Chapter 223 Myst
Kyla watched what was going on from a distance. Jealousy burned in her eyes. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. Even the pain couldn’t snap her out of it.
Damn it! Damn it!!!
Yesterday, Kyla didn’t go home. She’d gone to a hot spring resort with Preston. It was Preston who invited her. To make things less awkward, he even brought a few friends along. Everyone got their own room. Of course, Kyla was well aware of Preston’s nasty little thoughts about her. She acted like she hesitated. After Preston’s friends kept persuading her, she finally “reluctantly” agreed to go along. If it had happened before, Kyla would’ve said no instantly. She had to protect her image of being kind, pure, and beautiful. Going to a hot spring with Preston was just too suggestive, even with other people there. But now, Tilda had stirred up chaos everywhere. Everything around Kyla was changing because of Tilda. So, Kyla panicked and decided to give Preston a little attention. That was why she had no clue what happened at the Jenson Villa yesterday. If she did, she’d totally lose it.
Right then, her phone rang. When she saw who it was, her expression changed. She rushed somewhere private.
“Hello? Since you called first, have you found anything on Tilda?”
Kyla had been so furious at Tilda that she kept hounding the intelligence agency. She pushed them constantly to dig up dirt on Tilda. After all, she’d paid a ton for that. The intelligence agency was well–known. They’d dealt with Kyla before, and she drove them crazy. They finally lost their temper. They even said that they’d rather refund her than take the case. Kyla freaked out and begged. She acted like a victim until they agreed to keep working. Money wasn’t the issue. If she didn’t find Tilda’s weakness soon, she’d be in real trouble. She never expected them to call her first today.
“We didn’t find anything new on Tilda.”
“What?!”
That was the last thing Kyla wanted to hear. She might as well have taken the refund. At least she wouldn’t be out all that cash!
“But about the painting Tilda submitted for the competition, we found something. A few years ago, a painting sold at a charity auction overseas for ten million dollars. The style is almost identical to Tilda’s work. The artist went by X. Nobody can find this person now. But back then, X occasionally appeared on a famous anime forum abroad. Whenever X shared a painting, it always got pinned and turned into the highlight of the forum.”
Similar style, huh? Kyla pursed her lips. She could completely spin that into a plagiarism claim.
“Got it. Show me that painting!”
“There’s more. Tilda’s composition is nearly identical to Myst’s work. Myst just won the Picasso Painting Competition two years in a row. People say Myst is the most talented young artist out there. No one else comes close. These are the only two solid leads we’ve got.”
Myst?!
Kyla sucked in a sharp breath. Anyone into art knew Myst. Not knowing Myst was like not knowing Van Gogh or Picasso! Nobody knew Myst’s real name. Hardly anyone had ever seen that person. But Myst was legendary for winning the Van Gogh Best New Artist Award right out of the gate. The next year, Myst won the Picasso World Championship. It had been five years since Myst debuted. Recently, Myst won the Picasso Championship again–the second time in a row. The contest only happened every three years. Myst was now the reigning champ! Nothing like that had ever happened in the competition’s history. Nobody expected Myst to score another victory. Pure talent smashed every rule and bias. Once the judges saw Myst’s work, they couldn’t even consider anyone else. Some people were just born to shine, like stars. Everyone else, no matter how hard they tried, was just background players. It stung, but after seeing Myst’s work, they were crushed. All they could do was bow. Myst was unbeatable.
It was just like Tilda’s debut at the National College Art Competition. She’d crushed all her rivals. Kyla didn’t care much about art. She only wanted to break into showbiz and win Best Actress.