Chapter 551 Finally, Agnes voiced her opinion, âI canât speak for the expertise of the rest out in the field, but if this is about charity, then any shady or fake stuff should be out of the picture.â
That seemed to have ticked off every expert in the room, they started to lash out at Agnes.
âWhat do you know, youâre just a young lady. Do you really think we canât tell a fake painting when we see one?â
âThis painting is legit, and Iâd admit I was wrong if it wasnât. Youâre just here to stir up trouble.â
âIâve been appraising paintings for years and have a ton of collections. Nobody knows better than me that this painting is authentic. I think youâre spreading false rumors out of spite.â
Despite the barrage of criticism, Agnes remained calm.
She spoke again, âI may not be a pro at authenticating paintings, but Iâm certain this one is a fake. Are you guys really antique experts? Donât you know that the authentic âVenusâ is being auctioned off today at Sothebyâs? Just ten minutes ago, it was purchased by the Louvre for eight million dollars. Do you really think the painting to be displayed in the Louvre is a fake, and this one with no official authentication appearing at this private birthday party is the real piece?â
Her words shocked everyone present.
What was this girl talking about? How would that be possible?
But someone checked on their phone and sure enough, they saw that âVenusâ had been sold.
The whole situation seemed like some dramatic plot twist. It was so surreal that it seemed as if someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.
Beatriceâs face turned sour.
Thereâs no way.
How could there be such a coincidence?
How could she be auctioning off âVenusâ here while another auction house was doing the same?
Someone spoke up, âItâs true. Itâs been reported by many media outlets, and the painting has been verified by experts both domestic and international. Itâs the real deal.â
There was no need for doubt, because thereâs no way Sothebyâs would auction off a fake.
Compared to Sothebyâs, Beatriceâs auction was peanuts.
Manuel was furious, âMs. Pritchard, how do you explain this? Are you saying that the one being auctioned over there is a fake and yours is the real one? Do you think weâre idiots? Holding the auction on the same day, itâs a joke.â
Beatrice never expected things to turn out this way.
She was even startled herself.
She had it checked at the time, but now that she thought about it, it seemed a little too coincidental when the âexpertsâ appeared, as if they had ties with the seller. They were probably in cahoots.
That meant she might have been swindled out of $200,000.
But Beatrice didnât really care about that.
Real or fake, how many people really cared?
Those who came today were all rich, most of them were just trying to show off their taste in culture, to maintain their reputations.
On one hand, they said they were doing charity, but on the other, they were flaunting their wealth or looking for opportunities to praise Berlin Thomas.
As long as no one blew the whistle, nobody really cared whether the painting was real or fake.
However, Agnes ruined it all.
But how could such a coincidence happen?
Even if Agnes had the ability, she couldnât control Sothebyâs, could she?
Beatrice didnât know why things turned out this way and was at a loss for what to do.
Manuel was pissed.