The Queen Returns—And She's Unforgiving novel Chapter 124

"Anything else is negotiable, but not this, Evelyn," Lucas said firmly, not leaving any room for discussion.

Evelyn's heart dropped to her stomach. "Why?" she asked with her brows knitted together.

"You know better than I do. Some things just shouldn't be done. I hope you stay out of it."

Having said what he wanted, Lucas ended the call.

Evelyn froze. It took her a while to understand what he was trying to tell her.

Lucas must have figured out what she was up to. He knew she wanted to reveal the hidden truth, to use Naomi's painting to tear apart the honor that Millie stole.

He wouldn't allow her to harm Tiffany's mother, nor would he let Tiffany's reputation be damaged over this.

It dawned on her then. Lucas was protecting Tiffany. He did not care for her one bit, even if Millie had exploited Naomi to rise to fame.

Evelyn's fingers curled into a tight fist. She stared at the hard-won painting on her desk. All her previous joy and surprise turned into a figurative slap to her face, clearing her head completely.

Two minutes was all she needed to accept the fact. Wallowing in grief was no longer her thing.

Just as she began to put the painting away, Sebastian walked into her office. "The painting is with you?" he exclaimed after noticing it on her desk.

Evelyn paused. "What do you mean?"

Sebastian came closer to examine it before he replied, "Yeah, this is definitely it. A friend of mine who went to an overseas auction house mentioned it. Two days ago, a mysterious buyer went all out to get it. It was sold for 80 million dollars.

Evelyn froze. 80 million dollars!

"The starting bid was only 1.5 million. One of the princes from the oil-rich countries was after it too. You know how money isn't a concern for them as long as they want something. He and the mystery buyer pushed it all the way to 50 million.

"Then suddenly, the mystery buyer went all out. He won it just like that."

80 million dollars for a painting worth 1.5 million dollars.

What level of extravagance was this? Even for the filthy rich, money was not meant to be thrown around like that.

It caused quite a stir among insiders too.

That friend of Sebastian told him the buyer had sworn on the auction. No matter how high the price, the painting would be his.

Evelyn was astonished.

She knew Lucas kept his word. But little did she know, he had spent 80 million on it.

Evelyn was surprised. "Am I fit for it?"

"You're the core of Flying Seal Group, so there's no reason you wouldn't be. Tomorrow's just a tour of the research park to check out some of the military technologies from recent years. You should tag along."

Evelyn had no objections.

As for the personnel selection, they probably would have further arrangements later.

The tech park was right next to the research institute. Visitors needed a pass and had to go through strict security screenings to be able to enter.

Once inside, they took a shuttle to the exhibition center. Evelyn and Sebastian got out of the vehicle one after another.

Back when she led the research on the UN2 combat drone, she had been in and out of here often. Returning after so many years made her heart swell with mixed emotions.

This had once been her stage, the place she used to shine.

Her notebook slipped from her hand and hit the floor as she drifted into thought.

She bent down to pick it up. At that moment, someone stepped forward and reached for it as well.

Their hands met.