Chapter 432
Penelope shot a sharp glance at the vandals. They still looked unconcerned, clearly not grasping the gravity of the situation.
“Could you please give us an estimate of their value?” Penelope asked Professor Lee.
“An estimate? You mean…?”
“Of course. The people who destroyed these paintings will have to pay for them.”
At the word “pay,” the men began to look nervous. Two of them tried to slip away, but a look from Penelope sent the security guards moving to block their escape.
“That’s difficult to estimate. Ms. Edith’s piece Spring River sold for a hundred million…”
“A hundred million?” the leader’s eyes widened. “This piece of junk is worth a hundred million?!”
Penelope glared at him. Having already felt the force of her kicks, the man was wary of her, and his voice immediately quieted.
“I thought it was worth a few hundred at most.”
“A few hundred? Are you joking?” Professor Lee scoffed. “Ms. Edith stopped painting a long time ago, so very few of her works are in circulation. Two of her pieces are in museum collections, and her paintings have repeatedly set new records at auction. All things considered, each of these damaged pieces is worth at least two to three million.”
The price seemed reasonable to Penelope. She turned to the vandals.
“All together, that’s about ten million. So, are you going to pay up individually, or will you all chip in?”
The men were dumbfounded. Ten million. They wouldn’t be worth that much if you sold them by the pound.
“We… we don’t have that kind of money!” the leader exclaimed.
Penelope sneered. “No money? Fine. Then we’ll call the police.”
“Don’t call the police! We were just…”
“My father bought these paintings. He hasn’t spoken, so who are you to speak?” Yvonne cut the man off, striding into the room and looking at Penelope with contempt.
Penelope turned to Donald. “Mr.
Bishop I’m sure you also want the people who destroyed Edith’s life’s W be severely punished, don’t
you?”
UM
Donald nodded. “Of course.”
“But they were only trying to defend original art and uphold their
Principles. It’s understandable
really,” Judy interjected quickly.
“But Ms. Edith didn’t plagiarize. She was framed,” Penelope countered, raising an eyebrow.
“They… they just misunderstood.”
“A misunderstanding? So Edith’s paintings were just destroyed for nothing?”
“It’s just a few paintings.”
“Besides, can they even afford that much money? We shouldn’t drive them to their deaths over a few paintings!”
The men nodded eagerly, insisting they couldn’t possibly pay and that forcing them would be a death sentence.
“So, let’s just forgive and forget.”
Penelope clicked her tongue. “I never knew you had such a generous and forgiving side, Mrs. Bishop.”
“If you can’t pay, then we’ll call the police.” Penelope took out her phone, ready to dial.
Yvonne aggressively shoved Penelope. “This has nothing to do with you! Why are you getting involved?”
Penelope pushed her back, making Yvonne stumble.
“Of course this has to do with me!”
“Oh yeah? And who do you think you are?” Yvonne sneered.
Donald also looked at Penelope, confused. “Ms. Laurier, I feel like
you’ve been overly concerned
Edith’s affairs
Penelope took a deep breath. “She… was my mother!”