Chapter 199

As soon as the words came out, everyone was stunned-cast and crew alike froze in shock. No one saw that twist coming. "But you used so many feathers, didn't you have to pluck them off peacocks or parrots too? What, just because kingfishers are rare, the others don't matter?" "Exactly! Harming animals like that is just wrong!" The crowd kicked up another round of criticism. Sabrina stayed calm and steady. She leaned into the mic and said, "Ever since my work made it to the finals, I've been sourcing feathers legally. I reached out to zoos and bird markets to collect dropped feathers. I even posted on bird enthusiast forums offering to buy shed feathers-there's a solid record of that online. Feel free to check." The reporters were suddenly quiet, scrambling with their phones. Sure enough, they found post after post of her buying feathers, with plenty of replies from people who had helped her out. Just like that, every reporter's dream of a big scandal went poof. They looked around at eac