Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3594

An hour later, Phoebe was deep into her event preparations when she received a text from Charlotte saying they had arrived.

She handed her clipboard off to a colleague and headed out to greet Grandma Evert and the others. Exiting through the back, she was making her way down a corridor when she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure heading toward the main exhibition hall.

Marina was surrounded by quite a few people. From that distance, and given how quickly they disappeared around a corner, Phoebe simply assumed they were a group of friends Marina had dragged along to the convention.

Meeting her family at the entrance, Phoebe escorted them inside. Charlotte puffed out her chest, beaming with pride as she eyed Phoebe's official staff lanyard. "Look at this, Mom. Phoebe is personally giving us a tour. So many people are staring at us—don't we look important?"

Grandma Evert nodded enthusiastically, her eyes brimming with pride as she looked at her granddaughter.

Once inside the vast hall, Grandma Evert was dazzled by the sheer scale of it all. "Didn't they say several international masters were coming? Where are they?"

"There's a meet-and-greet and autograph session later," Phoebe explained. "That's when the artists will make their appearances."

"I heard the mayor is supposed to attend the opening ceremony," Charlotte added.

Phoebe nodded. "Yes, he's already here. He's upstairs in the VIP lounge with our boss."

As they strolled deeper into the venue, Phoebe leaned close to Charlotte's ear. "I saw Marina just a moment ago."

"Marina?" Charlotte looked mildly shocked. "She actually showed up? How on earth did she get a ticket?"

"She must have bought one a while ago," Phoebe guessed.

Charlotte let out a cold laugh. "No wonder she acted so tough the other day. She already had her way in."

Phoebe offered a faint smile. "Money opens every door. Plus, she has Carson backing her."

Resentment flared in Charlotte's chest. "She really hooked herself a powerful sugar daddy, didn't she?" she muttered through gritted teeth.

Nearly an hour passed as they casually browsed the exhibits. Phoebe eventually settled her family into a private VIP lounge so they could comfortably wait for the guest artists' panel to begin.

Once her family was taken care of, Phoebe slipped into the backstage staff area, eager to ask if Nocturne had arrived yet.

Nocturne was already there. He had just finished exchanging pleasantries with several other renowned artists and was currently asking a staff member if Ashen had checked in.

The staff member informed him that Ashen had indeed arrived and was up in the second-floor reception room.

Excitement surged through Nocturne as he hurried upstairs. But as soon as he turned into the corridor, he froze. Marina was stepping out of the reception room, walking side by side with the gallery director, Quentin Sterling. Nocturne frowned in confusion. *What is she doing here?*

He was just about to step forward and greet her when Carson appeared right behind her, seamlessly sliding his hand into hers.

Nocturne stopped dead in his tracks.