“Amateur!”

Tony loathed the proposal.

“Carbon-dating isn’t a foolproof method, yet you want a machine to do the appraisal. What a joke! Regardless if you’re using carbon-14 or thermoluminescence, none of these could beat the naked eye.”

Casper smirked at Tony’s admonishment. “You are right. Scientific appraisals have loopholes, but we wouldn’t know the difference till there is a comparison.”

The two men scoffed. “Stop pretending to be an expert. Now, return the jar to us! You can’t afford to pay if you break it?”

Casper laughed. “But I can. Let’s play a game. If the jar is genuine, I will pay you double the final bidding price at the fair.”

“What? You? Look at shabby attire. Where are you going to find the money if you can’t even afford a shard from the jar?”

Doubt filled Victoria’s mind as the men mocked Casper. She was impressed with his gut feel. However, his evaluations on the two items made no sense. Her interests were at stake because the vase and jar were finale items at the auction.

Tony pounded the table with his fist. “This is preposterous! Do you think you can act impudently because you’re rich? I don’t care about your finance. You owe us an explanation for claiming the jar to be a fake.”

He set the jar down and asked, “Mr. Lane, can you lend me your high-definition magnifying glass?”

Tony took one out of his toolbox reluctantly and gave Casper.

He felt a sense of familiarity during the examination. It felt different from the genuine antiques he had at home, more like the high-quality forgeries produced by his mentor.

Could this be one of his works?

certain the enamel temple jar was

time, he knew every piece like the back of his hand. A knowledgeable and gifted assessor with acute observation, he had surpassed most of his peers. Spotting an

Pretending to smash the jar was a ruse

worried expressions confirmed his

his family had hired Mr. Crane, who was once a famous master forger, to mentor him. The man made seventy-two replicas that were

made him public enemy number one in the world of antiques. Some loved him, while others hated him. His forgeries had caused men to lose every penny, but there were also men who made

and retired with a different identity. Finally, the Simpsons hired him to be Casper’s mentor. The man imparted everything about appraising antiques to his student. However,

most accomplished forger was also the best appraiser. To produce a replica that could pass as the real thing to fool the experts, a forger had to possess an

his mentor destroyed all his works, there weren’t many left in circulation. The jar wasn’t one of his, but

the director of the National Museum while the

forger to leave his trademark on his work. Mr. Crane would carve a pin-sized crane camouflaged amongst the motifs. The apprentice would have one

“Bingo!”

a

smiled at Tony, who felt a chill down his

what did

Lane, I wonder if you have heard of a legend in

you talking about the best master forger, Mr. Crane? I heard his workmanship was unmatched. His

at the sellers and smirked. “These men

the jar and the magnifying

and saw a fawn hidden in one of the

his competency in the field, Tony was clueless about the origin of that

a well-respected appraiser in Horington.

I believe he is continuing his mentor’s practice when he left

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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