“You stayed silent for ten whole years. What changed today?” Elliana asked softly.
Ethan stared at her, reverence clouded by sorrow in his gaze. “Because my sister just died.”
“What?” Gasps rippled through the room. The crowd and everyone on stage froze-staggered, silent, devastated.
Ethan’s voice cracked as he fought to keep it together. “Luciano’s kidnapping shattered her. After what he did with those photos, she was never the same. Her health spiraled. Then this morning, the doctor called. She didn’t make it.”
“She…” Ethan collapsed to his knees, shoulders heaving. “She would’ve turned twenty-six today.”
Ethan’s wails echoed through the room, wrenching sobs from the crowd.
“You monster, Luciano!” One man shot to his feet, seething, and hurled an object straight at Luciano.
That broke the dam-outrage surged through the crowd as they flung anything within reach, their fury erupting in a storm of vengeance. Luciano scrambled across the stage, flinching and dodging like a cornered rat in a circus ring.
Paige shrank into a corner as the uproar intensified. None of the flying objects were meant for her, yet the shame clung to her just as fiercely as it did to Luciano.
“Please-everyone, calm down! I’ve already notified the police!” Clement’s voice boomed over the frenzy.
Moments later, the police stormed in and escorted Luciano off the premises.
The chaos subsided, but as the competition resumed, all eyes turned on Paige-resentful, accusing. Just like that, she became the crowd’s new target
Luciano was hauled off by the police, with Ethan close behind, ready to cooperate in the investigation that was about to rip through the art world’s underbelly.
The grand event, however, had descended into chaos. The once elegant stage looked like a battlefield. Just minutes earlier, the furious crowd had erupted into a frenzy, hurling anything they could get their hands on-soda bottles, half-eaten apples, even a lone sneaker. It was open season on Luciano.
But the most wild part? Someone had thrown a diamond ring! Elliana stared at it where it had landed, glittering on the floor like a defiant symbol of excess. Whoever tossed that must’ve had money to burn.
After the storm passed, Clement took the mic, calm and composed, his voice anchoring the room. “I know you’re angry-and rightly so,” he said, sweeping his gaze across the furious audience. “But we can’t let one fraud ruin what this competition stands for. The show must go on.”
His words hit home. Heads nodded in agreement. These weren’t just spectators-they were oil painting fanatics, drawn here by the promise of brilliance. Especially now, with Rosa’s identity revealed and her masterpiece on full display, no one wanted the night to end in scandal. Some were already gearing up to bid on Elliana’s Lonely Sunset. This wasn’t just a painting. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Rosa’s work rarely hit the market-and when it did, even money couldn’t always secure it.
But as the competition resumed, there was one more entry left to face judgment. Paige’s Riding the Waves was next. And the room, still charged with energy, turned to watch her.
After settling the crowd, Clement turned sharply to the corner of the stage, where Paige hovered like a shadow trying to disappear. “Miss Jones,” he said, calm yet commanding, “please step to the center.” The spotlight shifted. So did the target of the fury. Until now, the crowd had been too focused on Luciano to notice Paige. But with Clement’s simple call, their anger swung her way.
“Paige is no different from Luciano!”
“Throw her out too! They were in it together!”
The backlash hit like a wave, and Paige felt herself drowning in it. Her jaw clenched. She wanted to scream. This wasn’t fair. She wasn’t Luciano’s lackey. At least, that wasn’t how she saw it.
They’d just used each other for leverage-mutual manipulation, not mentorship. Yet, here she was, dragged into the flames alongside him. Resentment surged in…
Her chest tightened. What burned most was the memory of being tricked into bowing three times to that ridiculous wax statue of Elliana. If she had known who Rosa really was, she would’ve rather bowed to a pile of trash. Now, as she lifted her gaze, she caught Elliana’s expression-amused, composed, almost smug.
That look scraped across Paige’s pride like a blade. The shame was unbearable. Hot tears welled up and spilled before she could stop them.
“I know you’re angry,” she said, her voice shaking, barely above a whisper.
“But don’t turn on me. Luciano fooled me too. I didn’t know…”
She broke off, choking back sobs. “I’m just-just another victim.”
“That’s right! Don’t gang up on Paige!” Haley’s voice rang out as she stepped forward, shielding Paige. “Luciano was brought in by the organizers to hype up Ublento’s art scene. Paige only trained under him because she’s passionate about painting! What’s she done that warrants this hate? Luciano’s the real villain here-Paige got caught in the storm.”
Her logic seemed solid, and for a beat, the crowd mulled it over. There’d never been much chatter linking Paige and Luciano before today.
The crowd’s fury began to flicker out, like a fire starved of oxygen.
Sensing the shift, Paige exhaled a sigh of relief discreetly, swiped away her tears, and stepped in close to Elliana with a forced grin. She wrapped her arm through Elliana’s, striking a sisterly pose. “Elliana, I’m shocked! You’re Rosa? That’s incredible! I’m so proud! As your sister, I mean it from the heart. You’ve got to teach me your secrets now-we’re family, right? You can’t say no!”
Elliana gave a sideways smile, thin and unreadable. She had to give Paige credit-the girl could pivot faster than a weather vane in a hurricane. Just a moment ago, Paige had practically been out for blood. Now Paige was clinging to her like a long-lost twin, acting as if the past never happened. Unbelievable.
Elliana gently slipped her arm free, no words, no fuss-just quiet dismissal.
Then, without warning, the massive screen behind the stage flickered to life. A video began to play.
Luciano, caught on camera, was shown handing a painting over to Merritt in a dim back room. The footage made everything clear-Merritt’s calculation, Luciano’s brown-nosing, and worst of all, Paige’s fake-as-hell antics and sly cooperation. The sound was crisp. The actions, damning. Gasps filled the air.
Seconds ago, the crowd had begun to cool toward Paige. Now? All hell broke loose. Rage poured out like fuel on a flame
“Paige, get off the stage!” someone shouted from the crowd.
The shout pierced the air, and in seconds, the whole crowd had taken up the chant, their voices rising in a unified roar, demanding Paige leave.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.