?Chapter 496:

    She hung up, ready to tell Shaun she had to go, but he beat her to it.

    “Trouble?” he asked, already guessing. “Let mee with you. Maybe I can help.”

    Ste hesitated. She hadn’t expected that. Still, she nodded and went on first. They arrived at the gallery in no time.

    The staff rushed to meet her and led her straight to the back office. “Ms. Gilbert,” one of them said, looking nervous, “we tried everything. The paint won’te off. We might have to call it a total loss.”

    Ste’s expression darkened.

    “A total loss?” she echoed, her voice sharp. “Do you have any idea how much it costs to write off a piece like this? The artist trusted us to disy his work. Now it’s ruined—and we still have to paypensation. What are we even supposed to hang in its ce?”

    She wasn’t trying tosh out, but this wasn’t some minor hup. It was a full-blown disaster.

    The staff just stood there, stating the problem with no fix in sight. What good did that do?

    Seeing how frustrated she was, none of them dared to say a word. They kept their heads down, quietly owning up to the mess.

    Three days. That was all they had until opening night. Where the hell was she supposed to find a new artist on such short notice? And how was she going to smooth things over with the original one?

    Ste’s mind was spinning. She had never felt this cornered.

    Off to the side, Shaun stepped closer, eyes locked on the ruined canvas. He squinted at the name scrawled in the corner, then turned to her.

    “Syl,” he said, low and steady. “I know this painter. I can take you to him.”

    Ste spun around to face Shaun, excitement lighting up her eyes. “Are you serious?”

    The gallery was packed with art, and Ste couldn’t possibly know every artist who’d contributed.

    Stories live now on galnσ??????????o??

    “Is he actually here in Choria right now?” she asked.

    Shaun paused, considering it for a moment. “He should be around. Give me a second—I’ll call and check right now.”

    Ste nodded, her anticipation growing as she watched Shaun dial. She already felt some of her stress melt away.

    With only three days left, Ste thought that if she could talk the artist into creating something new, they might just pull off a miracle.

    First, though, she had to find a way to pay for the damaged painting.

    Shaun returned a momentter, a satisfied smile on his lips. “He’s here in Choria, sketching at the moment. If you’re avable, we can go meet him this afternoon.”

    Ste admired how fast Shaun got things done and readily agreed to go along. Barely had Ste and Shaun left when a staff member’s phone rang. Steven was on the other end, calling for a project update.

    The staff member gave Steven a rundown of everything that had just happened. When Steven found out Sylvia had headed to the site with some guy, he didn’t waste any time.

    “Do you know who the guy is?” Steven asked. He knew William had feelings for Sylvia.

    Steven wasn’t about to y matchmaker, but he didn’t want to see William lose out to another man.

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