“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?

was certain the enamel temple jar was a

his skills. Over time, he knew every piece like the back of his hand. A knowledgeable

his doubts. Pretending to smash the jar was a ruse to see

expressions confirmed his

who was once a famous master forger, to

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

all his works 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, he never taught

best appraiser. To produce a replica that could pass as the real thing to fool the experts, a forger

jar wasn’t one of his, but there were some similarities in the craftsmanship. It must be one of his

One became the director of the National Museum while the

his work. Mr. Crane would carve a pin-sized crane camouflaged amongst the motifs. The apprentice

“Bingo!”

a bird’s-eye. The galloping

is ingenious!” He smiled at Tony,

did you

you have heard of a legend in the antique world. There was a master forger who went

the best master forger, Mr. Crane? I heard his workmanship was unmatched. His replicas were

and smirked. “These men couldn’t find Mr. Crane, but their piece resembles

jar

saw a

about the origin of that mark.

well-respected

to have an apprentice named Mr. Buck. 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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