Chapter 162
After ten minutes of careful examination, Uriah finally exclaimed, “This painting was finished only recently. There’s no doubt, it’s not an engine by
Mono.”
“However, this artist demonstrates exceptional skill and a profound grasp of Mono’s style. If this weren’t a copy of the privately held Snow At Dusk but an entirely original piece, even ! would struggle to authenticate whether it was Mono’s work or not.”
Countless artists had attempted to replicate Mono’s works, but while they might achieve a superficial resemblance, they failed to capture his essence Experts could spot a fake within ten seconds.
Yet this time, Uriah spent a full ten minutes scrutinizing the painting.
Liam stared at the stage in shock, instinctively glancing at Aria. Her donated lot hadn’t even appeared yet. He wondered. ‘Could this painting be hers
too?‘
Uriah turned to the auctioneer and asked, “Who donated this painting?”
The auctioneer checked the list and announced, “Aria Saxon.”
Someone scoffed, “How is that possible? She didn’t even go to school. Since when could she paint?”
A sneering guest muttered, “She’s a divorced woman who was thrown out by the Saxon family. How could someone like her possibly paint something this good? She must have bought it from someone else.”
The room buzzed with whispers, every word laced with disdain for Aria.
Logan and Zoe burned with humiliation and anger, and just as they were about to respond, someone beat them to it.
“Silence!” Martin’s authoritative voice rang out, instantly hushing the entire hall.
“Ms. Saxon contributed this painting. Whether or not she painted it herself does not diminish her goodwill in contributing to charity.”
A corporate executive standing beside her demanded loudly, “Aria, did you paint this yourself?”
His tone was harsh, practically interrogating her.
All eyes in the room turned to Aria.
Aria turned her head and snapped, “None of your damn business!”
The executive’s face darkened. Just then, Owen’s dry, nonchalant voice cut in. “Since when do donors need to disclose the provenance of auction items at charity auctions? Is this a new rule? Was there a memo I missed?”
The lady whose face had been treated by Aria retorted sharply, “There are so many auction items, yet you’re all just singling out Aria. Anyone would think she had some personal vendetta against your family!”
“People nowadays believe every bit of gossip they hear. What a bunch of petty busybodies!”
“Seriously! Who gave you the right to ask where the painting came from?”
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The executive hadn’t expected such fierce pushback. He immediately shrank into himself, not daring to utter another word.
“The starting bid is sixteen thousand dollars,” the auctioneer announced solemnly.
“I’ll bid 1.5 million dollars!” Selina directly raised the price a hundredföld.
Martin smiled faintly. “Ms. Grive, I’m not letting you have it so easily this time.”
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Chapter 162
Highest bid wins
Martin called out, “Three million dollars!”
Uriah also joined the bidding war, “Four million dollars!”
Uriah called out, raising the stakes, “Ten million dollars!”
The bidding grew frenzied as more voices joined in, swiftly surpassing the final prices of all previous lots.
Elena fumed, “Have they all lost their minds? Bidding so high for a replica?”
Hannah was equally perplexed. “Maybe they’re just trying to stick up for Aria. After all, she had a rough life.”
Zoe raised her paddle and declared, “Thirty million dollars!”
Whether or not it was painted by her daughter, Zoe was determined to buy it back.
Everyone was shocked. No matter how they thought about it, thirty million for a replica was not worth it. Almost no one continued bidding.
The crowd exchanged glances, whispering excitedly about the Saxon family’s situation. They had disowned Aria, yet here they were spending 30 million dollars on her painting, their own daughter’s work, of all things.
That’s just bizarre.
Martin didn’t have much to his name and was out of the running early on. Watching the numbers climb, he couldn’t help but wish he’d saved more over the years.
Just as the crowd expected the bidding to close at 30 million dollars, Owen smirked and called out, “Sixty–six million dollars!”
Kim frowned at him and said sharply, “Are you out of your mind?”
Owen replied coolly, “Not your money, anyway.”
Kim fell silent.
Kim wondered, ‘What’s with Owen? Why does he always have to go against them?‘
Logan’s face darkened. Zoe raised her paddle and called out, “One hundred million dollars!”
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