Chapter 28 Who Slapped Whom
"Of course!" Matthew said proudly.
Rex naturally expected Matthew would say this. With a smile that was not quite a smile, he asked, "May I ask Matthew, from which friend do you purchase this painting?"
Upon hearing this, Matthew's face lit up with pleasure.
Could it be that Rex wanted to meet his friend?
What a great opportunity to make a connection.
"Mr. Ingram, his name is Guadalupe, the boss of the Antique Market, a very well-known figure. I can bring him here right away," Matthew said with a smile.
"No need," Rex waved his hand dismissively, then took out his phone, still smiling, "I know Guadalupe."
Rex, of course, knew this Guadalupe.
Guadalupe Diaz was notorious for selling fakes and counterfeits, often passing off his fake goods to those who couldn't tell the difference.
It seemed that Matthew had been deceived by Guadalupe.
But Rex didn't feel a bit of sympathy, dialed the number, and spoke indifferently. "Guadalupe, how have you been lately?"
On the other end was a steady middle-aged man's voice, with a tone of a cunning businessman, speaking loudly, "Rex, what brings you to call me today, coming to see the goods?"
Guadalupe was sitting in his shop in the antique market, sitting on a mahogany chair, savoring his coffee.
"Cut the nonsense, come to the Eagle Trade Showroom." Rex said bluntly, hanging up directly.
Guadalupe wasn't upset by this, but quickly drove his BMW straight to the Eagle Trade Showroom.
Matthew kept a smiling face all this time, saying, "Mr. Ingram, you know Guadalupe, then we are indeed fated."
Rex Ingram said nothing, sitting by the tea table, watching Sharon Allen praise himself like a fool, waiting quietly for Guadalupe.
A group of people also stood by Rex's side, silently waiting.
Although they didn't know why Rex had called for Guadalupe, they presumed he wanted to ask about the painting.
William’s phone rang. In the corner, William received a text message from Rex.
"William, don’t worry, I'll teach Matthew a lesson for you."
William looked up to find Rex Ingram smiling at him.
After thinking about it, William didn't stop him.
Seeing this, Matthew naturally felt uncomfortable and whispered to Rex, "Mr. Ingram, William is just a loser, not worth your attention."
Rex's face darkened, he didn't say anything, but he had already taken note of Matthew in his mind.
In less than ten minutes, the short and stout Guadalupe, dressed in a suit, arrived at the showroom.
The guy, greasy and smiling at everyone, looked like a buffoon.
"Rex, I'm here, what's the urgent matter?" Guadalupe quickly approached Rex, with a flattering smile on his face.
Matthew, seeing Guadalupe, also smiled and nodded at him, having made a good impression in front of so many people thanks to his painting.
Rex glanced at Guadalupe and said lightly. "Well, Guadalupe, business seems to be doing well."
Guadalupe was taken aback, then bent over and said. "Not at all, it's all thanks to Rex's reputation."
Suddenly, Rex slammed his hand on the coffee table, angrily pointing at the painting, and asked. "Guadalupe, did you sell this painting?"
This sudden move made Guadalupe tremble, sweating profusely.
Everyone around was stunned, completely clueless about what was happening.
Guadalupe was certainly scared. He had been able to establish himself in Lindwood City thanks to Rex's help.
But later, after he became wealthy, he had less contact with Rex and was self-sufficient.
Still, out of respect, Guadalupe didn't dare to cross Rex.
Guadalupe quickly turned to look at the display case, and his legs went weak at the sight of the million-dollar painting.
He was in trouble.
His counterfeit-selling scheme was about to be exposed.
"Rex, let me explain." Guadalupe was desperate, sweat beading on his forehead.
Matthew still didn't understand the situation and asked. "Guadalupe, what's the matter with you?"
Guadalupe's heart ached, realizing why Rex had called him, and he hurriedly said to Matthew. "Matthew, I'm sorry, the painting I sold you last time was a fake, I'll refund you the money."
"Fake?" Matthew let out a shriek.
Many people behind him also gasped, disbelieving.
Tyler was even more shocked, completely stunned.
"Guadalupe, what do you mean? What fake painting? I paid two million for it!" Matthew was overwhelmed, feeling hot and cold all over. "And Mr. Ingram just said the painting was authentic. Have you lost your mind?"
Guadalupe was now as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Hearing it was an original, he hurried to the display case, scrutinized it closely, and then exclaimed, "This is not the one you bought from me!"
