Chapter 271: Prelude to the Identity Reveal

Chapter 271: Chapter 271: Prelude to the Identity Reveal

Seeing this, the faces of the restorers paled in shock.

"What’s going on? Why is there a new tear? Did someone puncture the core paper while lifting the backing with tweezers?"

"That must be it! Why else would a new tear suddenly appear?"

"We’re done for. This painting was already difficult to restore, and now it’s even harder..."

Miles Everett’s face changed as well. He shot a horrified look at Ophelia Warren. "Ophelia, did you..."

’I know for a fact I didn’t puncture the core paper with the tweezers. It could only have been Ophelia.’

’How could she be so careless!’

But before Miles Everett could finish, Ophelia Warren asked with a bewildered expression, "Mr. Everett, do you know what’s going on? Why is there suddenly a new tear?"

Miles Everett froze. ’Ophelia... What is she trying to do?’

"Mr. Everett, did you accidentally puncture the thin core paper with your tweezers just now?" Ophelia Warren retorted, her face a mask of innocence.

Miles Everett stood there, completely dumbfounded.

He knew perfectly well that he hadn’t been the one to damage it.

Only he and Ophelia were working on the painting. If it wasn’t him, it had to be her!

’No wonder her face suddenly went pale earlier! She panicked because she was the one who damaged the ancient painting!’

’But now she was playing innocent and shifting all the blame onto him? Making him the scapegoat?’

’How could she be so despicable!’

’Or... has she always been this kind of person?’

’Then that incident with the leaked recording that ruined her public image... it meant she really had wanted to hire someone to teach Sienna Everett a lesson. It wasn’t a misunderstanding at all... Not a misunderstanding...’

When the others saw Miles Everett remain silent, they assumed it was an admission of guilt and couldn’t help but voice their complaints.

"Miles, you’re a very experienced restorer. How could you make a mistake like this?"

"Exactly! Instead of restoring the ancient painting, you’ve damaged it further!"

"The damage is even more severe now. What are we going to do..."

Chief Ford was an imposing man to begin with, and his stern expression made him look even more severe. His sharp eyes fixed on Miles Everett.

"How could you be so careless! This ancient painting is slated for display at a state banquet, in front of a foreign president! With it in this state, we’ll be utterly disgraced in front of our foreign guests!"

"Chief Ford, please don’t worry just yet. Perhaps there’s a way to salvage it!" a tall restorer advised kindly.

"What way could there be?" another restorer said, fraught with anxiety. "This painting was already incredibly difficult to work on. Now with more damage, it’s even harder!"

"Right! How could this possibly be fixed? It’s beyond saving!"

"I do know one person who might have been able to fix this. He was a master at restoring ancient paintings."

"Who? Who could fix it? Out with it, don’t keep us in suspense!"

"Yes, stop beating around the bush! Tell us who it is! We’ll go invite them over immediately. Maybe there’s still time to save it!"

"There’s no point in me telling you. The person has already passed away. There’s no way to invite him!"

"What? Passed away? Oh, I know! You’re talking about Victor Tate, aren’t you? Mr. Tate was indeed a legendary restorer, but he’s already gone..."

"Sigh. If only Mr. Tate were still with us..."

Hearing the crowd’s chattering and the familiar name of Victor Tate, a wave of sadness washed over Fabian Vance. He couldn’t help but sigh. "Sierra, I agree. If only your grandfather were still here."

Sienna Everett lowered her gaze. ’Of course she missed her grandparents...’

Keith Sterling knew how close Sienna Everett was to her grandparents. Seeing her look so forlorn, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness for her.

Hearing Fabian Vance’s sigh, the chattering restorers all stared with wide eyes, their faces etched with disbelief.

"M-Mr. Vance, what did you just say? Mr. Victor Tate... was Sienna Everett’s grandfather?!"

"Mr. Vance, is that true? You’re not pulling our leg, are you?"

Fabian Vance frowned, annoyed. "Why would I lie to you? Sienna is Tate’s granddaughter—closer to him than a biological one!"

As his words fell, jaws dropped across the room.

Victor Tate... Sienna Everett...

’That was Victor Tate, the legendary master! His skills were at the zenith of the field, a name known to everyone in the industry. He was a monumental figure!’

’Sienna Everett... was actually Victor Tate’s granddaughter!’

’That kind of background was far more impressive than being some high-society princess or wealthy heiress!’

’And Sienna Everett had never once flaunted this connection. She was unbelievably low-key. This was the first time any of them had ever heard of it!’

It was no secret that Fabian Vance and Victor Tate were good friends. Back at The Azure Art Exhibition, Fabian Vance had mentioned being good friends with Sienna Everett’s grandfather, but no one had thought much of it. It turned out he meant Victor Tate all along!

’If the Everett Family knew Sienna’s grandfather was Victor Tate, they would surely regret disowning her until they cried their eyes out!’

