Chapter 162

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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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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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