Chapter 440 Deliberate Provocation After taking a deep breath, Lizzie calmly instructed Claire and released her hand, which was placed on the door handle.
"Got it. Be right back." After Claire left frantically, Lizzie revealed a cold smile as she adjusted her gown. She slowly made her way to the third floor and entered the last room at the end of the hallway. When Ezra rushed to the second floor, he didn't see Lizzie. Instead, her assistant was standing near the staircase.
"Mr. Turner, you can't..." Claire looked anxious as she blocked his way, but his furious gaze made her retreat in fear.
In reality, Lizzie had said to act scared when blocking Ezra so they could seamlessly lure him into her room on the third floor. However, Claire was genuinely afraid when faced with him. "Scram!" he growled with gritted teeth.
Claire was scared to her core. She had heard that Ezra had a wild temperament but had never seen him this frightening-like a ferocious beast escaped from a cage.
She instinctively glanced toward the third floor, her voice coming out shaky. "Mr. Turner, it's Mr. Finch's birthday today. Please don't be impulsive." That was a line taught to her by Lizzie.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAs expected, Ezra seemingly becmore enraged and pushed Claire away. Then, he dashed to the third floor.
Finding her balance, she quickly ran after him and screamed panickingly, "Mr. Turner, you can't go up there. Mrs. Finch isn't there!" The more she resisted him, the quicker the situation escalated.
Soon, Ezra arrived on the third floor but was halted by Claire. It looked like she wanted to stop him, but in reality, she planned to lure him into a certain direction. As they neared the end of the hallway, she put on an expression of panic, prompting him to stop. "Get lost!" Ezra stared at the door and was confident Lizzie was inside. "Mr. Turner..." Without waiting for her to finish, he yanked her off. He opened the door and closed it almost immediately.
In the meantime, Lizzie sat on the couch and faced backward to the door. She leisurely placed the cup in her hand, and her victorious gaze soon turned into a menacing one.
As Ezra edged closer to her, he questioned sternly, "Where is the painting?" On the surface, Lizzie organized the art exhibition today to celebrate Cyrus. However, Ezra knew this woman wasn't as loving to his father as she presented to the world. Her ultimate goal was to discard his mother's painting rightfully.
"What painting?" Lizzie turned her head. From the corner of her eye, she saw Ezra had removed his cap and mask. His face was undoubtedly exquisite. How similar! Ezra, the A-plus celebrity, as seen on TV and in the media, might appear strikingly handsor rebellious, with every facet of him dazzling enough to attract countless admirers. Yet, who would have known that he had another side concealed from the public? Perhaps he was unaware of it too.
Lizzie reacted even more tically as she turned to stare at Ezra momentarily, as though considering whether she could unleash his unhidden side today.
When recalling that rainy night from ten years ago, she couldn't help but feel a heightened sense of resentment.
"Ezzy, which one of the paintings downstairs are you into? I'll tell them to reserve it for you." Lizzie smiled warmly, and Ezra hated that look on her face.
The way she called him "Ezzy" also sent a striking pain to his head. All he wanted at that moment was to retrieve the painting.
"You know damn well which one I want!" She burst into a smile. "I do? Ezzy, how will I know what you're thinking?" "Ezzy..." Every tshe said his nickname, his head felt closer to exploding.
"Ezzy, con. I'll show you the album so that you can point it out to me. Luckily, we have all the digital copies of the paintings here. Look..." Lizzie arrived beside Ezra and passed him her phone.
The copies of each painting played automatically. At first, there was nothing special-just the paintings from the exhibition downstairs. But suddenly, a photograph mixed in with the paintings flashed by.
One of the artworks depicted a woman holding a paintbrush while painting by the lakeside. Only her side profile was captured, with the wind gently blowing her dress and hair, creating a scene of beauty and serenity. However, the woman in the painting... tugged at Ezra's heartstrings for sreason and worsened his headache.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe paintings continued to flash before his eyes like a slideshow. Amid those paintings sat sphotographs, which all had the swoman.
He couldn't help but wonder who she was. Despite noticing Lizzie's trick as she shuffled the photos into the paintings, he had an indescribable desire to find out who the woman was and ignored looking for the painting. Sensing his strange expression, she smiled coldly. "Don't you know her?" "Who is she?" Ezra was eager to know.
"She... is a vicious woman who has abandoned you. Have you forgotten?" Lizzie suddenly withdrew her phone. Due to her actions, Ezra becmore enraged and looked slightly crazed. Instinctively, his hands balled into fists as he roared, "She didn't abandon me!" His confidence and firmness surprised her, Even if he had forgotten about her or her face, he still defended her with the utmost belief that she had not abandoned him, just like back then. They were bonded by blood, after all, Lizzle felt disdainful. Mother-and-son bond, was it? Could that also be the thing that destroyed them? She sighed. "Looks like you've forgotten. You're here because of this painting, right?" She showed him a photo of the painting that Rose had bought.
As the painting appeared in his sight, Ezra becmore unstable. "That's my mom's painting! You have no right to sell it." "Your mom's painting?" Lizzie scoffed. "You remember the painting but not your mom." He was visibly bothered by that.
She continued her open provocation.
"You forgot about her! Well, it's a good thing that you did. All thesen years, our family was forbidden to Επ mention her for fear of reminding you of her and the things she'd done toyou. Ezzy-that's what your mom used to call you, right?"
In his memory, no one had ever called him Ezzy. Yet, it sounded so familiar to the point where it felt like he was brought back to a moment in time-a twhen a voice said "Ezzy, Mommy didn't mean to... Ezzy, I'm sorry..."
The voices were vague and indistinct, seeming both real and surreal m simultaneously His headache intensified, and Ezra held his head, gritting his teeth in pain. It felt as if something was trapped behind a gate. Once the gate was opened, those things would surge forth. "Ah..." he groaned.
Watching from the side, Lizzie knew the thad come. "There's a door over there, Ezzy. Go in, and you might be able to see her..." X