Chapter 311: Fake

Catching his boastful tone, Jason sighed and shook his head. "Dad, you've been duped - it's a ploy. You think you profited, but they intentionally preyed on your overconfidence, baiting a self-proclaimed expert like yourself."

"Moreover, the real 'Bamboo in Ink' sold for $5 million years ago. This one cannot be authentic!"

Jason spoke with conviction not because the painting was his, but a gift from a sycophant years past. He had merely glanced at it before stowing it away, having little interest - but he knew no one would dare deceive him with a forgery.

"$5 million?" James Brown and Mary Martinez cried out, one aghast, the other thunderstruck.

"Impossible! My eye cannot be so mistaken! Look at the brushwork, the spirit, the verve - every leaf rendered with genius only Wen Tong could achieve! It cannot be a fake!"

"And how could you, a worthless fool, know of the 'Bamboo in Ink' auction before I did? Do you imagine your information supersedes mine?" James Brown raged, more desperate