The Heiress's Revenge - A Bloody Affair - Chapter 46

[46 – The Crimson Vow]
Four Years Ago,

Canada

After 6 months of hard work and relentless determination, Elijah had finally managed to secure a partnership deal with the Golden Leaf Company. The agreement involved Golden Leaf providing raw materials that were crucial for the production of the new range of cosmetic products that Venus, a new company under the Grayson Group was set to manufacture.

Elijah stood in the expansive boardroom of the Golden Leaf company, surrounded by executives and legal advisors finalizing the terms of the partnership. The negotiations had been rigorous, with both sides meticulously planning and outlining every process including the quality standards and pricing contracts to ensure a seamless collaboration.

“Congratulations, Mr. Grayson.”, Adam Smith, the CEO of Golden Lead, said with a nod of approval as they shook hands to commemorate their partnership.

“Thank you, Mr. Smith.” Elijah replied with a polite smile on his face, his tone reflecting the satisfaction and happiness that he was feeling.

“By the way, for how long are you going to stay in the city? I was hoping that you could attend the opening ceremony of my wife’s art gallery. tomorrow.” Adam asked, his tone was casual yet hopeful. For him, this was an opportunity to strengthen their partnership on a social level with the Grayson Group.

Elijah thought about it for a moment and smiled, “It would be a pleasure to be a part of the opening ceremony of your wife’s art gallery, Mr. Smith. You know, I’ll be there.”

Adam nodded appreciatively, “Excellent! I’ll have my assistant send you the details along with an invitation card.”

“Of course.” said Elijah nodding his head in acknowledgement.

Later that evening, Elijah received the invitation along with the catalogue of paintings that were going to be displayed in the opening exhibition tomorrow at Mrs. Smith’s art gallery. But Elijah was too tired to have a look at the catalogue.

He placed it aside on the table along with his other documents and went to sleep unaware of the unexpected encounter that was going to change his life forever.

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The next morning, Elijah got dressed in a semi formal suit. He wore a pair of deep, navy blue trousers, a plain white t-shirt, and a blazer over it that matched the color of his trousers. He arrived at the gallery at the exact time that had been mentioned on the invitation card.

He had always been an admirer of art even though he did not have an artistic bone in his body. guided by the catalogue in his hands, Elijah strolled through the elegantly arranged gallery. Each page of catalogue providing an understanding and insight into the artists’ inspiration and techniques.

Appreciating the diverse array of paintings and sculptures, Elijah paused before a striking piece. The painting was large, occupying an entire wall, its bold strokes and vivid colors demanding attention. There was something about it, some kind of rawness that captivated Elijah, capturing his undivided attention.

He went through the catalogue to know more about the painting and the artist who created such a masterpiece and was only able to read the name of the painting – The Crimson Vow: Retribution of the Fallen Throne, and the artist – Seraphina – before he was interrupted by a melodious voice.

“Stunning, isn’t it?” he saw a woman dressed in red come to stand beside him, “It is.” Elijah replied honestly.

“I know that the moment that this painting has captured is brutal, it’s dark, chaotic, and could be upsetting for many but there is a raw power among this chaos that intrigues me. It’s gruesome but it is beautiful.” commented Elijah

The woman chuckled, “Well, thank you for your appreciative words. I am glad that you liked my work.”

Elijah swiftly turned around on hearing that. His deep blue eyes met with stormy, bluish grey ones of the woman in front of him, “You are the artist who painted this?”

“I did.” responded the woman with a slight bow of her head, “All the paintings in this particular section are mine.”

Elijah’s eyes widened in surprise and admiration, “It’s an honor to meet you. I must say that your work is truly amazing and mesmerizing.”

Seraphina smiled, a hint of pride and interest in her expressions. She was aware of the identity of the man standing in front of her. This was truly an unexpected encounter that she had no hand in but that does not mean that she was not going to use the opportunity to her advantage.

