Chapter 22

“Do you want this painting?” Joe whispered.

Skylar shook her head. “No.”

Would she have looked so intently if she weren't interested? What a duplicitous person!

Joe’s expression remained cold.

Jeffrey stared at the painting, confused. “Why do I feel like I’ve seen this painting somewhere?”

“Antique paintings have many similarities. I find it familiar, too. It looks like…” Maisy thought of the painting hanging at the Williamses’ house—the one Skylar had given Sadie, who hadn’t even glanced at it. It did look like this painting.

“That’s impossible! How could that be?” Maisy denied her guess. She assumed Skylar had gotten it from Amazon for no more than ten dollars. Skylar couldn’t possibly have access to a painting that could be auctioned.

“What’s impossible?” Jeffrey asked curiously.

“It’s nothing, Dad. Wow, this painting could actually be sold for two million dollars!” Maisy was shocked by the announced price.

Jeffrey didn’t understand art, but he suddenly thought of the painting gathering dust in a corner of their house. It looked just like this one.

“Three million dollars!” Joe bid suddenly.

Skylar looked at Joe in surprise. “Do you like this painting?”

She had sold the painting for $500,000. Joe had just driven the price to three million dollars—a sum never before paid for a painting by this artist.