Master Nathan’s words left everyone stunned. The most surprised of all was Cara Preston. "Mr. Nathan, you must be joking, right? This painting is authentic!"
Master Nathan glanced at Cara Preston, his tone calm. "Thirty years ago, I had a friend who loved to copy the works of famous artists. He was particularly fond of painting ladies. At the ti, I happened to acquire this *Lady Painting* by Thaddeus Thornton, and he insisted on borrowing it to make a copy. When he finished, he wrote the character for ’word’ with a brush on the lower part of his painting. The sun is just right at the mont, so you can see it clearly."
After speaking, he pointed to the bottom-left corner of the painting. Sure enough, there was a tiny character for "word." If it weren’t for the sunlight reflecting off it, it would be completely unnoticeable.
Cara Preston’s face instantly flushed crimson. After all that, it turned out the painting from her grandparents’ house was a fake! And she had just gifted a forgery to the owner of the original. This was a humiliation of epic proportions.
She felt as if an invisible hand had slapped her across the face.
Elise Langdon said with a look of disbelief, "But this painting looks so real!"
Master Nathan said lightly, "Lana Cheney, go get the painting from Nathaniel’s room."
Lana Cheney acknowledged the request and quickly returned with the authentic painting.
Once the authentic piece was unrolled, everyone could see that while the one Cara Preston brought was quite well-done, it paled in comparison to the original. Anyone with a bit of artistic sensibility could tell the difference.
This ti, Elise Langdon was at a loss for words. They had intended to humiliate Vera Xavier, but the humiliation had booranged back onto them.
Master Nathan chuckled. "My old friend has passed away. Even though this painting is a fake, it still has value to . So, young lady, would you be willing to sell this painting to ?"
Cara Preston’s expression shifted several tis. She wanted to just give the painting to him, but now that it was proven to be a worthless fake, she couldn’t bring herself to offer it as a gift.
She was too embarrassed to even give it away, let alone sell it!
She gave a slight cough, but it was Rona Langdon who spoke up from the side, "I wonder how much Master Nathan is willing to pay for it?"
She could see it now too. Cara Preston had been utterly humiliated today. Since the loss of face was already a done deal, it was better to make a little money from the situation. After all, she would never turn her nose up at cash.
The mont those words left her mouth, Zachary Preston shot her a fierce glare. Of course he recognized the painting. His wife and daughter had taken a piece of art from his own parents’ collection to curry favor. He wasn’t a fool; he knew exactly what was going on with just a mont’s thought!
Master Nathan was quite straightforward. "This painting holds no value for anyone else, but to , it’s the work of an old friend. How about this: I’ll buy it from you for whatever you originally paid for it."
Vera Xavier, watching from the side, saw this and noticed the mocking curl of Master Nathan’s lips. ’It’s as clear as day,’ she thought. ’He’s putting them in their place.’ She was perfectly content to just watch the show.
Rona Langdon had always been the type to care more about money than people. Even the wonderful prospects of marrying into the Nathan Family that Cara Preston had described to her couldn’t compare to the imdiate profit before her eyes. Almost subconsciously, she held up five fingers. "Five thousand!"
But as her mother held up her fingers, Cara Preston panicked and blurted out at almost the sa ti, "Five hundred!"
Master Nathan asked with a smile, "One of you says five thousand, and the other says five hundred. So, which is it?"
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