Rural Belle & Three Heirs
Chapter 72 Didn't Take Good Care of Your Painting

Chloe couldn't just stand by when it came to Zara.

As Herbert's hand got closer to Zara's face, Chloe stepped in. She reached out and blocked Herbert's arm, saying, "Herbert, what's more important, a woman or those paintings worth billions? How about we talk about the paintings first?" Chloe's words grabbed Herbert's attention. He turned to look at her, and when he saw the big mole on her face, he dismissed all his thoughts.

"Talk about the paintings? Can you make the decisions?" Herbert eyed Chloe suspiciously. "Ugly girl, you should know what happens if you mess with me. I can cut that mole off your face, believe it or not?"

Herbert's words were meant to scare Chloe. Normally, Chloe would have lost her cool, but this was different. Several of her people were being held by Herbert's men, and with so many of them around, even if she could escape, the Gibson family folks wouldn't be able to get away from Herbert's grip.

So, the best move now was to use her smarts.

Chloe smiled slightly and said, "I can make the decisions. It's just a few paintings; you can take them. But I have a condition: you have to let us go and stop bothering the Gibson family. Deal?" Herbert had to take a second look at the ugly girl in front of him after hearing Chloe's words. Who was she? What was her deal? Why could she so casually give away paintings worth billions? "Ugly girl has some guts." Herbert started to admire Chloe a bit.

"Herbert, it's just a few paintings, just some money. Anything that can be solved with money isn't a problem." Chloe pulled Zara to her side to keep Herbert from touching her again. Herbert hesitated.

Afraid he wouldn't take the offer, Chloe quickly urged him. "Herbert, tell your men to take the paintings and leave already."

Faced with Chloe's urging, Herbert got suspicious and asked, "You want me to take these paintings? You won't come after me later, right?"

Hearing Herbert's question, Chloe chuckled. She pointed to the burly men beside Herbert and said, "Herbert, with my pull and the Gibson family's, how could we ever come after you? If we had that kind of power, we wouldn't have let you push us around this afternoon. We're just regular business folks; we can't afford to mess with you."

Chloe's words stroked Herbert's ego. Indeed, in Sovereign City, crushing the Gibson family was as easy for him as stepping on a bug.

With that thought, Herbert immediately ordered his men to leave the restaurant's private room. They drove away, loading the paintings borrowed from Grant into their cars in front of everyone.

The Gibson family was equally baffled by Chloe's actions. Zara stood next to Chloe and reminded her, "Chloe, they took those valuable paintings! Those are worth a ton of money. That's straight-up robbery; it's illegal!"

Chloe stayed calm in the face of Zara's anxiety. She sat back down, picked up her utensils, and started eating her meal.

"They broke the law? So what? Given the situation just now, could we have kept those paintings?" Chloe glanced at everyone.

Brenda had been humiliated by Herbert. Tony had his face smashed against the table by Herbert's men. Brian had been slapped around, and his gold-rimmed glasses were all bent out of shape. Zara had almost been violated by Herbert. With such a power imbalance, there was no chance of fighting back. If they didn't let Herbert take the paintings, what else could they do?

Chloe's words left everyone in silence.

Tony looked helplessly at Brian. Those were Grant's paintings, and now that Herbert had taken them, the Gibson family would have to sell everything to pay for them.

"Mr. Martin's paintings were lost on my watch. I'll try to gather some money to compensate him." Brian looked distressed.

He was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. He never expected that hosting an art exhibition would bring the Gibson family to the brink of ruin.

Chloe continued eating calmly, ignoring the anxious people around her.

"Chloe, call Mr. Martin and explain the situation. See how much he wants for those paintings. It's our fault for not being strong enough to protect his paintings." Brian approached Chloe and sincerely asked her to make the call. Chloe, having eaten her fill, wiped her mouth and said, "If I remember correctly, I was the one who let Herbert take those paintings, right?"

Chloe's words surprised everyone. "Since the paintings were lost from my hands, what does it have to do with the Gibson family? You didn't borrow the paintings, and you didn't lose them. You don't need to sell everything; just sit here and watch the show. The Gibson family can't handle Herbert, but that doesn't mean others can't. Those paintings that were taken aren't yours or mine. Let the owner of the paintings figure out how to get them back."

Chloe put down her utensils and started looking for her phone. Once she had her phone, she adjusted her emotions. Her previously calm face suddenly became pitiful. After trying to sob a couple of times, she began dialing Grant's number. No one knew what Chloe was up to.

Grant answered the phone quickly, and Chloe's soft sobbing started immediately.

"Hello, Chloe, what's wrong?" Grant, on the other end, became immediately concerned upon hearing Chloe's sobs.

After sobbing twice, Chloe pitifully said into the phone, "Grantie, I'm sorry, I didn't take good care of your paintings..."