The Hour He Never Gave Chapter 17
When Ellie turned seventeen, she went viral again after her paintings sold for sky-high prices.
For her future, Sean and I decided to move back to Floravia and open an art gallery for her.
Even if she stopped painting someday, she’d still have another path waiting for her.
At the height of her popularity, Ellie started holding exhibitions all the time.
One day, while helping a fan look for a lost bag, Ellie suddenly pointed at someone on the security footage.
“Mom, this guy’s weird. He’s always the first one here and the last one to leave. But he never asks for photos or autographs. What does he even want? You think he’s trying to steal a painting?”
The second I saw the blurry figure on the screen, my chest tightened.
We hadn’t seen each other in decades, but I recognized him instantly.
Sean leaned over for a look too.
He clearly realized who it was and started to say something, but I pressed a hand against his arm and lightly shook my head.
I smiled at Ellie. “Maybe he’s just an older superfan.”
Ellie looked excited. “Maybe he’s the mystery buyer who keeps paying insane prices for my paintings!
“I should thank him. I know I’m good, but my early stuff definitely wasn’t worth that much.
“Some people even said I hired someone to fake the bids. If this mystery buyer came out and said we’re not connected, that’d help a lot.”
Sean snorted. “That’s because my daughter’s paintings are worth it. He’s the lucky one for getting them.”
Ellie’s words made my chest tighten. A bad feeling crept in.
“Ellie, you’re not planning to contact this buyer, are you?”
She shook her head. “If he wanted to reach out, he already would’ve. Besides, I’m an artist. A little mystery is good
for me.”
***
Another ten years passed.
Ellie painted less and less.
Her exhibitions grew rare too.
Instead, she got into art appraisal and collecting.
One day, she received a strange booking request.
Holding up the payment notification, she walked over to me. “Mom, this amount is way too specific. And if the painting’s really valuable, shouldn’t I be paying them instead?
“This deposit’s even higher than my normal booking fee. It’s so weird. If my schedule wasn’t already packed that day, I honestly might’ve gone to check it out.
“But what if it’s a scam? What if they try to kidnap me or something?”
The dread in my chest only got worse.
Sean tensed beside me. “Don’t go. There are too many scammers out there now. And don’t keep the money.”
Ellie refunded it immediately.
That afternoon, I got a call.
The man on the other end sounded polite. “Hello, is this Lucia Leighton?”
I stayed silent.
He continued, “I’m Dylan Stein, Pierce Emery’s assistant. He has terminal cancer and wants to see you and your daughter one last time.”
In the end, I went alone.
At the door, Dylan stepped aside respectfully.
The frail man in the hospital bed lit up the second he saw me.
Then he strained to look behind me.
I closed the door behind me. “Your ‘rental fee’ was refunded. Ellie isn’t coming.”
The light in Pierce’s eyes died instantly.
“Lucia… I’m sorry.”
I glanced around the room.
The walls were covered with Ellie’s paintings from over the years.
So he really was the mystery buyer.
Right across from his bed hung one of Ellie’s earliest paintings, ‘Family.’
The painting only showed me and Ellie.
On Ellie’s left side was an empty space.
That was where Pierce used to stand in the old family photo by our front door.
I didn’t say anything. I just left a recent photo of Ellie beside his bed.
I heard Pierce died that same night after I left.
He went smiling.
Ellie’s photo was clutched against his chest.
Everything he had left was donated to families with children suffering from heart disease.
I turned off the news and listened to Ellie talk about everything she’d been up to lately.
Sean never asked about my final meeting with Pierce. Like always, he happily finished cooking and called us over
for dinner.
“Coming–”
The table was filled with all of Ellie’s favorite dishes. She instantly wrapped her arms around Sean’s neck like she used to as a kid.
“Dad, you’re seriously the best dad ever. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Sean laughed and flicked her forehead. “There you go sweet-talking me again.”
Watching them laugh together, I couldn’t help smiling too.
Outside the window, the sunset glowed soft and gold.
All the love and hate from the past had slowly faded with time.
