Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase

Chapter 476:

Melanie was in the same boat. Distracted by Ethan’s unexpected upset, she nearly threw her match away. Clenching her jaw, she vowed to pour every ounce of energy into finishing quickly. She wasn’t about to lose to Ethan, the bookish kid.

At that moment, even though Marisa and Melanie were facing different rivals, it felt as though they were up against the same opponent.

One after another, the five matches wrapped up, with Marisa and Melanie advancing.

The host then announced that Ethan, having finished his match the quickest, claimed the top spot among all the advancing contestants. That meant Ethan would skip straight to the finals!

The other four would battle it out one-on-one, and whoever came out on top would face Ethan for the championship.

The crowd erupted in wild cheers!

The quiet kid everyone had written off had pulled off an unbelievable upset. Not only had he defeated Varninski’s number one player, but he’d also secured a direct spot in the finals. So what had he been pretending for earlier?

From the stands, Maia watched everything with a pleased smile.

“My little brother-in-law’s something else,” Chris said, folding his arms and looking at Ethan with new respect. “That was a slick move, acting weak just to throw off his opponents. Even you and I fell for it.”noveldrama

Maia beamed quietly. So, Ethan hadn’t been lacking confidence before. He had played the role of the underdog on purpose, making others drop their guard. Then, when it counted, he struck hard and won decisively! Not only was he skilled at the game, but he also knew how to play the psychological game too. She had seriously underestimated him.

Meanwhile, Chris remembered the private message from “Winters” he had received earlier. Suddenly, a thought struck him. Could Ethan actually be “Winters”?

After winning her match, Marisa quickly yanked off her headphones and dashed over to Ethan, grinning as she playfully patted his shoulder. “You sneaky thing, hiding all those skills! When did you get so good?”

𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕔𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕖: 𝗀‎𝖺‎𝗅‎𝗇‎𝗈‎ν‎𝖊‎𝗅‎𝘀‎﹒‎𝖼‎𝗈‎𝗆

Ethan flinched from the sudden tap, rubbing his shoulder before looking up at Marisa with a grin. “I’m not that strong; my sister taught me well.”

“Your sister?” Marisa bit off the last piece of her lollipop, raising an eyebrow. “You mean Maia taught you those moves?”

Ethan gave a small nod. “Yeah, I’ve barely begun to tap into what I can do. My sister’s got way more talent than me.”

Marisa was stunned into silence for a few seconds. The massive display had just shown Ethan’s jaw-dropping gameplay all over again. Did he even realize how insane his skills looked? And now he was saying that his sister was even better? Unless she was ranked number one, who would believe that?

On the sidelines, Melanie had also made it through her own match, but her face was tight with anger. She threw a sharp look toward Ethan, grinding her teeth in pure annoyance. Since when had this quiet, book-loving guy turned into such a powerhouse? It was totally out of the blue. He had made it to the finals like it was nothing! Melanie felt like someone had hit her square in the face — her cheeks were blazing hot. After what Ethan had just pulled off, she no longer felt sure that she could beat him. And if she ended up losing, how could she face everyone back in Class One without feeling ashamed?

Melanie felt a heavy weight settle in her chest.

Still, she told herself that as long as she came out on top against Marisa, the day wouldn’t be a total loss. After all, the person she bet against was Marisa.

Clinging to that small bit of hope, she inhaled slowly and fixed her eyes on Marisa, who stood next to Ethan. Beating Ethan might be out of reach, but she had no intention of letting Marisa walk away with a victory. Otherwise, apologizing to Maia and Ethan again in public would be beyond humiliating — she’d never live it down!

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