Chapter 306

Lucie stood off to the side, her eyes locked on the experts' every move, her heart beating so hard she could barely breathe.

They were only halfway through the inspection.

One of the ceramics experts paused in front of a display case, frowning as he picked up a delicately painted porcelain bowl from the Yongzheng era. He held it up to the light, checking the glaze, then gently ran his finger across the mark on the bottom.

He did this a few times before finally turning to his colleague. "Logan, can you take a look at this? Something feels off to me."

Logan took the bowl, pulled out a magnifying glass, and studied it carefully. After a long moment, he grabbed a spectrometer and tested the glaze and the clay. He hesitated, then said, "The glaze is too bright. It's a really good copy, but it doesn't have that soft, mellow glow you get with real age."

"And the iron content in the clay-it's 0.3 percent lower than the genuine article. That's a classic sign of a modern fake."

"Another forgery?" Lucie tried to keep her voice steady, but it still shook a little.

This was already the third swapped piece they'd uncovered in Gallery Three. The fakes were so convincing that even seasoned experts had to check and double- check before calling it.

"Yes, Ms. Anderson." The expert let out a sigh, sounding both tired and sure. "This one was fired using old techniques, and the clay came from an ancient source. Most people would never know the difference. If it weren't for the lab tests, we might have missed it too."

Lucie was an appraiser herself. She took the bowl, giving it another careful once- over. The experts were right. It was a fake.

"Keep going. I want every last piece checked before we leave tonight."

"Yes, Ms. Anderson."

The sweep went on.

In the jade section, an intricately carved piece of Hetian jade from the Qianlong period caught the attention of another expert. The craftsmanship was stunning, the jade itself smooth and luminous-anyone would think it was real.

But the lead specialist just stared at the tiny "pores" on the surface, then weighed it in his hands. “No, the density's off."

He called up archival photos of the

they original artifact and pointed to a tiny natural fracture on the base. The real one has this naturally formed 'fingernail line' right here."

“The fake has a similar line, but it's too neat-clearly manmade."

They ran the tests. Sure enough, it was a knockoff made from Russian jade, worth maybe one percent of the original's value.

When they finally counted everything up, Gallery Three was missing seven pieces and had five more that had been replaced with fakes. Each forgery was almost perfect, right down to copying the tiniest flaws recorded in the inventory Whoever did this had planned it fora long time.

"These people... they've been targeting the Anderson family's collection for ages," Lucie muttered, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her skin.

From Jose to Nathan, from cheap fakes to high-end forgeries, this wasn't just a one- man job. Not even close.

She glanced over at Nathan, who sat on the floor, pale as a ghost and shaking as security kept him in place. "Start talking. Who made these fakes? Where did you take the originals?"

Nathan's lips quivered, but he didn't say a word. He just shook his head over and

over.

Lucie took a slow, steadying breath, forcing down her anger. "Separate him and Jose for questioning. Get our best people on it. And call

customs and Interpol, if there's any

sign of the artifacts leaving the

country, I want them stopped

immediately."

She turned and walked out of the storage room.

It was pitch black outside now, and the chill in the air did nothing to cool the fire smoldering inside her.

They thought she was weak-just a newly divorced woman they could push around. They forgot she was the heir to the Anderson family. She'd never learned how to give up.

She had to win this fight. Not just to get the artifacts back, but to protect what her grandfather left her, and to defend her family's name.

"How many fakes have we found so far?"

"Sixteen in total. Plus, nine other pieces are still out on 'loan for exhibition' and haven't been returned."