Chapter 91

Vincent Langley narrowed his eyes as he studied Julian Roscente. The young man seemed like easy prey.

Compared to the troublesome Adrian Valentine, Julian was soft as putty.

Ever since Adrian had gotten close to his daughter, Vincent had been watching him carefully.

That man wore a gentle facade, but his sharp gaze betrayed his true nature. Though attentive to Isabella, he always kept her at arm's length.

Julian was different—well-connected and naive. Pity Isabella showed no interest in him.

His daughter was determined to marry Adrian.

Vincent knew Adrian would be difficult to control. He sighed inwardly. But Isabella loved him.

After all, Adrian was...

Vincent's expression darkened suddenly. He turned to Julian. "I heard your auction house sold a painting last month. Do you know who bought it?"

Julian blinked. That particular painting had fetched an astronomical price—he still remembered nearly fainting from excitement.

"You mean the Renaissance Masterpiece?"

Vincent nodded eagerly. "Yes! That one. Who bought it?"

After four years of searching, he finally had a lead.

That painting was his ticket to unimaginable wealth.

Julian frowned at Vincent's intensity. It was just an ordinary painting, wasn't it?

The artwork had been strange—neither landscape nor map—so he'd decided to auction it off.

"Honestly, I don't know. It's been two months—the surveillance footage auto-deleted. All we know is a woman purchased it."

Vincent's face turned stormy.

"There must be auction records. Can I see them?"

Seeing his persistence, Julian led him to Grandelle Auction House.

When the manager pulled up the records, they discovered the day's data had been manually wiped.

"Mr. Roscente, our system was hacked. All transaction records from that day are gone," the manager stammered.

Vincent swayed, nearly collapsing.

His only lead—gone.

This proved the buyer knew the painting's secret.

He loosened his tie, chest heaving.

Julian was startled by his reaction. It was just a painting!

Vincent looked like he'd lost an empire.

"Wait—was Evelyn bidding that day?" Vincent asked suddenly.

If she'd bought it, the painting might be in her possession.

Given her connection to Alexander Durand, she always wept over related artifacts.

Julian shook his head. "No, she wasn't interested. She came for the Violette Diamond."

Vincent sneered and stormed out. He'd find another way.

After seeing Vincent off, Julian went to find Adrian.