SWNOVELS Chapter 140
Chapter 140
1. Aster?
The name sent a ripple of shock through the crowd gathered in the gallery. Eyes
wide with disbelief, they turned to look, wondering if it was the same renowned
artist they'd heard of.
Laurinda, however, was oblivious to the prestige. She hollered, “I don't give a
hoot of who he is. Fanny here is the president of the local art club, and she’s
declared this painting worthless. So what are you rambling on about, eh?”
Fanny, the mentioned art club president, wished for nothing more than to vanish
into thin air at that moment. But the more she wanted to escape the limelight, the
more Laurinda sought her out, “Where’s Fanny?”
Pointing at Fanny, she demanded, “Well, Fanny, what do you have to say for
yourself?”
Fanny's lips quivered; she couldn't muster a word and looked desperately
towards Mrs. Collins for help.
Mrs. Collins felt a surge of vindication. She'd always thought Fanny spreading
rumors about Mrs. Delaney was shady, and Fanny's recent comment at the
auction had pushed someone into an embarrassing spotlight, which
irked her.
This was her auction, a place where everyone showed respect. How dare
anyone stir up trouble here, especially against the family of Joy's beloved
Cordelia?
So, the usually diplomatic and capable Mrs. Collins, who never embarrassed her
guests, instead of smoothing things over for Fanny, slowly pronounced,
“Laurinda, Fanny might be the head of the Greenmeadow Art Association, but B.
Aster is the chair of the National Fine Art Association!”
That little piece of information was a revelation for everyone present.
Silence fell upon the gathering. Sanderson, too, was stunned by the turn of
events and was momentarily speechless.
Everard, on the other hand, turned around, his cool gaze sweeping across the
Miller family who had just scoffed at them, and casually remarked, “Yes, he was a
pawn we arranged.”
Ballaster was called in by Cordelia, so he was indeed a pawn, wasn't he?
To the Millers, the implication was mortifying! Who in their right mind could get B.
Aster to act as a pawn? The remark from the Delaney family’s son-in-law was
pure mockery!
Hearing this, Sanderson couldn't help but laugh, feeling even more satisfied with
Everard.
At this point, Laurinda continued to twist the knife into Fanny, “But why on earth
would Fanny say that? Their opinions couldn't be more different!”
Mrs. Collins turned to Fanny, saying, “Indeed, I'm curious too. Why is your
opinion so starkly different from B.
Aster's?”
Cordelia spoke up leisurely, “Fanny, I wonder why, if B. Aster has been searching
for the artist Lorn, you told him that Lorn had passed away?”
Ballaster, who had been admiring the painting “Lone Bluff,’ finally caught up and
frowned, “Fanny, you said you were Lorn’s roommate and that she had died, yet
here she is, alive and well. What's going on?”
Lorna was taken aback. Suddenly, she understood and stood up abruptly,
“Fanny, you've been against me ever since college. It's been eighteen years; why
are you still like this?"
Connecting the dots, the crowd began to gossip and speculate, quickly grasping
the situation.
“You see, Mrs. Delaney is actually an incredible artist!”
So, the story about her painting being pulled from the exhibition because of
bribery—that was spread by Fanny, wasn't it?”
Chapter 140
“She insisted that Mrs. Delaney’s painting was too amateurish, but B. Aster
recognized it as a masterpiece, looks like deliberate sabotage to me.”
“Poor Mrs. Delaney.”
“Mrs. Delaney hasn't painted for eighteen years; could it be because of Fanny's
oppression?”
The hurtful power of rumors was fully understood only by those who were
trapped by them.
Fanny clenched her fists, defiantly proclaiming. “Art is subjective. Some people
admire Van Gogh, while others do not care for his work. To me, this painting is
indeed subpar, not my cup of tea. Is there a problem with that?” Lourinda, who
had resented Lorna for years, eager to see her downfall, hastily added, “If this
painting is so good, why didn't it sell? What's the use of painting well? It's just a
bunch of worthless paper. Go ahead and cash it in-talk is cheap. They say it's
priceless, but no one buys it. What's the point of that statement?”
Before the echo of her words faded, a cool, deep voice spoke up, “1 million
dollars.”
Cordelia froze at the familiar sound. Along with everyone else, she turned to see
Everard raising his paddle.
1 million dollars... for a painting by an obscure artist?
Laurinda was dumbfounded, looking at Everard as if he were mad. Rachel
nudged her, “That's Lia's boyfriend.”
Laurinda scoffed, “He's just the owner of a small shop. Where'd he get the
money? It must be Sanderson's doing—just throwing money at Lorna to save
face. Do they think we're all fools?”
Then-
“$1.2 million!” another voice called out.
Cordelia, recognizing the voice, turned again in astonishment to see Louie in the
crowd, raising his paddle.
Laurinda was stunned.
“$1.5 million!” Ballaster, who hadn't yet left the stage, suddenly joined in,
“Actually, this price isn't high at all. The artistic conception of this painting is rare.
It will undoubtedly become Lorn’s most classic work.”
The auction staff were dumbfounded for quite a while. Just moments ago, the
painting that almost went unsold for a mere $50,000 had, in the blink of an eye,
skyrocketed to $1.5 million.
To put things into perspective, the highest bid of the day for any item had only
reached $1 million until now!
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With that thought, the staffer raised
“ . Pv)
the gavel, “Any further bids? If not, it's
. ap »
going to be sold for $1.5 million.” The
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the latest chapter there!
“One million five hundred thousand going once...”
From within the crowd, a voice called out, “$1.6 million!”
1. Aster had declared it a masterpiece, and thus, it was surely worth a few
million, perhaps even more.
The room's energy surged.
Louie lifted his paddle again, “$2 million!”
Another bidder joined in, “$2.2 million!”
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Laurinda was stunned by the
escalating figures; she swallowed
hard but maintained her composure
“ Pv
as she blurted out, “No way it's gonna
: ) Nh ”
go higher. What's next, $10 million?
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Louie wasn't backing down; he raised his paddle, “$2.5 million!”
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He seemed determined to have the
painting. As he called out $2.5
million, his gaze drifted towards a girl
sitting in the front row. The content is
on Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
Cordelia turned around, meeting his eyes. Typically reserved, she offered him a
slight, encouraging smile.
This little exchange did not go unnoticed by Everard, who was always watching
her. Cordelia’s smile was
Chapter 140
charming and confident.
With a lazy wave of his hand, he declared nonchalantly, “$10 million.”