“Thank you for your kind words. It’s always a pleasure to meet someone who truly appreciates the intricacies of art irrespective of what it represents.”

Elijah glanced back at the painting, still captivated by its intensity and raw emotions that it depicted, “What is this painting about? What inspired you to create this piece?” he asked, his gaze seemed fixated on the painting.

“This painting depicts the story of a young princess of an Eastern Kingdom who was betrayed by the people she believed were a part of her family. Her father, the King, her Queen mother, and everyone else in her family was killed by her father’s brother and his most trusted friends just for the sake of this damned throne.” she pointed at the shattered throne, rendered in dark, almost black hues with jagged edges that seemed to jut out from the canvas.

Pointing at the silhouette of the woman standing at the side holding a bloodied sword, surrounded by a number of corpses, she said, “They tried to kill the princess as well, hoping to destroy the benevolent King’s lineage but by God’s miracle, the young princess survived and grew up to be a warrior, a Queen herself.”

“This painting depicts the scene after the warrior princess comes back to annihilate all of those who destroyed her happy family, her beautiful life. She killed them all with her sharp sword before destroying this damned throne that was the reason behind her family’s untimely demise, their gruesome murders.” she said while pointing at the once regal and majestic throne that now laid in ruins.

“It’s the story of her revenge.” the woman exclaimed, her voice firm, matching the emotions that her painting depicted.

“In fact,” the cheerful tone was back in her tone but Elijah found it hard to move his gaze away from the painting in front of him, “all of the paintings in this section, all of my paintings depict the stories of revenge from all over the world.”

“May I?” she extended her hand in front of Elijah, asking him if she could show him her paintings. Elijah nodded with a smile and walked alongside her to have a look at all the other revenge based paintings that the talented artist had made.

Pointing at the painting that depicted a woman dressed in a traditional, red colored outfit. Her hair were loose and she was surrounded by flames while there were several men around her cowering in fear, “Draupadi’s Wrath – The Oath of Fire, this captures the moment when Draupadi’s vow for revenge after being humiliated in the Kaurava court got fulfilled after the war of Mahabharat.”

She pointed to another painting and explained, “The Sabine Women’s Retribution, this painting shows the Sabine women, once abducted, now taking revenge on their captors, reclaiming their power and dignity.”

And just like that, Seraphina spent more than half an hour in explaining to Elijah the details of her revenge themed paintings.

They parted ways after Elijah went to explore the other sections while Seraphina remained at hers. After spending half of his day admiring the beautiful art pieces in the gallery, Elijah’s mind was stick stuck on the brilliant master piece that Seraphina had painted. For some reason, he felt connected to the painting.

He could not explain his emotions regarding that painting but Elijah felt a deep sense of connection with the art piece that he could not explain in words. He checked the catalogue to make sure that the piece was available for purchase.

It was priced at 50,000 US dollars which according to Elijah was a very underwhelming price for the stunning piece of art. Elijah could not understand why such a masterpiece would be valued so modestly. Nevertheless, he had made his mind to purchase the painting so he went to talk to Mrs. Smith, the owner of the gallery.

“Hello, Mrs. Smith. I hope I am not disturbing you.” said Elijah drawing Mrs. Aria Smith’s attention who was standing with her husband talking to a group of people.

“Oh, not at all, Mr. Garyson.” she responded with a polite smile on her face.

Elijah talked to her about wanting to purchase the painting that had stolen a piece of his heart and soul, The Crimson Vow. Mr. and Mrs. Smith led him to the latter’s office where the completed all the formalities that would make the painting his.

And then, within an hour, after paying in full and completing all the necessary formalities, the painting was his. He did not get to meet the artist, ‘Seraphina’ again because she had left for some urgent work.

Considering the painting’s size, Mrs. Smith told him that they would have the painting delivered to him within the next 3 days. Elijah gave her the address that he wanted the painting to be delivered at and left unaware of what the fate had in store for him.