Chapter 113: Noelle Lockwood, Apologize

Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Noelle Lockwood, Apologize

Seeing Mr. Morgan’s confusion, Noelle Lockwood assumed he simply didn’t know the full context.

"There is something you don’t know, Mr. Morgan," Noelle said, sighing as she put on a gentle and forgiving front. "Yara bought her *Purple Sun Mountain Residence Painting* from a shady dealer just to save money. Mine, on the other hand, was purchased from Jade Pavilion. Mr. Carter even invited many famous appraisers to authenticate it.

"When we first discovered there was a forgery, we already told Yara...

"But Yara stubbornly refused to believe it. She insisted on making a scene and calling you over for an appraisal, delaying the banquet. So..."

Although Mr. Morgan was deeply immersed in his appraisal career, he came from the Morgan family. Having lived for over forty years, he was no fool. This woman, Noelle, seemed harmonious and gentle, but every word she spoke carried a hidden implication: everything that happened today was Yara’s fault, and Mr. Morgan should definitely loathe her.

Mr. Morgan gave an enigmatic chuckle. "If that’s the case, the owner of the forgery should indeed apologize."

Iris Sloan’s lips tightened into a thin line as she looked at Nathaniel Sloan again. Nathaniel remained calm; he knew Estelle Lockwood could resolve this issue.

Iris furrowed her brows, silently cursing to herself. She wondered if her nephew knew how to woo a woman at all. But the most important thing right now was to resolve the current situation. If someone really had to apologize...

Before Iris could speak, Laura Jennings beat her to it. "Mr. Morgan is absolutely right! Our Noelle isn’t doing this for herself, but for everyone else. Who would want their time wasted just because of one person’s unreasonable behavior?"

A hint of smugness flashed across Noelle’s eyes. Looking as if she couldn’t bear it, she said, "Yara, just apologize. No one will hold it against you."

Estelle wore a faint, mocking smile.

Noelle looked helpless. "Yara, really... Mr. Morgan, what do you think we should do now?"

Mr. Morgan’s gaze was placid. Suddenly, he smiled. "Who said the person needing to apologize is Yara?"

A stunned silence fell over the room as everyone widened their eyes. They wondered what Mr. Morgan meant; if the person who needed to apologize wasn’t Yara, could it possibly be Noelle?!

Laura was the first to shout, "Mr. Morgan, you must be mistaken! Yara’s painting is the forgery!"

Noelle’s face paled, and she feigned a helpless look. "Mr. Morgan... forget it. I originally thought having Yara apologize would be for her own good..."

"When did I ever say Yara’s *Purple Sun Mountain Residence Painting* is a forgery?" Mr. Morgan abruptly interrupted.

Cold sweat suddenly beaded on Noelle’s forehead, and she could barely maintain her smile. She wondered what on earth this Mr. Morgan was talking about!

Laura’s smile froze as well. She awkwardly tried to flatter him, "Mr. Morgan, this... if Yara’s isn’t a forgery, could it be that Noelle’s is? That’s impossible! Please, don’t make such jokes!"

"I never joke," Mr. Morgan replied coldly.

Laura was dumbfounded, a bad premonition rising in her chest. "But... but just now you said you wanted to get to know Noelle. Doesn’t that mean you admire her?" She thought that if Noelle held a forgery, there was no way Mr. Morgan could possibly admire her!

"Admire..." Mr. Morgan chewed on the word before letting out an eccentric laugh. "Then Miss Noelle has misunderstood. I remembered your name, but not out of admiration."

A sense of foreboding washed over Noelle. She felt that if she let Mr. Morgan continue, something terrible would happen!

But Laura was already furious. Stripped of all the elegance of a wealthy society lady, she acted like a shrew. Without considering whether she could afford to offend the man in front of her, she put her hands on her hips and roared angrily at Mr. Morgan.

"Then why did you remember Noelle’s name! The appraisal results are already out, and now you’re changing your tune? Are you afraid people won’t know there’s something shady going on between you and that bitch Yara—"

"Laura Jennings!"

"Mother!"

"Laura!"

Iris’s face turned icy as Nathaniel and Ethan Sloan spoke up at the exact same time to interrupt her. Laura instantly felt humiliated. She couldn’t understand why Nathaniel and Ethan were stopping her when she was just trying to help Noelle!

Mr. Morgan shot a sharp glare at her. "So this is the caliber of Mrs. Sloan. How enlightening.

"I had originally planned to save Miss Noelle some face. But since Mrs. Sloan insists on getting to the bottom of this, I have no choice but to answer." Mr. Morgan suddenly smiled. He turned to Noelle and enunciated every word clearly. "Miss Noelle, I remembered you because I need to publish your name on the official antiques website."

Noelle’s face turned deathly pale as she desperately shook her head. She knew what Mr. Morgan was about to say, and she frantically told herself that it was impossible, that he couldn’t do this!

"Miss Noelle, the painting you presented is the actual forgery."

BOOM!

The entire banquet hall exploded into a cacophony of murmurs and gasps! Mr. Morgan was saying that Noelle’s piece was the fake! But wasn’t Noelle’s *Purple Sun Mountain Residence Painting* purchased from Jade Pavilion?

Mr. Carter was dripping in cold sweat. "Mr. Morgan, you can’t just spout nonsense—"

"Although the two paintings look identical, and the silk and pigments used are the same—not to mention the copying technique is absolutely masterful—there is still one flaw.

"The genuine *Purple Sun Mountain Residence Painting* is a thousand years old, and the pigment right here has faded."

The crowd looked over. Mr. Morgan was pointing at a spot of black ink.

"The *Purple Sun Mountain Residence Painting* was painted entirely with mineral pigments, which do not fade even after a millennium. However, this particular ink spot was accidentally dropped by the artist. Because it blended so seamlessly into the overall composition, the artist considered it a stroke of divine inspiration and decided not to remove it.

"The ink used for that spot is just ordinary ink, which naturally fades slightly over a thousand years. The forger only copied the appearance of the painting without understanding the creator’s state of mind or the events that occurred during the painting process."

After Mr. Morgan finished his explanation, everyone understood.

"If I can detect this, the twenty senior appraisers at Jade Pavilion can as well," Mr. Morgan said nonchalantly. "Yet, this painting was still put up for sale. Mr. Carter, you can explain that to the Kendrick family yourself."

THUD. Mr. Carter fell to his knees.

"As for Miss Lockwood..." Mr. Morgan turned his head, a half-smile playing on his lips. "Regardless of whether Miss Lockwood was aware of the truth, you were the one who blew this out of proportion. You requested the appraisal, and you were the one who complained about wasting everyone’s time. Apologize."

In an instant, the room fell dead silent. Mr. Morgan didn’t even need any flowery words; with just two simple sentences, he completely cornered Noelle. And wasn’t it true? She was the one who had confidently asserted that Yara’s painting was a forgery. She and Laura had played good cop, bad cop, trying to force Yara into admitting guilt.

Noelle’s face flushed red, then drained of color. Her body swayed unsteadily, and she found it hard to breathe. She was reeling from the realization that her painting was actually a forgery. Still, she stubbornly resolved that she wouldn’t apologize—she absolutely refused to apologize.

"This... Noelle was deceived too!" Laura panicked, entirely at a loss for what to do. "Nathaniel, you... hurry up and say something for her! You know Noelle is filial. When she heard Lucy Sloan liked this painting, she went and bought it. This isn’t her fault!"

In an instant, everyone’s gaze landed on Nathaniel Sloan.