Vanessa followed her gaze.
“That’s the Wren.”
“I know.”
“The estimate begins at six million.”
“I know.”
“There has been extraordinary interest.”
“I know.”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“You seem very familiar with it.”
“I am.”
A man standing nearby laughed softly.
Vanessa noticed.
Her patience vanished.
“Ms. Ellison, I’m going to make this very simple. You can go downstairs voluntarily, or I can ask security to escort you.”
The room seemed to shrink around them.
Mara turned her attention back to Vanessa.
“You would call security?”
“If necessary.”
“Because of my coat?”
“Because you are disrupting a private event.”
“I’ve been standing still.”
“You’re arguing with staff.”
“You approached me.”
Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
“Security.”
One of the guards near the entrance looked over.
But before he could move, someone stepped between them.
A young man wearing a Halcyon badge.
His name was Daniel Mercer.
He was one of the junior art specialists working the auction.
“Vanessa?”
She turned sharply.
“What?”
“I think we should check the consignor file before doing anything.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“The Wren collection file. I remember seeing Ellison somewhere.”
Mara looked at him.
Vanessa did not.
“You are not assigned to guest management, Daniel.”
“I know, but—”
“Then return to your position.”
Daniel hesitated.
Vanessa leaned toward him.
“Now.”
He stepped away.
Mara watched him return to the opposite side of the room.
Then she looked at Vanessa.
“He was trying to help you.”
“I don’t require help.”
“I think you might.”
Vanessa gave a humorless laugh.
“You know what? I’ve had enough.”
She gestured toward the guard.
“Please escort this woman downstairs.”
The guard approached reluctantly.
“Ma’am?”
Mara raised one hand.
“Before you touch me, I’d like to make a phone call.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“This isn’t a negotiation.”
“No.”
Mara removed her phone.
“It isn’t.”
She selected a contact.
The call connected immediately.
A male voice answered.
“Mara?”
“Hello, Julian.”
Vanessa looked toward the guard impatiently.
Mara continued.
“I’m standing in front of After the Storm.”
A pause.
Then the voice on the phone changed.
“You’re at Halcyon?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you weren’t going.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Is everything all right?”
Mara looked directly at Vanessa.
“No.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I’m not waiting through this.”
Mara spoke into the phone.
“Withdraw Lot 27.”
Vanessa froze.
The guard stopped moving.
Mara continued.
“And 21 through 26.”
The voice on the phone was silent for several seconds.
“All seven?”
“All seven.”
Vanessa laughed.
This time loudly.
“Okay. That’s enough.”
Mara ignored her.
“Effective immediately.”
“Mara,” Julian said carefully, “the auction begins in twenty minutes.”
“I’m aware.”
“We have registered bidders flying in from four countries.”
“I know.”
“This is going to cause chaos.”
“Then I suggest you call them quickly.”
Vanessa stared at Mara.
Something uncertain appeared behind her eyes.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Mara ended the call.
“Changing my mind.”
“You can’t withdraw somebody else’s property.”
Mara placed the phone back into her coat.
“No.”
She looked toward the painting.
“But I can withdraw mine.”
For several seconds, Vanessa did not understand.
Then Daniel Mercer, still standing across the room, slowly lowered the catalog he was holding.
The color disappeared from his face.
He remembered.
He hurried toward them.
“Vanessa.”
She turned.
Daniel’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“I checked.”
“What?”
“The consignment agreement.”
Vanessa looked from him to Mara.
“And?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Mara Ellison is the executor of the Wren estate.”
Silence.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind that spreads because everyone suddenly senses that something irreversible has happened.
Vanessa blinked.
“What?”
Daniel continued.
“The estate controls the entire collection.”
Mara calmly removed her coat.
Underneath, she wore a simple black dress.
Nothing extravagant.
Nothing designed to announce wealth.
She handed the coat to the stunned hostess.
“My father hated rooms like this,” Mara said.
Vanessa stared at her.
“Your father?”
Mara turned toward the ocean painting.
“Elias Wren was a professional name.”
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
He had understood before Vanessa did.
Mara continued.
“His legal name was Elias Ellison.”
Someone behind them gasped.
Another guest stopped mid-conversation.
The auction director, Richard Halpern, emerged from a side office at almost the same moment.
He was moving quickly.
Very quickly.
“Mara.”