Chapter 6 Counterfeit Goods

Everyone was watching the appraiser's work intently when Emily, just back from the restroom, quietly slipped back to Brooke's side.

She curled her fingers and casually brushed against the back of Brooke's hand.

Brooke, having successfully received the signal, showed no reaction but silently straightened her back, her face taking on greater confidence and composure.

During the authentication process, appraiser Aiden had already noticed something off about the fragment, but thinking of the money that had just hit his account, he immediately collected himself and pretended nothing was wrong as he continued with the next steps.

Dozens of minutes later, after completing the series of procedures, Aiden gently placed the fragment back in its protective case.

"What's the result?" Emily pressed.

Aiden gave an ambiguous answer: "This thing... is quite something."

Quite something?

Everyone was puzzled, and the impatient ones urged him to just announce the result.

Aiden put away his authentication tools. He looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Brooke: "It's real. You have a good eye."

Then he turned to Flora with fake advice: "As for you, don't talk nonsense if you don't know what you're talking about."

Flora didn't argue back. She coldly crossed her arms, staring straight at Aiden's face, mockery flowing in her eyes.

The old woman never expected this result. She absolutely didn't believe Flora's judgment was wrong, but now Aiden had given a clear result - they had lost.

What went wrong?

"Wait."

The old woman stepped forward, but as Brooke turned around, she accidentally noticed something wrong with the ink spot on the painting.

In an instant, all the doubts had answers.

Seeing the old woman staring hard at the fragment in her hand, Brooke felt guilty and quickly turned to block her view, asking with false bravado: "What? Want to back out?"

At this point, they could only accept defeat!

The old woman sighed. Instead of responding to Brooke, she asked Aiden: "How much money did you take?"

Aiden, who was about to leave, suddenly froze, completely unprepared for the accusation to turn on him so quickly.

He played dumb while trying to stay calm: "Our authentication fees all follow market standards."

Sensing something was wrong, Brooke immediately stepped in front of Aiden and retorted sarcastically: "You lost, so you're blaming others."

The old woman's previously gentle expression suddenly turned cold. She sneered: "Whoever has a guilty conscience knows it in their heart."

With that, she shook her head in disappointment and prepared to leave with Flora.

Seeing them about to go, Brooke's long-suppressed anger suddenly surged. She stepped forward to block their path: "You're not leaving!"

"What do you want?" Flora stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with the old woman.

Nolan silently followed her movement.

"What do I want?" Brooke let out a heavy snort through her nose, laughing in anger. "You lost and now you're playing dumb with me?"

"I won, so you two must apologize to me right here, and pay me for emotional distress!" Her attitude was arrogant and forceful, as if they wouldn't be allowed to leave today unless they complied.

Flora narrowed her eyes, her words carrying a warning: "Ms. Johnson, don't push your luck."

To the onlookers who didn't know the truth, Flora's words seemed unreasonable. Seeing that they not only showed no intention of admitting fault but were so righteous in their demands of Brooke, everyone immediately piled on pressure, forcing them to apologize.

Seeing public opinion favor Brooke, Aiden, who had just been questioned, chimed in: "Accept your loss gracefully, don't embarrass yourself."

Seeing Aiden dare to humiliate her amid the chaos, Flora immediately lost her temper and said coldly, "Does your teacher know you're violating your professional ethics for profit?"

Hearing her mention his teacher, panic flashed across Aiden's face, but he still stuck his neck out stubbornly: "Stop changing the subject!"

"In that case, I'll have your teacher come see whether this is real or fake."

With that, Flora took out her phone and made a call directly.

Seeing Flora actually call someone and even give the address, Aiden's heart raced.

No way? Could she really know his teacher?

Impossible! He was the teacher's most valued and promising student. Whether it was external assignments or dinners, the teacher always brought him along. He knew everyone around his teacher.

This woman must be bluffing!

Aiden adjusted his cuffs with forced composure and sneered: "Stop putting on an act. My teacher is a giant in the authentication world, not someone just anyone knows or can get to come here!"

Flora ignored Aiden's words and simply said to everyone: "Her teacher happens to be nearby and will arrive in about ten minutes. Those interested in what happens next can wait."

The constant twists and turns made everyone very interested. Hearing this, most people chose to stay.

Brooke knew that backing down now would only confirm Flora's claims, so she could only say she would wait for the person to arrive too.

Emily shut her mouth, trying hard to minimize her presence. When no one was paying attention, she slipped behind Aiden and asked in a low voice: "Your teacher won't really come, right?"

"How would I..."

Before he could finish, he saw a woman in a dark blue trench coat rushing toward them, her high heels making crisp sounds against the ground.

'Tap, tap, tap'

The sound got closer and closer, and overwhelming panic engulfed Aiden.

His teacher had really come!

His legs went weak, but he immediately straightened up and quickly walked toward Bianca Brown, trying to complain first.

But before he could say much, Bianca spotted Flora in the crowd.

At that moment, shame and anger surged up, and she didn't hesitate to slap Aiden. "You bastard, is this what I taught you!"

"Ms. Brown, teach..." Aiden covered his swollen right cheek, trembling all over.

Flora didn't want to hear their nonsense. She pointed directly at the fragment in Brooke's hand and asked Bianca, the teacher, "Just now your student said it was real."

After looking at it, Bianca got even angrier. She cursed at Aiden: "Was everything I taught you wasted? It's so obviously fake and you said it was real!"

If word of this got out, not only him but even she would be laughed at in the industry!

Brooke staggered back two steps in disbelief, clutching the painting fragment tightly to her chest, shouting in breakdown: "Impossible, this is clearly real!"