Art World Shocker: Dean Destroys Promising Artist's Work, But Redemption Arrives From The Louvre!
Previously: A renowned art dean publicly humiliates a young painter, only for the Louvre and Sotheby's to intervene, revealing a secret that could change everything. This is a story of betrayal, resilience, and unexpected vindication.
Expulsion and Escalation
The tension in the opulent dining room crackled. Knox, emboldened by his public display of cruelty, leaned closer, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper that nonetheless carried in the stunned silence. The clinking of his signet ring against the mahogany table was sharp, percussive, each tap a hammer blow against Liam’s fragile composure. Patrons, their faces a mixture of shock and morbid fascination, turned to witness the unfolding drama. Liam’s jaw clenched, the muscles in his neck standing out in stark relief as he fought to contain the storm raging within him. His knuckles turned white where he gripped his knees beneath the table, a desperate attempt to anchor himself against the tidal wave of humiliation.
"I am expelling you from the academy tonight, you penniless fraud."
Just as the weight of Knox’s words threatened to crush Liam completely, the grand brass doors of Le Gabriel swung open with a force that silenced the room. Two imposing figures strode in, cutting through the candlelit ambiance like emissaries from another world. Monsieur Laurent, the distinguished chief curator of the Musée du Louvre, his cashmere overcoat exuding quiet authority, was flanked by Claire Vance, the formidable European head of Sotheby's, her hand clutching an embossed leather dossier. Knox’s smug expression dissolved into a mask of slack-jawed disbelief as Laurent bypassed him entirely, his attention fixed on Liam.
"Step away from her immediately, Knox!"
Laurent moved directly to Liam’s side, his gaze filled with an unexpected reverence. He didn’t acknowledge Knox’s sputtering protests. Instead, he bowed deeply, presenting Liam with a heavy parchment, sealed with the official stamp of the French Ministry of Culture. It was an honor Liam could scarcely comprehend, a stark contrast to the degradation she had just endured. Knox watched, his face paling, as the world he thought he controlled began to unravel around him.
”Knox watched, his face paling, as the world he thought he controlled began to unravel around him.