Chapter 481
Veyo Solutions was suddenly flooded with attention again.
Ariel knew they had already signed several new collaborations, but she didn’t care.
Veyo Solutions had the talent and money. Its growth was inevitable.
What lingered in her mind was the painting.
The next day, Ariel finally received the official announcement for Sarah’s upcoming art exhibition.
The organizers had released a confirmed time and location It was set for exactly one week from now.
That was bold.
Ariel hadn’t expected them to move it up by so much. She glanced at the venue address and immediately recognized it as Cecilia’s art museum.
So Nancy really did manage to book it.
At the same time, Ariel received a call from Katie.
The latter rarely lost her composure, but now, her voice was trembling. “Is Sarah Moore back?”
Ariel’s eyes narrowed. “Grandma, how did you…”
Katie’s voice wavered as she replied, “Someone came today to deliver an invitation. It was from Sarah. Said she’s inviting me to her art exhibition.”
And Sarah even had the delivery person tell Katie, “Maybe when you see one of my paintings, it’ll remind you of Elena. It’s a way to feel connected to her.”
Katie shook with rage.
Sarah was Elena’s best friend back then. Elena had sponsored her, opened doors for her, and even let her live with them to save on rent.
But Sarah was nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Right before graduation, she had accused Elena of plagiarism, which nearly cost her degree. And now she had the nerve to come back?
Ariel’s gaze turned to ice.
This time, Sarah had quietly delivered the invitation straight into Katie’s hands. Her intention was obvious.
But Ariel couldn’t let her anger show. She steadied her voice. “Grandma, don’t get worked up. She’s not worth your health. I’ll visit you later. I’ll handle this, I promise.”
Once she had calmed Katie down, Ariel’s face hardened completely.
Were Sarah and Nancy using this whole exhibition to settle a score and get revenge?
Ariel quickly gathered her things and made a swift trip back to her family home.
Thankfully, Katie had weathered worse and was still composed.
But this was Ariel’s line in the sand. She took some time to look through the house for a few of Elena’s remaining paintings.
Many had already been sold. Only three fairly complete pieces were left at home, along with one from a series that
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Jayson had previously helped her retrieve.
She also organized most of the draft sketches.
Every artist had a unique fingerprint in their work. Sarah had been in the industry for years, and with Elena gone, it was inevitable that Sarah would fully claim Elena’s style
as her own.
Sarah had plagiarized part of Elena’s early pieces, which Elena had created while she was still a student at Halread. However, the painting that catapulted Sarah to fame was Elena’s graduation project–a two–piece series.
Halread University still held one of them, though it was now locked away in their archives, off–limits to the public and never loaned out for exhibitions.
No one knew where the other piece was. Artel had spent years trying to trace it but came up empty–handed.
At least Jayson had managed to help her retrieve another painting from a series that Elena had created based on her two–piece series. That was the very piece Sarah had once accused Elena of plagiarizing. Now, that painting could finally be put to good use.
That was why Ariel was determined to buy back the painting Sarah had plagiarized from the missing piece of Elena’s graduation project.
She planned to visit Halread University someday to compare it with the archived piece and use the series piece as further proof to finally clear Elena’s name.
Back in those early years, everything about Sarah’s work–from the themes and style to the color palettes and compositions–was almost indistinguishable from Elena’s
