Lucas: "Thank you for meeting with me. I wanted to ask you about Maria and her work, specifically about the piece that went missing. Can you tell me about the days leading up to the exhibition?"

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Isabel: [sighs] "Those days were… strange. Maria was usually so confident about her work, but with Onyx, she seemed uneasy. She’d sit in her studio, staring at the painting, almost as if she expected something bad to happen. You know, she was always a bit superstitious, and with this piece, it was on a whole different level."

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Lucas: "Did she say why she felt that way?"

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Isabel: "She didn’t give a clear reason. Just that it felt different, like… like it was dangerous in some way. She was convinced it might bring trouble. And the attention it drew didn’t help—especially from that wealthy collector who kept trying to get his hands on it. She turned him down more than once."

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Lucas: "So she was worried about the painting itself?"

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Isabel: "Yes, and that’s why she decided to create a replica. I remember her telling me, 'It’s safer this way.' She didn’t want to take any risks. The replica stayed in her studio until the night of the exhibit."

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Lucas: "So you knew about the replica. Did she tell anyone else?"

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Isabel: [hesitates] "No. She kept it quiet, probably because she didn’t want anyone to think she was paranoid. She didn’t even want the gallery owner to know. But she needed that sense of control—having a backup. She was almost… afraid."

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Lucas: "Afraid of what?"

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Isabel: "I don’t know, but whatever it was, she felt it deeply. Maybe she knew something we didn’t. All I can say is, it was never just a painting to her."