Riches in Disguise

Right then, Charlotte lifted Lucas' arm and bit down hard.

"Ouch!" As Lucas let out a cry of pain, he pushed Charlotte with all his might, sending her crashing into the wall.

A loud clang sounded as a painting fell to the ground, breaking the frame into pieces. There was even a hole in the canvas. However, neither of them cared as they continued their scuffle.

The disturbance caught Victor and Brenda's attention, prompting them to rush upstairs. The moment they saw the painting on the ground, they were both stunned.

"The painting!" Victor took a few quick steps forward, his heart aching at the sight of the damaged painting on the floor. "You people damaged the painting!"noveldrama

Charlotte quickly hid behind Isabelle, frowning as she glared at Victor. "It's just a painting! I'll pay for it."

She clearly didn't think much of the painting, assuming it was just some decorative painting hung in a hotel that was worth no more than 1,000 dollars.

"You're going to pay for it? Fine. Brenda, bring me the painting's appraisal certificate! Miss, our boss bought this painting from an auction for 600 thousand dollars.

"If you're saying you'll compensate us for it, we should follow the proper procedures. Please say you will take responsibility right now."

"What? 600 thousand?" Charlotte's eyes widened. "You must be joking!"

Victor answered expressionlessly, "I'm not joking. Moreover, this painting was worth 600 thousand dollars ten years ago, but with inflation and the fact that the artist has passed away, its value has probably increased five or sixfold by now."

"Y-you're trying to scam me! How could such an expensive painting be casually hung in a hallway?"

I was also puzzled hearing this. How could they just hang such a valuable painting out in the open like this? Were they not afraid of it being stolen?

Victor snapped, "Scam? This kind of artwork is priceless. If you damage it, you won't even be able to buy another one like it, no matter how much money you have. Do you think we care about such a small amount of money?"

After a pause, he added, "As for why it's in the hallway, it's because our boss has so many paintings in his collection that he can't fit them all in storage, so he displays some here.

"Every painting in the hallway is worth a fortune. That is also why we have 19 surveillance cameras installed in the hallway."

I was speechless when I heard his explanation. My dad indeed had a hobby of collecting art, and he even had three separate villas just to display his collection. He would even donate some pieces he had grown tired of to museums.

As such, it was not too surprising to see them in the hotel hallway.

Charlotte was so shaken by what Victor said that she was speechless. "I-I didn't know it was so expensive..."

"Whether you knew or not, you still have to pay up. We have surveillance footage showing exactly how the painting was damaged. You can explain it all at the police station."

With that, Victor pulled out his phone to call the police.

The terrified Charlotte immediately grabbed his arm, pleading, "Please don't call the police! I beg of you!"

"Fine. Then we'll go through legal channels. Tomorrow, I'll get the painting's value appraised, and you'd better be ready with at least two to three million as compensation."

Charlotte broke down crying from fear. She was crying even harder than when she had just learned about Lucas' true colors. "I-I'm just a broke student. How could I possibly have two to three million?"

Victor was utterly unfazed. He showed no sympathy when saying, "That's your problem."

"No!"

Charlotte abruptly dropped to her knees with a loud thud in front of Victor, then grabbed his arm and begged desperately.

"Please! I beg you to let me go. I really don't have that kind of money. If you force me to pay, you'll only be ruining my life!

"Please, give me a way out. I'm begging you! A few million may be nothing to someone rich like you, but to us poor people, that amount of money could ruin us for life. Please!"