?Chapter 941:


    “If you don’t have anything worthwhile to contribute, then keep your mouth shut,” Christina shot back, her eyes shing as she skewered Ynda with a sharp re.


    Ynda instantly assumed a wounded air, hershes lowering, eyes glistening with unshed tears as she leaned toward Brendon like a wronged child. Watching Ynda y the sweet, delicate victim and receive nothing but Christina’s ire, Brendon’s temper red.


    “Christina, what’s with the attitude?” he barked. “Ynda only offered a warning out of kindness. Do you have any idea what happens if you’re caught lying to the Scott family? How could you speak to Ynda this harshly instead of showing some due gratitude?”


    “Because I’m not brain-dead,” Christina replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “And I certainly don’t need her fake concern.”


    Christina had no trouble seeing straight through Ynda’s performance. That girl was pulling the good-girl act yet again, and fools like Brendon were the only ones buying it.


    “Fine. If you’re so sure it’s not a fake, I’ll be waiting to see how this turns out for you.” Brendon leveled her with a hard re before ncing down at Ynda beside him.


    When he saw the red-rimmed shimmer of Ynda’s eyes, sympathy pricked at him. He slipped an arm gently around her, drawing her close infort. “Don’t let it get to you. She’s going to pay for her arrogance soon enough.”


    “I just didn’t want Christina to upset Margot, that’s all,” Ynda murmured, her voice soft with an air of seemingly pure, unselfish intent.


    “I know,” Brendon said. “And if she does make a fool of herself, she brought this on herself.”


    Ynda kept silent, nestling further into his side, embodying the image of a fragile, wronged girl. To the onlookers, Christina now appeared as the aggressor—brazenly bullying the pitiable Ynda.


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    One man, visibly moved by the sight of Ynda’s tear-streaked face, rose to speak on her behalf. “Since Miss Jones is so confident her painting isn’t a forgery, I say we have Magnus himself verify it. Otherwise, it’s just her word against reason—and no one here is convinced.”


    As soon as he finished, others who already disliked Christina seized the chance to chime in.<fnbd58> Follow current nov?ls on f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fnbd58>


    “Exactly. Everyone knows the Half-Faced Warrior was in a terrible state. There’s no way it could look this wless now. Even Magnus—the legend of restoration—said it couldn’t be fixed.”


    “Yeah, I’m not buying it either. To repair something that damaged, you’d have to surpass Magnus’s skill. And no one has evere close to matching him.”


    “Mrs. Scott, please, have Magnus examine the piece. We’ll all ept whatever verdict he delivers.”


    At this, Margot hesitated. She truly adored the Half-Faced Warrior. When Kurt had first acquired it, she hadn’t pressed to take it from him out of respect for his collection. Now that it was finally in front of her—fully restored, no less—it had taken her byplete surprise. She found it even more breathtaking than when she first saw it years ago.


    The young woman in the painting, her hands gripping a knight’s sword, seemed almost to breathe—poised as if she might step right out of the frame into the room. It was spellbinding.


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