Chapter 16 - Shadows on the Horizon
The success of the Lake Minnetonka sanctuary brought Hannah and Liam international acclaim, but success in the art and design world often attracts unwanted attention.
One rainy Tuesday afternoon, while Hannah was finishing a new collection of kintsugi vessels in her studio, a sleek black town car pulled up to the curb. A man in an impeccably tailored Italian suit stepped out, holding a manila folder.
He introduced himself as Julian Vance, a senior partner from a rival architectural conglomerate in Chicago. He claimed to represent an anonymous investor interested in purchasing the rights to Hannah's signature mosaic style for a massive commercial chain.
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Something about his cold, calculating smile and persistent questioning felt wrong. He kept steering the conversation away from art and toward Liam's ongoing architectural projects.
Hannah politely declined the offer, citing exclusivity agreements, but a lingering sense of unease settled in her chest. She couldn't shake the feeling that her newfound happiness was drawing the wrong kind of shadows from the corporate underworld.
