Jasper Jennings was slightly taken aback, not understanding at first why Sean Shaw had suddenly brought up Ryan Shaw.
But his professional instincts kicked in, and he subconsciously searched his memory. His mouth answered before his mind could fully catch up: "According to the plan, it should be within the next few days."
Only after he spoke did he recall that before Frey’s summer auction, Ryan Shaw had gone to great lengths to recommend this painting to President Shaw.
The father and son rarely exchanged more than a few words unless it was about business.
But to recommend this painting, Ryan Shaw had hounded Sean Shaw for quite some time.
He’d resorted to every excuse in the book.
Whatever the process, the result was that Sean Shaw paid an astronomical price for the painting, and the artist, Kiana Sterling, was catapulted into the spotlight. But now, at today’s crucial event, she had made a colossal mess of things.
Wait a second...
’Ryan Shaw is the young master of the Shaw family. If he was the one who pulled some strings...’
’Then this current situation is exactly what he wanted to see.’
’Or rather, he orchestrated the whole thing.’
’Does President Shaw really not know?’
’Or did he give his tacit approval?’
’If he did...’
Jasper Jennings glanced at Sean Shaw, his expression unreadable.
He had originally planned to have the PR department intercept all negative press about today’s ceremony, but now, he wasn’t so sure.
Jasper Jennings asked, "President Shaw, should we try to suppress the news about today?"
Sean Shaw poured himself a cup of freshly brewed tea. He didn’t answer directly, saying instead, "When his assignment is over, have him come straight to Jandor. He can clean up his own mess."
"Yes, President Shaw."
’So he’s just going to let it happen...’
The result of the Shaw family’s inaction was that videos of the unveiling ceremony quickly appeared online.
Even without paid trolls and marketing bots, the highly dramatic scene quickly caused a huge stir online.
Hashtags like #KianaSterlingSeaMist, #SHEISALIAR, and #KianaSterlingLiar quickly shot to the top of the trending lists.
The last time Kiana Sterling trended, it was for her engagement party with Ethan Rhodes.
The time before that, it was for the romantic proposal on a beach in Lumina.
And the time before that was when the sale price for *Sea Mist* broke records, earning Kiana Sterling the prestigious title of a "beautiful and talented genius artist."
Now, just two short months later, a scandal like this had erupted.
The popularity of the hashtags showed no signs of slowing, continuing to climb higher.
But soon, people noticed that despite their high popularity, the hashtags about Kiana Sterling had mysteriously vanished from the trending lists.
Just as the online onlookers were lamenting the power of money, the hashtags mysteriously reappeared.
Seeing this, some couldn’t help but wonder if the social media platform was bugging out.
Only a select few who had glimpsed the truth knew that two opposing forces were at play.
One side was trying to kill the topic’s popularity and make the whole affair fade from the public eye.
The other, however, had no intention of letting them succeed.
That was why the hashtags kept reappearing after being taken down.
As they were all in the same boat, Jonathan Rhodes and Gavin Sterling were both using their resources to suppress the story’s popularity before deciding on their next move.
The only thing they felt fortunate about was that Sean Shaw, the man who had been ripped off, had not yet made a statement.
If Sean Shaw were to come forward and cry foul at this point, Kiana Sterling would be unequivocally doomed.
So, after making their arrangements, both Jonathan Rhodes and Gavin Sterling tried to schedule a meeting with Sean Shaw.
But his secretary simply said that President Shaw was unavailable and told them to wait.
When they asked how long, the secretary replied that she didn’t know.
’Just how long are we supposed to wait?!’
With everything that had happened, Madeline Jennings was already deeply unsettled, and to make matters worse, Kiana Sterling had fainted.
While the men handled the public-facing issues, Madeline Jennings was at the hospital waiting for Kiana to wake up.
But before Kiana could wake up, Yolanda Thorne arrived.
She was furious, feeling utterly deceived.
Before, she had thought the world of Kiana Sterling, but now, everything about the girl grated on her nerves.
Looking at Kiana Sterling lying there, pale and unconscious, Yolanda Thorne cursed inwardly, ’What a jinx!’
Yolanda Thorne dropped all pretense of civility. The moment she saw Madeline Jennings, she demanded, "Madeline, what exactly is going on with Kiana’s painting? Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?"
Normally, Madeline Jennings would have humored Yolanda Thorne, but she was in a terrible state herself and had no patience for it.
She retorted irritably, "What else could it be? Someone is obviously jealous of Kiana’s success and set this whole thing up. Yolanda, what are you implying with that question? We’re family now, all in the same boat. How can you doubt Kiana!"
Yolanda Thorne didn’t care about saving face; she needed to know the truth.
If Kiana Sterling really was a time bomb, it would be best to cut ties now before she and Ethan were officially married.
Her greatest fear was that Madeline Jennings and Kiana Sterling had been deceiving her from the start, and she wouldn’t let them drag her family down into the mud with them.
Yolanda Thorne sneered. "Forget all this talk about doubt. I’ll just ask you one thing: Did Kiana paint that picture or not!"
Madeline Jennings trembled with rage. "Of course she did! Yolanda, Kiana is your future daughter-in-law! How can you doubt her!"
Yolanda Thorne watched Madeline Jennings panting heavily, wondering if it was from anger or a guilty conscience.
She stared at Madeline Jennings for a moment before saying, "It had better be true. And Madeline, don’t blame me for not warning you. Our families aren’t officially in-laws yet. If you’re lying... Hmph, you’ll face the consequences!"
With that, she shot a glance at Kiana Sterling on the hospital bed and left without another word.
Madeline Jennings was so angry her chest ached.
But a sliver of guilt gnawed at her, preventing her from storming after Yolanda and insisting on her daughter’s innocence with righteous conviction.
Not long after Yolanda Thorne left, Kiana Sterling slowly stirred awake.
Seeing her precious daughter finally awake, Madeline Jennings finally felt a sense of relief.
"Kiana, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"
Kiana’s eyes immediately turned red again. She reached out to Madeline Jennings, who quickly took her hand and soothed her, "It’s okay, Kiana, it’s all right. Your father and your brother will make sure that person pays."
Kiana looked up, her eyes red. "Mom, it was Stella. It must have been Stella... She still blames me..."
Madeline Jennings’s heart sank. Her first instinct was that it was impossible.
But the moment Kiana’s tears fell, her own heart ached for her.
She quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe away her tears. "There, there, Kiana, don’t cry..."
"Mom, don’t you believe me either?"
Kiana’s voice was weak, barely a breathy whisper.
This made Madeline Jennings’s heart ache even more. "Of course not," she said hurriedly. "Of course Mom believes you!"
Kiana looked at her and said through her tears, "Mom, Stella was here today. She never wanted to see me before. A couple of days ago, I went to Lanthos Bay to find her, and she threw me out of her house. But today, she showed up. She... she came just to watch me make a fool of myself..."
’Madeline Jennings had always known her younger daughter had a difficult personality. For Kiana to say this...’
’It wasn’t entirely impossible.’
’But...’
"Kiana, of course Mom believes you, but this whole thing has blown up. If Mr. Shaw decides to investigate, it will definitely affect you."