Of course, it wasn't.
Others might not notice, but Guadalupe did.
In the bottom right corner of the painting's scroll, there was a small seal with four characters that read: Collected by Rex Ingram.
Everyone was only focused on looking at the painting and didn't notice this detail.
Because there were too many seals at the bottom.
"What? It's not the one you sold me?" Matthew was bewildered, a sense of dread washing over him.
Tyler was even more astonished, exclaiming, "Mr. Ingram, Guadalupe, what does this mean?"
Rex snorted coldly, stood up, walked to Guadalupe, glared at him, and said, "This painting is genuine, but it's not the one Matthew bought."
"Impossible, how could this genuine painting..." Tyler furrowed his brows, speechless for a moment, a little confused.
And Guadalupe also noticed the other painting thrown on the ground, picked it up and opened it, and immediately shouted excitedly, "This one, this is the one Matthew bought from me last time."
Everyone looked where the voice came from and saw that the painting Guadalupe picked up was the fake one that Tyler had thrown away like trash earlier.
In an instant, everyone's expressions changed!
What was going on?
And Tyler was shaking with anger, his face completely losing face, his face red with rage. "Matthew, what the hell is going on? Is that fake painting yours?"
Matthew, of course, wouldn't admit it, shouting. "How could it be? I spent two million on that painting, how could it be fake?"
After shouting, he glared at Guadalupe and said. "Guadalupe, you can't talk nonsense, look again, this real painting is the one I bought from you."
There was no way Guadalupe would lie in front of Rex, not even with a hundred lifetimes of courage.
Immediately, Guadalupe said. "Matthew, I'm really sorry, when I saw you didn't understand paintings, I gave you a counterfeit. I'll refund you three million, with an extra million as compensation."
"Who the hell wants your one million!" Matthew exploded.
Now he understood that the fake painting was indeed the one he had bought.
And this real painting was William's!
William had actually managed to buy a painting worth millions of dollars from the Antique Market!
What kind of luck did this guy have?
Although Tyler was angry, at least he had a real painting.
"Matthew, you actually brought a fake painting to deceive me!" Tyler was angry. "Don't come to my house anymore, and take back all the things you gave."
Matthew was speechless, completely unable to understand why Guadalupe would say such a thing in front of so many people, what benefit would it bring him?
Frustrated, Matthew glared at William Jones before leaving.
Today was too humiliating!
The key point was, Tyler's good impression of him was gone.
After Matthew left, Tyler asked Guadalupe, puzzled. "Guadalupe, how can you tell that this painting you sold is a fake."
Tyler didn't finish, afraid of embarrassing Guadalupe.
Despite everything, Guadalupe was still a reputable figure in the antique market.
Guadalupe forced a smile and said, "Tyler, actually, the genuine painting always belonged to..."
Cough!
Before he could finish, Rex coughed a few times, interrupting him, and shot Guadalupe several sharp glances.
The latter immediately understood, changing his words, "I make the counterfeit myself, how can I not recognize it?"
This statement sounded odd.
With this commotion, everyone now knew that the million-dollar painting had actually been found by Tyler's useless son-in-law, from the Antique Market.
What a stroke of luck.
Just as everyone was preparing to curry favor with Rex, he walked straight over to William with a smile on his face and said, " Young man, you’ve got good luck. Here’s my business card."
Saying so, he handed over a business card. William took it indifferently.
He understood that Rex was putting on a show for the audience.
"William, what are you spacing out for, hurry up and thank Mr. Ingram!" Tyler scolded when he saw William's indifferent attitude.
"Thank you, Mr. Ingram," William quickly said with a smile.
Rex could hardly accept the thanks, almost losing his footing, forcing a laugh.
William's indifferent attitude naturally annoyed many people, who began to mock.
"Mr. Ingram actually gave his business card to such a good-for-nothing."
"What's the big deal? It's just a business card, a good-for-nothing is still a good-for-nothing."
"Look at that dumb face. He’s going nowhere."
Ignoring the ridicule and laughter, William Jones stood quietly.
Just at that moment.
At that moment, his phone rang. It was Nancy.
Glancing at the time, he figured Nancy was probably impatient with taking care of Sarah and was urging him to come back.
Answering the phone, William apologized, "Nancy, I'm sorry, I'll be right back."
"William..."
Nancy, out of her ordinary self, wasn’t scolding him but was crying, "Sarah is missing."
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