Chapter 5

The next day, Lyon sent a gift to the villa as an apology.

It was a set of diamond jewelry and an unsigned check.

Cecilia did not look at them. She told the housekeeper to lock them in the storage room.

She did not ask about the trust again and did not get angry about Gianna.

Lyon seemed to take her silence as a sign of compromise.

He stopped paying attention to the household. He spent his time wrapped up in Gianna’s world. Gossip about them appeared everywhere.

Gianna had risen from a struggling, small-time actress to the very top. News of her rise spread through gossip magazines and the family’s business circles. Nightclub managers, port agents, and a few longtime Melville associates whispered about how long Gianna could stay famous and how much her limited advantages were really worth.

But more than that, people remembered how Lyon had pursued Cecilia. He cleared every other woman from his life, settled disputes over her collections, and handed her the cleanest properties and accounts. Everyone in the Melville family knew that when Lyon loved someone, he bet everything. When he walked away, he left nothing behind.

The comparison struck Cecilia. It unlocked memories she had not expected.

She froze for a moment.

When Lyon had pursued her back then, he cut off every messy relationship. All of New Yorke had known that he loved her completely.

He raced through the streets for her and fought with people from rival families. He gave her everything he had.

So, when Margaret saved her mother and suggested that she marry Lyon, she had agreed.

Margaret said that only she could keep Lyon’s heart grounded. Cecilia had believed she was the exception. She believed she was the safe harbor that could finally give the wandering Lyon a place to stay.

Looking back, that seemed laughable.

She turned her focus back to her career. She returned to the private art consulting firm she had founded before her marriage. The firm handled antique restoration, private appraisals, and collection management for high-end clients.

In a few days, she would co-host a charity preview auction with a long-established Mahattan auction house.

This was the firm’s most important project of the year.

Cecilia had spent six months preparing for the preview. She flew to Rondon to secure authorizations from collectors. She invited museum curators and a highly respected actress from the collecting world to attend the event. Everything was meant to establish her firm in New Yorke’s high-end art circles.

That evening, the preview opened under the cold white light of the crystal chandeliers. After the host finished the opening speech, someone walked up the red carpet to the main stage. It was Gianna, dressed to the nines.

Cecilia froze for a moment. Her face went cold.

She could not storm the stage and interrupt the event.

Lyon was there too. He stood at her side while holding a glass of wine. Two family bodyguards, usually assigned to casino security, followed behind him.

Cecilia understood immediately whose plan this was. Her voice was cold as ice. “Lyon, why did you replace the opening guest I selected?”

“It’s just a preview. Anyone on stage can speak.”

He swirled his wine. His tone was calm and almost arrogant. “Gianna wants to raise her profile. The art world suits her better than a movie premiere. Letting her have a moment at your event is nothing. I already had the accounts at the Booklyn docks adjusted to cover the trust funds. Don’t make a scene and try to damage the Melville family’s reputation.”

Cecilia felt her stomach churn. She took a deep breath to hold back the impulse to confront him immediately.

The room was full of collectors, agents, and auction directors. She could not allow the preview she had spent six months preparing to collapse in front of everyone.

When it came time to introduce the key pieces, Gianna appeared uneasy.

She stammered through the description of a nineteenth-century oil painting and a bronze pocket watch. She could not even get the basic introduction right.

When a reporter asked about the restoration process, Gianna panicked and rambled, “Uh… I guess you just make it look old and then refresh it… It just has to look fancy…”

The audience immediately erupted in whispers.

A few experienced collectors looked at each other in disbelief. The auction director’s face went nearly red with anger.

The next moment, Gianna tried to cover up her mistake. She reached for the antique pocket watch in the display case. She fumbled and knocked over a glass of champagne that a server had just handed her.

The liquid ran across the display and soaked the corner of a classical oil painting that had just been restored. Chaos broke out instantly.

“Is she insane?!”

“Who let her touch the restored pieces?!”

“She can’t even tell the difference between valuable items! How could the firm let this person speak on stage?”

Gianna froze, and her face turned pale. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Lyon. Lyon had the bodyguards escort her off the stage. Then, he turned to Cecilia. His voice was calm, almost indifferent. “It’s her first time in a setting like this. Mistakes happen. I’ll cover the loss on that painting. The finance team will take the funds from the profits of the underground casino and the nightclub. Don’t make a scene.”

The plan to use this preview to connect with high-end clients was completely ruined.

Cecilia’s phone started buzzing nonstop.

The first message was from the auction partner. They accused the firm of violating the consignment agreement.

The second message was from the insurance company. They warned of increased risk and requested a new assessment of the damaged items. Soon after, several collectors she was negotiating with texted her saying that they wanted to reassess their cooperation.

Finally, her assistant sent her an urgent report. Three clients had requested to withdraw their collections. Two partner institutions wanted to terminate their agreements and reserved the right to take action.