My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 149: It Was Stella Sterling Who Deliberately Humiliated Me in Front of So Many People
Everlake Resort was the Shaw Family’s first step in expanding their business into Jandor, and Sean Shaw took it very seriously.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made a special trip from Veridia just for a soft opening.
Jandor’s development was booming, and Sean Shaw was an ambitious man.
Everything he had done behind the scenes for today’s soft opening ceremony was to promote Everlake Resort.
Purchasing Kiana Sterling’s painting at a high price earlier was also part of building hype for today.
Many media outlets were invited to today’s ceremony. As soon as it ended, prepared press releases would be sent out.
They had also invited many social media influencers with large followings. These influencers would later stay at the resort to experience it, then post related videos to roll out the full-scale promotion.
The internet today was the domain of the young.
When an influencer suggested livestreaming today’s opening ceremony, the idea was naturally accepted.
Before the ceremony, because of Sean Shaw’s personal attendance, all procedures and the entire venue—including security and work arrangements—had been inspected multiple times.
Yet no one could have imagined that the eventual incident would involve Kiana Sterling’s painting.
When the shredded canvas fell to the floor and the red English words appeared on the frame, a strange silence instantly descended upon the hall.
The first to react was Sean Shaw’s secretary, Jasper Jennings.
He immediately had someone stop the livestream, told another to notify the press on site to delete any photos of the painting, and then had hotel staff promptly take down the frame.
The scene immediately erupted into chaos.
Kiana Sterling felt as if all the sounds around her were muffled, as if through a pane of glass.
She still couldn’t believe it. One moment, the painting was perfectly fine; the next, it was nothing but a few tattered strips scattered on the ground.
But what was even more ironic was the sentence inside the frame.
Kiana Sterling felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head, leaving her frozen to the spot.
A bone-deep chill spread from her heart to her fingertips.
She turned her head and met Sean Shaw’s dark, bottomless gaze.
She shivered subconsciously, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
Under Sean Shaw’s stare, she dug her nails into her palms, trying to stay calm.
She explained in a trembling voice, "Mr. Shaw, there’s something wrong with this painting..."
’How could this be happening?’
’How could this be happening!’
’Of all days, it had to be today!’
’Someone must be trying to ruin me.’
’Who was it?’
She whipped her head around, her gaze landing, unsurprisingly, on Stella Sterling.
Stella Sterling wore a faint smile as she watched the flustered Kiana on the temporary stage.
’It was Stella!’
Kiana Sterling reached this conclusion almost instantly.
She turned to explain to Sean Shaw, but before she could speak, she was escorted off the stage by staff.
Sean Shaw’s expression was calm, his composure unshaken by the turn of events.
He walked to the standing microphone and said in a steady voice, "Thank you all for coming today. The ceremony is now over. Staff members will liaise with our friends from the media. Afternoon tea is available in the garden. Please, feel free to help yourselves."
After speaking, he left under the escort of his bodyguards.
Once Sean Shaw was gone, the hall buzzed with activity again.
Everyone was discussing the message that had been on the picture frame.
She is a fraud.
Who was "she"?
The painting was Kiana Sterling’s work, so there was no doubt that the "she" referred to Kiana herself.
As for what she had deceived everyone about... anyone with a brain could guess.
The problem, most likely, was with the paintings themselves.
Did Kiana Sterling really paint them?
And who was the person who left the message on the frame?
Was Sean Shaw truly unaware?
All the veiled, probing, and gossipy gazes fell upon the Sterlings, as well as the family of Ethan Rhodes, Kiana Sterling’s well-known fiancé.
In a distant corner, Faye Rhodes’s eyes were wide, her entire being still reeling from the shock.
Zion Shawcross snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Hey, you back with us?"
Faye Rhodes didn’t know how to describe the feeling in her heart at that moment.
It was...
’The heavens have eyes!’
’HAHAHAHA!!!’
In her excitement, she grabbed Zion Shawcross’s forearm tightly with both hands. "You knew this was going to happen all along, didn’t you!"
It was rare to have Faye Rhodes’s sparkling eyes fixed on him, and Zion Shawcross felt a little uncomfortable.
He answered honestly, "I only knew that today’s ceremony wouldn’t go so smoothly, but I didn’t expect this outcome."
He knew that Ryan Shaw had been secretly keeping an eye on Kiana Sterling’s painting, *Sea Mist*, even before it went to auction.
He also knew that Ryan Shaw had gone to great lengths to convince Sean Shaw to buy the painting.
Before Ryan Shaw left for his current mission, he had revealed to him that he had prepared a big gift for the girl he liked.
He had asked curiously what the big gift was, and Ryan Shaw had hinted that it was this painting. But he hadn’t said anything more specific.
So he knew there was definitely something up with the painting, but as for what it was, he was just watching like everyone else.
He just hadn’t expected it to be this.
Once Faye Rhodes’s initial wave of excitement passed, she realized something was off.
The expression on her face cooled, and she stared suspiciously at Zion Shawcross.
"But how did you know?"
Zion Shawcross looked down at her. "You want to know?"
Faye Rhodes nodded.
Beneath his mask, Zion Shawcross’s lips curved into a smile. "What’s in it for me if I tell you?"
But Faye Rhodes didn’t fall for his trick at all. She frowned. "You don’t actually know anything, do you? You’re just messing with me."
"..."
’That’s enough.’
’Is it really impossible to communicate with her?’
Zion Shawcross tossed out, "Fine, forget it if you don’t want to know," then stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to leave.
But his departure just made Faye Rhodes more curious, and she hurried after him.
"Hey! How can you be like that! Well, at least tell me what you want..."
Also in shock were the members of the Sterling Family, who had always been so proud of Kiana Sterling.
The painting destroyed, the message revealed—every stare was like a slap to their faces, each one a silent interrogation.
Chase Sterling frowned and immediately declared his stance. "No matter who is behind this malicious prank, we will absolutely get to the bottom of it!"
Also bathing in the gazes of suspicion was Ethan Rhodes’s family; they had long been tied to Kiana Sterling.
Now, they too had no choice but to speak up.
Jonathan Rhodes said, "Until this matter has been thoroughly investigated, I ask that everyone refrain from jumping to conclusions."
With that, he left, his face grim.
After giving Ethan Rhodes a meaningful look, Yolanda Thorne also left the hall.
Ethan Rhodes rushed to find Kiana Sterling, finally locating her in the lounge, her face pale as she sat slumped on the sofa.
She was biting her lower lip so hard she didn’t even realize she had drawn blood.
When Ethan Rhodes entered, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but her body was trembling uncontrollably, and she looked incredibly fragile.
Yet amid her emotional breakdown, Ethan Rhodes sensed a flicker of anger.
He sat down beside Kiana Sterling and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Just as he was about to offer some words of comfort, Kiana Sterling’s head snapped up.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
Her brows were knitted, her eyes filled with an irrepressible rage and hatred.
"It was Stella! It must have been Stella! Ethan, Stella deliberately did this to humiliate me in front of everyone!"
