Cecilia finally smiled. “So, you’re saying this is one of your early works?”
“Yes. What about it?” Sarah frowned, an odd feeling creeping into her chest.
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That was exactly the public admission Cecilia had been waiting for.
She waved her hand, and another painting was brought out.
“Then what about this one? Did you paint this too?”
The room had grown crowded by now. As Cecilia finished speaking, she signaled for the painting to be unveiled.
Sarah’s face went white the second she saw it. She took a staggering step back.
Ariel stared in stunned silence as well.
Because the piece Cecilia had just unveiled was none other than “Into Stillness“, the long–lost bottom half of Elena’s two–piece series.
All this time, aside from the series piece Jayson had bought overseas for tens of millions of dollars, there had been no trace whatsoever of “Into Stillness“. So how did Cecilia get her hands on it?
The missing half was the key to destroying Sarah once and for all.
Elena had promised Halread University two paintings–the top half, “Dawnstay“, and the bottom half, “Into Stillness“. But only the top half was ever delivered. The other had mysteriously vanished.
Left with no choice, Elena created a new painting in a similar style and was planning to submit it as her graduation project.
But right at that moment, the plagiarism scandal erupted. Sarah accused Elena of copying her piece “Delusion” because Sarah had submitted hers earlier.
And with that, Elena’s reputation was ruined. She never got the chance to clear her name, even at the end. That slanderous series piece haunted her all the way to her grave.
Nancy shot to her feet, her expression shifting in an instant. She turned sharply toward Sarah.
Sarah’s mind went completely blank. She had only moved Elena’s “Into Stillness” recently. She had deemed it unthreatening and stored it away to gather dust in a small gallery she had purchased after returning to the country.
She figured she would deal with it eventually, or maybe never. She could let it rot in the dark while her own work glittered in the front hall, praised and admired.
It symbolized the stark contrast between how things ended for her and Elena. How did it end up with Cecilia?
“What’s the matter? Did you paint this? Funny how he composition of this ‘Into Stillness‘ is
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identical to your ‘Delusion.“” Cecilia looked at Sarah with a sneer.
Sarah’s expression nearly cracked, but she still forced a reply. “Of course-”
After all, Elena never got the chance to sign “Into Stillness“.
Elena was already gone. So who could stop her if she said it was hers?
“That’s my mother’s painting!” Ariel couldn’t take it anymore. Sarah’s shamelessness was beyond shocking.
She stepped forward slowly. Her eyes were fixed on Sarah’s paling face. Her expression was cold as she said, “This is the work of my mother, Elena Walker. It was created during her time at Halread University. It’s a part of a two–piece series. Mrs. Stanton, has it felt good, stealing all this time?”
The whole room practically exploded.
The crowd today wasn’t just made up of random visitors. Many influential figures from the art industry were present as well.
And they had just been served the juiciest scandal imaginable.
Every face turned toward Sarah in disbelief.
Sarah was actually a plagiarist?
The reporters who had just been interviewing her instantly spun their cameras toward her pale face.
A high–profile event like this had just exploded with a scandal this big.
Even Jayson turned his gaze toward Ariel, who now stood at the very center of the unfolding chaos.
Matt, Perry, and Frederick all looked like they had been hit by a truck.
Nancy’s heart dropped. She spun toward Ariel and said sharply, “Ariel, if you’re here to cause a scene, I’ll have no choice but to have you escorted out!”
She held back just enough not to use the word “thrown“.
Cecilia hadn’t expected Ariel to be involved in this.
But…
She turned toward Nancy and narrowed her eyes. “This is my art museum. I don’t allow filth in here. Who gave you the idea you could play queen in my house?”
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