Chapter 509

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When Caitlin realized what she was seeing , she was stunned.
She stared at the woman in the painting, scrutinizing every detail of her expression and posture–especially her face.
Her hand flew to her mouth in disbelief, an overwhelming wave of emotion crashing over her.
“Federico! Are you sure this painting is by your friend Ashfall?”
“I’m sure! Though, when I first met him, he wasn’t very well–known,” Federico replied, curious about her reaction. “Why? What’s wrong?”
Caitlin blinked, her eyes reddening. “This woman… she looks like…”
The lump in her throat made it hard to finish the sentence. Her chest tightened as if stuffed with cotton, achy and suffocating.
Federico glanced between Caitlin and the painting, then guessed, “Honestly, I think she kind of looks like you. There’s a real resemblance.”
“No… not me… she looks like my mother…”
“Your mother?”
Federico turned back to the canvas, looking more closely. “Could it really be her? Why would your mother be behind barbed wire?”
Pain squeezed Caitlin’s chest. A heavy weight pressed down on her, and she struggled to hold herself together.
“I don’t know! But if I can find your friend, maybe he can tell me when and where he painted this. Can you reach Ashfall?”
Seeing her distress, Federico tried to calm her. “Don’t worry. I’ll try to contact him right away.”
Federico stepped outside to make the call. Meanwhile, Caitlin went to find Louis, asking about where the painting had come from.
Elsewhere in the gallery, Zora was preparing to leave with her friend when she spotted Connor walking in through the entrance. Just the sight of him brought back the tension from the previous night.
Not wanting another awkward encounter, she made an excuse and ducked into the restroom.
But Connor had already seen her–and he was here for one reason to find her.
He followed her, and when Zora entered the women’s restroom, he didn’t hesitate to go in right after her.
Seeing him appear, Zora’s eyes widened in alarm. “Connor , what are you doing? This is the women’s room!”
“I know, Miss Harris,” Connor said coolly, his gaze unsettling as he approached.
“I came here to talk to you.”
“What do you want from me?” she asked, frowning and backing away until she was pressed up against one of the stall doors.
Connor shoved her into the stall and locked it behind them. In the next instant, he was on her, kissing her hungrily.
Zora struggled to push him away. “What the hell are you doing? Are you insane?”
He grabbed her wrists, holding her in place. “Yeah, I probably am. Last night, I wouldn’t have lost control like that if you hadn’t put something in my drink. I wouldn’t have made a fool of myself, and Yasmin wouldn’t have broken up with me.
“I want to know—why did you drug me? Do you have a thing for me or something ? ”
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After investigating the hotel surveillance, Connor had learned the truth. Zora had tampered with his drink , and now he couldn’t stop wondering h30- done it out of jealousy? Was she secretly in love with him?
“Me ? Like you?” Zora scoffed. “You’re delusional! Let go of me!”
“Come on, don’t lie,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “You were sending me signals all night. Just admit it. Lucky for you–I kinda like you too
Then he kissed her again.
Déspite herself, Zora found her resistance fading under his aggressive advance. She couldn’t believe it–how had she ended up like this? After things ended with Abel, she’d been left with an empty space inside her.
And now, somehow, Connor was filling it.
Two people who should never have been involved had just become entangled in ways neither of them could undo .
Back in the gallery, Caitlin got the information she needed from Louis about the painting’s origin.
It had been purchased from a private general store in the capital city of Country A. The painting wasn’t acquired directly from the artist.
“Why?” Louis asked. “Are you hoping to connect with the artist?”
“Yes,” Caitlin answered vaguely. “I admire his work and would love to speak with him/”
“I see. I’ll get in touch with the store owner and see if he has any way of reaching the artist.”
“Thank you. Also, I want to buy that painting.”
“Of course. We can handle the paperwork shortly. I’ll have someone take it down for you.”
“Appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”
As Louis walked off to take care of it, Federico returned from his phone call.
“Well?” Caitlin asked quickly.
“No luck reaching him,” Federico said with a shake of his head. “I spoke to his family. They said he hasn’t returned to Country S in over a year. No one
knows where he is right now.
“But don’t worry. His family promised to contact me as soon as they hear from him. Just give it a little time.”
Caitlin felt a growing sense of frustration. This was going to be harder than she thought.
If she wanted to know whether the woman in the painting was truly her mother , she had to find Ashfall.
But how do you find someone who’s constantly on the move?
She thought of the barbed wire, the decrepit window, the haunting expression of the woman in the painting. Where had that image come from? Where was that building?
An idea sparked in her mind. “When was the last time you saw him?” she asked Federico.
“That would’ve been about three years ago. I was performing in Country A, and I happened to see him painting on the street.
“He’s a bit of a wanderer–never stays in one place for long. He spends most of the year traveling, painting wherever he goes.”
“A traveling artist?”
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*Exactly.”
“So… you’re saying he sells his paintings on the go, and when he’s low on money, he might sell them to anyone, anywhere ?”
“ That’s right. We talked about it.
It. That’s how he lives–free, spontaneous, always on the move!”
Caitlin felt like she was getting closer. “ The
in Country A.
if that painting ended up in a shop in Country A, he must have sold it there. That means it was likely created
“And if you saw him there three years ago, the painting was probably made around that time. My mother disappeared four years ago … so that would place the painting sometime in her second year of captivity.”
Her voice broke slightly at the end. She closed her eyes, overcome by grief.
Her mother had been imprisoned. God knows what kind of suffering she’d endured.
Her heart ached.
All Caitlin wanted now was to find her.
“Your reasoning makes perfect sense,” Federico said gently. “If I’d known what your mother looked like back then , maybe I could’ve asked him .
Ideas were spinning in Caitlin’s head, forming a plan. Then her eyes lit up.
“I think I might know a way to find him.”
“What is it?” Federico asked.
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