You Looked Down on Me Once, Now You Look Up. novel Chapter 423

"Who sent this?"

"The folks downstairs said it was from the local charity association."

"Any signature?" Tina paced around the painting, examining it from every angle, but there was nothing.

The assistant, looking just as unsettled, joined in the search.

At their level, the real problem wasn’t the gift itself—it was not knowing who sent it.

"Should I just get rid of it?"

"I doubt it’s really from the charity. Just leave it for now," Emerson said, motioning for the assistant to leave. "No name means something’s up."

Once the assistant was gone, Emerson poured himself some water, took a slow sip, and finally spoke. "If Patricia didn’t set us up, then someone on the board must be working for her. She must’ve gotten tipped off."

"Who?" Tina’s voice shook.

If Patricia really had someone on the inside, they’d have to be extra careful.

"No way to know yet." Emerson couldn’t smooth out the frown on his face.

"Besides the three of us, there are four left."

And those four—they’d been keeping a close eye, but so far hadn’t noticed any connection to Patricia.

Emerson squinted, turning his glass slowly in his hand, looking completely calm but icy cold.

Tina knew that look—he was lost in thought—so she decided not to interrupt.

Instead, she grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting along the edge of the frame.

She peeled off the cardboard, revealing a layer of white plastic underneath.

She kept peeling, layer after layer. It took her four or five minutes, each one dragging by.

Finally, the plastic ripped with a loud crack.

Before she could even toss the scraps away, her eyes landed on a painting so vivid, so explicit, it left her stunned.

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