At that moment, Miles Everett’s mind was in turmoil. ’Ophelia had actually shifted all the responsibility onto him, making him the scapegoat, forcing him to endure everyone’s blame and accusations...’

’It clearly wasn’t my fault, but now the painting was ruined, and I’m the one being reprimanded...’

’Her gentleness, her kindness—it was all fake! All of it!!’

’Sienna Everett had laid the truth bare before me once, but I hadn’t believed her. I hadn’t shown her a single shred of trust. How could I have been so foolish!’

Miles Everett closed his eyes in regret, his body trembling uncontrollably. He had just started to pull himself out of his remorse when he heard the discussion nearby—that Sienna Everett was Victor Tate’s granddaughter.

Miles Everett’s back went ramrod straight. ’What?’

’Sienna is Mr. Tate’s granddaughter?’

’When Sienna was living on her own, she was taken in by Victor Tate?!’

Sienna had never mentioned it, never flaunted it. Even he, a member of the Everett Family, was hearing this for the first time.

’No wonder... No wonder when I saw Whisperwind’s *Rivers and Mountains Like a Painting*, I was reminded of the late Mr. Tate...’

’Sienna must have learned traditional painting from Mr. Tate...’

Suddenly, a young restorer asked with an excited expression:

"Sienna Everett, since you’re Mr. Tate’s granddaughter, did he ever teach you about restoration? This ancient painting is so badly damaged now... if you know how to restore ancient paintings, could you help us?"

"Yes, exactly!" Another restorer’s eyes lit up, a spark of hope ignited. "Sienna Everett, as Mr. Tate’s granddaughter, do you know how to restore ancient paintings?"

Nearby, Ophelia Warren’s expression suddenly turned dark.

’Sienna Everett is Victor Tate’s granddaughter? With such an incredible background, and she never mentioned it once.’

’I always thought I was superior to Sienna, but in this respect alone, I was completely overshadowed.’

Ophelia Warren’s eyes were fixed on Sienna. ’I’ve never heard her mention anything about restoration. She probably doesn’t know how.’

’Heh. To have such a brilliant grandfather and learn nothing from him. How incompetent.’

At that moment, Chief Ford walked up to Sienna Everett. Unable to hold back, he asked her himself, his tone considerably gentler, "Young lady, do you know how to restore ancient paintings? Did you learn from your grandfather?"

Under the crowd’s fervent, expectant gazes, Sienna Everett gave a slight nod. "I learned from my grandfather."

Upon hearing her words, a look of delight flashed in Chief Ford’s eyes. He was about to ask more when Director Jarvis returned.

"Chief Ford, you’re here?" Director Jarvis asked, surprised.

"I came to check on the progress of the ancient painting’s restoration. As it turns out, there’s been a... situation. Now the painting looks like this!" The moment the damage was mentioned, Chief Ford’s tone grew stern again.

After hearing what had happened, Director Jarvis was shocked. He turned to Miles Everett and snapped, "This is outrageous! How could you be so careless!"

Miles Everett’s hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists. He gritted his teeth. "Director Jarvis, I wasn’t the one who damaged it. It was Ophelia Warren!"

An uproar swept through the room.

Everything Ophelia Warren had said and implied just moments ago pointed to Miles Everett being the one at fault!

Miles Everett explained, enunciating each word, "Director Jarvis, Ophelia Warren is the one who damaged the ancient painting. She knows how important it is and can’t afford the consequences, so she pushed the blame onto me to make me the scapegoat!"

Ophelia Warren’s eyes widened in a look of profound shock and hurt. "Mr. Everett, how can you say such a thing? How can you slander me like that?"

Miles’s eyes filled with scorn. ’How had he never noticed what a great actress she was!’

Director Jarvis glanced from Ophelia Warren to Miles Everett, then said in a low voice, "Alright, that’s enough arguing. Everything in this room is extremely important and has immense historical value. For that reason, the room is equipped with security cameras. We’ll check the footage, and then we’ll know who’s responsible."

At his words, the color instantly drained from Ophelia Warren’s face.

’This room... has cameras?!’

’This was my first time here; I had no idea!’

Hearing that there was camera footage, the others in the room stopped dwelling on the issue. They would find out soon enough whether it was Miles Everett or Ophelia Warren.

Chief Ford, however, was clearly more concerned with another matter. He looked at Sienna Everett with a kind and friendly gaze. "Young lady, you said a moment ago that you know how to restore artifacts?"

Sienna nodded.

Keith Sterling’s eye twitched. ’Why does it sound like the Chief is coaxing a child?’

Seeing this, Director Jarvis couldn’t help but chuckle. "Chief Ford, what kind of question is that? Of course Miss Everett knows how to restore artifacts!"

One of the restorers couldn’t help but ask, "Director Jarvis, you said you were bringing Winchester today. How is it that you’re by yourself? Where is Winchester?"

Director Jarvis spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "Winchester came in a long time ago. She got here before I did!"

Huh?

She’s been here this whole time?

Arrived before Director Jarvis?

Could it be...