “Chloe, didn’t you say this song was yours?
“How the hell did it suddenly turn out to be from Celeste? And why the hell would she give you a plagiarized song? What’s her game?”
Before Chloe could answer, her mother cut in, “Honey, Celeste did this to ruin Chloe! We’ve treated her like family–fed her, clothed her, sent her to the best school in Kingston–and this is how she repays us. She’s pure evil.”
Chloe’s father hadn’t thought Celeste would do something like this, but after hearing his wife’s words, he started to think Celeste was intentionally trying to destroy Chloe.
He said, “That girl, even after leaving the Sinclair family, won’t let Chloe be. What the hell do we do now?”
Chloe bit her lip and, under her parents‘ watchful eyes, said, “Mom, Dad, calm down. My manager, Lachlan, says as long as my sister steps up and takes full responsibility for the plagiarism, I’ll be fine.
“But how do I get her to publicly apologize?”
If Celeste were still with the Sinclair family, Grant would have no problem making her listen, but since she was gone, it was a bit trickier.
Still, he figured if money’s involved, she’d have no choice but to go along with it. After all, she was back with her real parents, and they were probably broke.
So, he thought he could make it happen.
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