Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase

Chapter 834:

In no time, a few pictures surfaced.

Sadly, most were blurry or snapped from afar. The faces were unclear, making it nearly impossible to say for sure whether Maia’s painting matched.

“Is this seriously all we’ve got?” Alice asked, her voice tight with worry as she looked out over the crowd, speaking to the collectors and art scholars around her.

Kiley gave a sharp, dismissive laugh through her nose. For a brief second, she had worried Maia might actually pull off a comeback. But now, it looked like that fear had been for nothing.

If no sharper images turned up soon, Maia didn’t stand a chance.

A self-satisfied look crept back onto Mariana’s face. With a sly grin, she threw a glance at the judges. “You’re not seriously thinking of basing your verdict on these fuzzy snapshots, are you?”

yet, Mariana!” Alice snapped, her tone cutting. “With this many artists and collectors in one place, someone has to have a proper, up-close

smirked. “Then I look forward

came to me! Sophia once gave money to the Gascoyne Museum. And whenever

words instantly sparked a buzz of excitement among the

his fists tight. He had never dared to hope that he might

her voice sharp with urgency. “Call

his phone and started dialing. He turned toward the audience and reassured them, “Don’t panic, folks.

a pointed look at Mariana, clearly replying to her earlier jab. “Miss Cooper, rest assured — we will use only the clearest, most definitive

𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝘢𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝗲𝗹𝘀﹒ⅽ𝗼𝗺

took his time

She gave a sharp scoff and turned her back. “You’d better have those photos,

betrayed her — they trembled, revealing the nerves she was trying hard