His Destructive, Toxic Love novel Chapter 107

The staff brought out more paintings from behind Manuel, one after another, which were supposedly masterpieces by renowned artists.

Honestly, Eliza had never seen such a concentrated collection of fakes in her life. Was there not a single genuine piece in a mansion as grand as this? Or was Manuel planning to sell Casper a counterfeit?

"The paintings Mr. Manuel has collected are quite nice, indeed. They would make fine decorative pieces for a home," Eliza said, offering him a graceful way out.

Manuel couldn't help but glance at Eliza again, pausing for a few seconds before he smiled. "If you like them, Ms. Eliza, I could gift you a few."

"Thank you, Mr. Manuel. I appreciate the thought," she replied.

Amid the polite exchange, Casper caught on. It didn’t really matter to him whether the paintings Manuel was offering were real or fake. Business collaborations were always like this. Today, he might spend a hundred million, but that could potentially bring him back billions later. The paintings were merely tokens in a larger game.

He just never expected Eliza to actually discern their authenticity.

"Mr. Casper, this young designer here is quite talented," Manuel began, but Casper cut him off, "Mr. Manuel, don’t get any ideas. She’s taken."

"Is that so?" Manuel smiled slightly, his gaze lingering on Eliza. "What a pity."

When they left, Casper still spent twenty million on a painting.

On the way back, Casper’s long, well-defined hand propped his chin as he turned to look at her. "How did you figure out that painting was a fake?"

"From the brushwork, the strength of the strokes, the light and shadow, and the sense of depth. It wasn’t hard to tell. Even the paper was artificially aged, and the seals were a bit messy. It was a counterfeit and not a very good one at that."

These details, etched in her memory, made her light up.

He shrugged slightly, scoffing, "Indeed, it doesn’t."

His phone rang. She glanced at Casper's phone, Nova's name flashing on the screen. Eliza turned her face away.

"Hello?"

"Casper, where are you?" On the other end, Nova suddenly cried, "I'm so scared. There's a fire at home. The smoke is so thick, my eyes, my eyes... I can't see."

Casper's expression changed. His relaxed posture stiffened significantly. "What happened?"

"I don't know, cough cough, I can't see anything right now, Casper, please come home, ah..." There was the sound of falling downstairs and Nova’s scream from the other end.