Female Novel
Chapter 180
Chapter 180
“That’s ridiculous!” Liana struggled to keep the smile on her face. “I bought this from the Harpers‘auction house. It can’t be a counterfeit?
After she dragged the Harpers into the mess, Landon snickered. “Ms. Gardner, you are probablyunfamiliar with the industry because you haven’t been involved with auctions. Parry’s Auction of theHarper Group Is the biggest auction house in the nation,
“The items we take in have undergone stringent inspection and verification. It Is Impossible to buycounterfeits from us. It’s one thing to be ignorant; it’s another thing to ruin my family’s reputation.”
The look in Jasper’s eyes deepened. He recalled Alice’s smirk when she indirectly led Liana to buy thereplica at ten times the starting price at the charity auction. Could she have foreseen that Llana wouldbuy the painting for Newton?novelbin
Was it all a coincidence or a trap from the start?
“Ms. Gardner, a counterfeit item is different from a replica,” an expert voiced out his opinion to clear thename of the Harpers. “Some works of paintings are replicas but considered antique. It is hard for areplica to look the same as the original. A top–grade replica can fetch a high price.”
The expert continued, “However, the replica you bought is a little inferior. If not, I wouldn’t have beenable to tell it apart right away.”
“It can’t be a replica! I bought it for a million from Parry’s Auction!” Liana blurted out in the heat of themoment.
How could she have bought a counterfeit with one million? She must have been wrong in the head.The people around chuckled at her confession, including Betty, who had to cover her mouth to stop
herself from laughing loudly.
Oh, how the tables had turned!
“A million? Gosh, this painting is worth at most 100 thousand. I could only say that you havecontributed a lot to charity with that winning bid price!”
Liana’s mind went blank. Even Sophia suffered from second–hand embarrassment and looked away,refusing to stand up for her loser
niece.
“Let the matter rest. Regardless of the price, Ms. Gardner bought it with good intentions.” Newton mightnot have approved of Liana, but he would not fuss over the authenticity of a painting. He said coolly,“Ben, please take the painting.”
“Alice White, what do you have against me? Why would you do this to me?” Ashamed, Liana directed apointed question at Alice. She finally broke down from the humiliation she had received since thebeginning of the event.
Startled, everyone turned to Alice. She merely blinked innocently. “Ms. Gardner, what makes you saythat? I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
Jonah and Landon were astonished by the interaction between the two ladies. Did Alice outplay Lianaby being a bigger bitch?
“It’s you who tricked me! I wouldn’t have bought a counterfeit item with a million! It’s all because ofyou!” Liana pointed at Alice’s face, her voice hoarse from the anger.
Liana continued, “I might not be able to tell the art apart, but you must have known it was a counterfeit!You even started a bidding war with me and made me buy the painting. How could you do this to me?”
Jasper looked glum as he shot icy glares at Alyssa.
“I made you buy it? When did I do that?” Alyssa’s eyes glimmered, looking as though she was in shock.
Jonah was the first to stand up for Alyssa. He snickered. “Ms. Gardner, the auction is open to thepublic. It was a fair game. Alice could not have forced you to buy the painting against your will. Don’tyou think it was your personal decision?”
“She knew I wanted the painting. That’s why she started the bidding war with me. Whenever I raisedmy paddle, she’d follow suit. This continued until the price was 900 thousand from the starting price of100 thousand