Chapter 78: The Price of Temptation
Elena’s POV
The afternoon sun started to slowly set, illuminating the vineyard with golden light. A gentle wind blew through the vine rows, and the air was sweet with the aroma of ripening grapes. The day ought to have been ideal. However, I was more focused on the little envelope I was holding than the grapevine.
The envelope was on my lap like it was the weight of the whole universe while I sat on the terrace. It included a letter from Victor Lemaire, a powerful and cunning art collector, whose name I had never met but whose reputation preceded him. He made a bold, even outrageous, proposition. The focal point of my private collection, a picture I received from my mother that had always seemed more like a part of me than a painting, was what he want
