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Chapter 10
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The Messenger's Silent Farewell Chapter 14
The next spring, my painting won the gold prize at the Paris Salon.The press called me "the mysterious poet of color from the Alps." Offers from major galleries poured in. The Zurich Federal Academy of Art even broke with tradition and gave me a lifetime appointment as a visiting artist ahead of schedule.That afternoon, Professor Keller handed me a letter of intent for a United Nations-backed charity partnership."It's a dedicated fund that uses art to help children from war zones recover from trauma," Professor Keller said, pushing up his glasses. "They'd like you to be their art director for Europe. The initial funding is enormous: twenty million euros, all from an anonymous donor."I turned to the last page of the document.At the very bottom of the donor's disclaimer, buried in the German fine print, was the fund's original code: "M-V-2014."Moretti, Vera, 2014. The year I first walked into Gabriel's studio."Did the donor attach any conditions?" I closed the folder, my face calm
The Messenger's Silent Farewell Chapter 13
The Biennale's opening night was held at the Zurich Art Museum.In the middle of the hall, my painting, The Crack at Dawn, had the most prominent spot in the show.Spotlights hit the cool gray canvas and brought out a deep, mysterious glow. Well-known critics and collectors from all over Europe crowded around it."Incredible tension," said an old critic from Paris, pushing up his glasses in genuine admiration. "Not an ounce of affectation. Every stroke feels like the first breath of someone reborn after utter despair. Ms. Linden, you have a brilliant future ahead of you."I wore a simple black knit turtleneck dress, my long hair pulled into a sleek bun. With a glass of champagne in hand, I smiled and greeted the guests.In this world of pure art and reason, no one knew whose stand-in I used to be. No one knew about the three miserable years I'd spent in a dark penthouse.Halfway through the reception, Felix made his way through the crowd and leaned in close to my ear. "There's someone
The Messenger's Silent Farewell Chapter 12
His tears finally fell, hot on the back of my hand.Apart from the night his mother died, it was the first time in ten years I'd seen him cry.When Vivian got on that plane without a backward glance, his eyes had only gone red while he clenched his teeth in fury. Now he was gripping my wrist, and big tears kept rolling down his face."Is that so?" I let him hold on. I didn't fight it. I just calmly looked at the wet spots on the back of my hand. "But this love of yours is too cheap."It only showed up after I'd been humiliated in every way possible. After I'd cried every tear I had over you. After I was done with you for good."Gabriel, if Vivian had never come back, if she hadn't set me up at that restaurant, if you'd never found out I gave all the gallery money to your mother's foundation... would you be standing in the snow in Zurich right now?"Gabriel went completely rigid. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out."No, you wouldn't," I answered for him. "You'd just keep using me
The Messenger's Silent Farewell Chapter 11
"You know who I am?" Gabriel glared at Felix, then turned to me with a bleak, self-mocking twist of his mouth. "Vera, is this why you couldn't wait to get away from me? You already had the next guy lined up? A Swiss aristocrat?"He'd always used the cruelest words he could find to cover up his panic.Just like three years earlier, when it was Vivian's betrayal he couldn't stand, yet he'd dragged me to City Hall.I stepped out from behind Felix."Felix, could you take the turpentine off the easel and out of the studio for me? I'd like a word with this gentleman alone." My voice was calm.Felix looked at me, and once he was sure I was all right, he nodded. "I'll be right out in the hall. Call me if you need anything."As he passed Gabriel, there was open pity in his eyes.It wasn't the hostility of a rival. It was the look of a man on solid ground watching someone drown.The wooden door closed softly.All that was left in the studio was the smell of wet paint.Gabriel took two steps towa
The Messenger's Silent Farewell Chapter 10
Vera's POV:Winter hit Zurich fast. The first snow fell on the old bronze statues in the square and left a thin layer of white.In the open studio at the Zurich Federal Academy of Art, I stood in front of a huge canvas about six and a half feet tall. I drew my palette knife precisely along the edge, laying a coat of cool gray over what had been bright ocher.The painting was dawn over Lake Zurich. The sun itself wasn't visible, only a single beam of cold light tearing through the clouds. It was full of tension, but it also held the stillness of something coming back to life after it had nearly died."That gray is brilliant." I heard footsteps behind me, and Felix walked in carrying two hot cocoas. He handed one to me. "All that restrained emotion finally has somewhere to break through."I set down the palette knife and took the paper cup, letting the warmth wrap around my fingers. "Professor Keller just looked at it. He says it can go in the main hall at next week's Young Artists' Bien
The Messenger's Silent Farewell Chapter 9
Third-person POV:Halfway around the world, the Moretti Group was in turmoil.In the top-floor executive suite, the atmosphere was unbearably tense.Gabriel sat behind his wide ebony desk. A thick stack of reports from private investigators lay spread across it.Over the past 48 hours, he'd used nearly every overseas contact the Moretti family had. But aside from the boarding record for that one-way ticket, every trace of her in Europe had vanished, as if some powerful force had wiped it all away."Have you gone through all three years of the gallery's books?" Gabriel's voice was frighteningly hoarse, and there were dark circles under his eyes.The finance director nervously handed over a report. "Sir... yes. The truth is, the gallery has been losing serious money for all three years."Gabriel's head snapped up. "Losing money? Didn't Thomas say her anonymous paintings sold for a fortune?""Those paintings... did sell for a lot." The finance director was sweating. "But after basic opera
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