Chapter 84 Spend the Rest of Your Life in Prison
As soon as she dropped that bomb, the whole gallery went dead silent!
This painting was the gallery's crown jewel. Folks flocked here just to catch a glimpse, making the place a hot spot that even got some TV time.
No way this painting could be a fake, right?
Sawyer sneered.
"Lady, this painting's been checked out by experts. It's the real deal. Don't act like you know stuff and throw around wild accusations."
Elijah, looking all jittery, chimed in, "Miss, how could this painting be fake? Tons of artists have verified it. It's definitely legit!"
Catherine just shook her head, her eyes locked on the "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn."
The real "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn" had a few roses in the upper left corner, something she had casually added while Dominic was painting.
Those roses took the whole piece to another level. Dominic loved it so much he hung it in his bedroom.
At its first showing, the roses weren't there, so even the forgers didn't know about them.
The painting in front of her, though pretty good, was definitely a fake.
Too many details were overdone, making it a far cry from the original "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn."
Catherine pointed to a corner of the painting and said, "In Dominic's original 'Secrets of the Forest at Dawn,' the brushstrokes here aren't like this."
Sawyer scoffed, "Lady, Dominic's brushstrokes are tough to copy. Who could possibly fake his work?"
Catherine looked at Elijah and said, "Get me some paper and brushes."
"I'll get it right away."
The gallery had plenty of art supplies. Elijah quickly brought over an easel, top-notch paints, and brushes, and handed them to Catherine.
Catherine grabbed a brush and started mixing colors right there. In no time, she nailed the colors of "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn"!
Dominic's brushstrokes and colors were notoriously hard to copy, a skill no one else had.
Many who tried to mimic Dominic's work gave up right away because they couldn't match the colors.
Catherine mixed the colors instantly. One color was a fluke, but she quickly mixed every color and started sketching. In no time, she had painted a corner of "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn"!
"These are Dominic's usual brushstrokes. Not only are the brushstrokes on this 'Secrets of the Forest at Dawn' wrong, but the color mixing is also off," Catherine said.
Everyone was floored!
The "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn" Catherine painted on the small canvas was even more vibrant than the one on display.
Sawyer gritted his teeth, his legs starting to shake as he said, "Even if you can paint, that doesn't prove this painting is fake. We dropped three hundred million dollars on this piece."
Catherine's gaze cut through him, cold and clear, and she asked, "You painted this, didn't you? And those three hundred million dollars went straight into your pocket."
Cold sweat broke out on Sawyer's face!
'How did she figure it out?'
'No! It's impossible! She must be bluffing!
'If this gets out, I'm going to jail!' he thought.
"You can't accuse me like this. How could this painting be mine?" Sawyer said.
Catherine whipped out her phone and, right in front of everyone, video-called Dominic. Before he could even say a word, she aimed the camera at the "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn" in front of her.
"What the heck? Isn't that painting still in my bedroom?" Dominic said, totally floored.
Seeing Dominic, Elijah freaked out. If this painting was a fake, he, as the manager, was in deep trouble!
"Mr. Chambers, can you confirm this painting's a fake?" Catherine asked.
Dominic chuckled, got up, and walked to his bedroom, showing Elijah the real "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn."
"Look, this painting even has the roses my clumsy student added. Can't I tell if the one in front of you is real? You've been duped!"
With Dominic's confirmation, everyone in the gallery was floored!
Catherine's eyes locked onto Sawyer, who was trying to sneak away. She shouted, "Elijah, if you don't nab him now, you're gonna be the one in cuffs!"
Elijah, snapping back to reality, quickly restrained Sawyer.
"Three hundred million dollars! You're gonna rot in prison!" Catherine said.
Sawyer didn't expect his secret to blow up in his face so suddenly. He was freaking out.
"I did it for the gallery! How is my painting any worse than Dominic's? You wouldn't show my work and only let me restore old stuff! After I painted this, didn't you treat it like gold?" Sawyer said.
"How dare you argue? What you did is illegal!" Catherine snapped.
Sawyer hung his head, knowing he was toast.
The cops soon showed up and hauled Sawyer away.
Elijah, looking all respectful, asked, "Miss, should we trash this forgery or..."
"Write Sawyer's name on it before destroying it and display it in the imitation section for a bit. He's got talent but went down the wrong path," Catherine said, feeling a bit sorry for him.
"But it's a fake, and Sawyer was so over the top. If we hang it in our gallery, it'll tank our rep," Elijah said.
Catherine sat down, looking at Elijah and the gallery staff, and said, "If you wanna prove yourselves, I'll give you a shot. Paint something for me now. The good ones will be exhibited, and the gallery will share the profits with you. In my gallery, there's no difference between masters and newbies. But I won't stand for shady stuff and fraud."
Catherine's voice was icy as she laid out the gallery's flaws and new demands.
"By tomorrow morning, I want to see the latest personnel structure and financial report."
"Yes!" Elijah's forehead was drenched in sweat!
He didn't expect Catherine to know both music and painting. Whether it was oil paintings, ancient pieces, or even comic exhibitions, she could spot the issues with just one look.
The area managers were all speechless.
"Change the exhibition areas, boost the visual effects, swap out some of the paintings, and ditch the useless sections." Catherine pulled out a stack of papers and quickly sketched out all the gallery's bad designs.
Everyone was genuinely shocked that Catherine knew everything!
She could spot what was wrong with just one look!
If they followed Catherine's suggestions, the gallery would definitely get a new lease on life!
"Yes, we'll get right on it!"
"Sorry for the trouble!"
Elijah now didn't dare to mess around in front of Catherine, nodding and bowing repeatedly. "It's no trouble at all!"
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