Chapter 551
Finally, Agnes voiced her opinion, “I can’t 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.”
That seemed to have ticked off every expert in the room, they started to lash out at Agnes.
“What do you know, you’re just a young lady. Do you really think we can’t tell a fake painting when we see one?”
“This painting is legit, and I’d admit I was wrong if it wasn’t. You’re just here to stir up trouble.”
“I’ve been appraising paintings for years and have a ton of collections. Nobody knows better than me that this painting is authentic. I think you’re spreading false rumors out of spite.”
Despite the barrage of criticism, Agnes remained calm.
She spoke again, “I may not be a pro at authenticating paintings, but I’m certain this one is a fake. Are you guys really antique experts? Don’t you know that the authentic ‘Venus‘ is being auctioned off today at Sotheby’s? 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?”
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 ‘Venus‘ 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.
Beatrice’s face turned sour.
There’s no way.
How could there be such a coincidence?
How could she be auctioning off ‘Venus‘ here while another auction house was doing the same?
Someone spoke up, “It’s true. It’s been reported by many media outlets, and the painting has been verified by experts both domestic and international. It’s the real deal.”
There was no need for doubt, because there’s no way Sotheby’s would auction off a fake.
Compared to Sotheby’s, Beatrice’s auction was peanuts.
Manuel was furious, “Ms. 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 we’re idiots? Holding the auction on the same day, it’s a joke.”
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 “experts” 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 didn’t really care about that.
Real or fake, how many people really cared?
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