The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power (by Emily Reed) novel Chapter 160

Chapter 160 Oliver Is My Senior

“Stop!” Alicia screamed, the sound sharp and raw, like she’d been stabbed.

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Still not satisfied, Lily flung the torn painting to the floor and ground it under her high heels, crushing it into filth.

“Look,” Lily said, hands on her hips, completely triumphant. “That’s what happens to a fake. Cindy, take your trash and get out.”

Alicia rushed forward, dropped to her knees, and gathered the stained fragments in her arms. Tears streamed down her face.

“You … you’re destroying a priceless treasure,” she cried. “This is real. My family owns a painting Mr. Silva gave us. The scent of the oil, the weave of the canvas, it is exactly the same. You’ve destroyed a masterpiece meant to last for generations.”

“Alicia, are you mistaken?” Lily frowned. “How could some fallen nobody possibly have an original by Oliver?”

“Exactly,” Lady Rose chimed in. “A child like you knows nothing about connoisseurship.”

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Cindy stood there, looking at the ruined fragments on the floor. There was no anger on her face. Instead, a faint, knowing smile appeared.

“If you don’t believe it,” Cindy said calmly, “then find a real expert to examine it. As it happens, I saw Baron Reynold smoking in the outer hall.”

Cindy’s POV:

When Reynold was ushered in, a cigar still hung from his mouth.

He was the most respected art appraiser at court and had corresponded by letter with Oliver for years.

“What is all this noise about?” Reynold asked impatiently.

“Father,” Alicia sobbed, running up to him with the fragments in her hands. “Please look. Mr. Silva’s painting was torn apart by them.”

Reynold froze and looked down at the pieces she was holding.

With just one glance, the cigar dropped from his mouth, scorching the expensive carpet.

“This… this…”

His hands trembled as he took the fragments. He pulled out the magnifying glass he always carried and carefully examined the weave of the canvas and the layering of pigment.

“Heavens above,” Reynold cried out suddenly, dropping to his knees. “This is Oliver’s Moonlight series. The colors, the atmosphere. This is unquestionably an original. An irreplaceable treasure. Who did this? Which fool dared to destroy it?”

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Chapter 160 Oliver Is My Senior

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

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Lily’s face went stark white. Lady Rose looked as though she wished the floor would open and swallow her.

“That’s impossible,” Lady Rose insisted weakly. “Mr. Silva never released this painting publicly.”

“Of course he didn’t.”

I spoke calmly, my voice clear. “Because this painting was given to me privately. Oliver is the one I studied with at the Imperial Academy. This was one of his practice works back then, given to me as a keepsake.”

“What?”

“Cindy is Oliver’s junior?”

The room erupted.

That connection was even more shocking than the painting itself.

“If you still doubt it,” I said, pointing to a corner of the fragments, “there’s Oliver’s personal signature there. You can compare the handwriting if you wish.”

Reynold immediately lifted his magnifying glass again.

“There is no need,” he roared, grief-stricken. “No one knows his hand better than I do. It’s Oliver’s, without question. Not only is it genuine, it’s a one-of-a-kind piece. You … you’re criminals.”

His beard trembled with rage as he shot a fierce glare at Lily and Princess Margaret. Without another word, he turned and stormed out.

“Utterly disgraceful. Is this the refinement of the royal family? To destroy art is unforgivable.”

Reynold’s departure left Princess Margaret and Lily completely humiliated.

The slap to their faces couldn’t have been louder.

I bent down and took the fragments back from Alicia.

“What a pity,” I sighed. “It was meant as a gesture of goodwill. Some people simply cannot recognize value. It seems that in the future, gifts should just be gold bars. At least those are something everyone

understands.”

Not far away, Queen Isabella straightened her back when she heard that.

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