Chapter 943:
“Well, what we need is for you to verify if this painting is genuine,” Margot replied candidly. “If it is, then yes—it has been restored.” She herself could not determine the truth and would place her trust in a master’s judgment.
“Alright, alright! I’m almost there! Margot, please wait for a moment,” Magnus insisted, the urgency in his tone betraying his fear of missing the moment.
“Rest assured, we’ll all be waiting,” Margot said before ending the call. Turning back to the assembled guests, she offered a serene smile. “Kindly exercise some patience. Magnus will be here shortly, and then we’ll have clarity.”
The guests fell into a restless hush, though inside they simmered with anticipation. It felt as if unseen claws were raking at their hearts, each drawn-out second an exquisite torture. They longed for Magnus to appear at once and deliver his verdict.
Yolanda leaned against Brendon with practiced docility, her eyes glimmering with secret satisfaction. She was already savoring the thought of Christina’s upcoming disgrace. To pass off a forgery in such company—what folly. Once Magnus exposed her deceit, Christina would not have the dignity to remain at the banquet.
Then, cutting through the low hum of the room, came a loud and formal announcement. “Mr. Cruz has arrived!”
All eyes in the room turned toward the figure stepping into the banquet hall’s entrance.
Magnus stood in his tailored suit, radiating an unshakable authority. Though he made no deliberate motion to lift his chin, the rigid line of his spine spoke of an innate dignity—aged by time, yet still undimmed in splendor. His eyes were like the midnight sea—deceptively still, yet concealing treacherous currents that could sink even the mightiest galleons.
The corners of Katie’s mouth curled into a smirk. In her mind’s theater, she already saw Christina’s disgrace amid the shocked gasps of the crowd and the cutting whispers swirling like smoke around her shattered pride.
𝖀𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖉 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊: g⍶𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀ꞏ𝖼𝗈𝗆
Beside Katie, Brendon held Yolanda in one arm while the other hand tightened into a fist before he realized it. It struck him then that Christina had been ungrateful, yet he was still foolishly worrying that she might be humiliated before everyone. He should not react like this.
A knot of worry began to coil in Brendon’s chest, tangling his thoughts into restless disorder and leaving him deeply unsettled.
Meanwhile, Dylan kept his eyes fixed on Christina. At the sight of her calm composure, the faintest curve tugged at the corner of his lips. She had always carried herself with effortless grace, radiating a confidence that commanded attention, her presence imbued with an allure impossible to ignore.
Paying no heed to the other guests, Magnus strode straight toward Margot and asked with urgency, “Where is that oil painting?”
“It’s right here, Mr. Cruz,” Lola interjected as she carefully lifted the piece from where it rested.
Through the mounted frame, Magnus caught sight of the Half-Faced Warrior—the very work he himself had failed to restore—and his eyes widened, unable to hide his astonishment. “This…” His voice faltered, overwhelmed, as he leaned closer to examine it with unblinking focus.
He studied it with painstaking care, his gaze missing not a single brushstroke. The more he looked, the more his excitement swelled. Magnus’s expression remained outwardly composed, yet beneath that still surface surged tempests strong enough to overturn fleets.
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