Chapter 834
Chapter 834:
In no time, a few pictures surfaced.
Sadly, most were blurry or snapped from afar. The faces were unclear, making it nearly impossible to say for sure whether Maia’s painting matched.
“Is this seriously all we’ve got?” Alice asked, her voice tight with worry as she looked out over the crowd, speaking to the collectors and art scholars around her.
Kiley gave a sharp, dismissive laugh through her nose. For a brief second, she had worried Maia might actually pull off a comeback. But now, it looked like that fear had been for nothing.
If no sharper images turned up soon, Maia didn’t stand a chance.
A self-satisfied look crept back onto Mariana’s face. With a sly grin, she threw a glance at the judges. “You’re not seriously thinking of basing your verdict on these fuzzy snapshots, are you p>
“Don’t start gloating just yet, Mariana!” Alice snapped, her tone cutting. “With this many artists and collectors in one place, someone has to have a proper, up-close photo of Sophia p>
“Oh really?” Mariana smirked. “Then I look forward to seeing it p>
Out of the blue, Grover shouted, “Hold on! It just came to me! Sophia once gave money to the Gascoyne Museum. And whenever an artist made a donation, the museum kept a high-quality photo of them p>
His words instantly sparked a buzz of excitement among the crowd.
Chris, now bursting with anticipation, balled his fists tight. He had never dared to hope that he might get a clear view of his mother’s face again.
“Well, what’s the holdup?” Alice said, her voice sharp with urgency. “Call them already p>
Without missing a beat, Grover pulled out his phone and started dialing. He turned toward the audience and reassured them, “Don’t panic, folks. I’m reaching out to the Gascoyne Museum right now. They should have Sophia’s photo in their archives p>
After finishing his remarks, Grover shot a pointed look at Mariana, clearly replying to her earlier jab. “Miss Cooper, rest assured — we will use only the clearest, most definitive photos as the standard for judging realism p>
𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻
Right after that, he got in touch with the museum’s assistant and took his time laying out just how urgent the situation was, making sure that everyone could hear him.
Mariana’s expression froze. She gave a sharp scoff and turned her back. “You’d better have those photos, then p>
Still, her hands betrayed her — they trembled, revealing the nerves she was trying hard to hide.
At the same time, Kiley’s brow creased. Her thoughts were miles away. It had never crossed her mind that Chris’ biological mother had such a background. If this truth had surfaced back in the day, she thought, her grandfather Laurence, who was the family head at the time, would have had no reason to stop Nicola from joining the Cooper family. Their hopes in the art world could have taken flight ten years ago. So what on earth had really happened?
By now, it was obvious — her father, Kolton, had kept some things under wraps. He hadn’t shared the full story of what had really gone down all those years ago.
Moments later, a crisp, high-definition image lit up the gallery’s main display.
It showed a crowd from more than ten years back. A circle of artists was gathered around a striking woman in a pale lavender gown, a delicate scarf floating around her shoulders. She carried herself with a kind of soft elegance that quietly stole the spotlight.