Chapter 37: The Switched Painting

Don't let Lorenzo's love for calligraphy and painting fool. He wasn't an expert; in fact, he was a total novice.

Alicia sounded super anxious. I quickly crossed a couple of small paths and saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of a calligraphy and painting shop, all buzzing about something.

I hadn't even squeezed in when I heard Lorenzo shouting angrily from inside, "If you keep doing business like this, karma's gonna get you!"

"Hey, don't trash-talk me! What's your deal with how I run my business?" the man shot back.

"I liked the item, I paid for it, and then you swapped it when you handed it over. Isn't that cheating?"

The shop owner laughed, "Are you kidding me? Tell me, how did I swap it? Got any proof?"

Alicia was hopping mad, "Proof? Let's check the surveillance footage, and we'll see!"

"Surveillance? Sorry, it broke a while ago. Haven't made enough money to fix it. Maybe you can help me fix it first?" The shop owner was shameless.

Lorenzo was so mad he started coughing, "You're out of line. You clearly swapped it. The item you gave me isn't the same as the one I saw. You..."

The shop owner slammed the table, "I've been polite enough. There are so many people here, and you're bullying me! I could say you're extorting me!"

"We're extorting you?" Lorenzo was too angry to speak, and Alicia said, "Dad, should we call the police?"

The owner snorted, "Call the police? Go ahead, I won't stop you. When they come, I'll say you're extorting me, making false accusations without any evidence!"

People around were whispering.

"The owner isn't simple. I heard he's got connections with the local police station!"

"What? You don't know? The owner's backer is the South District Police Station!"

"Really?"

"Of course, I heard the deputy chief of the South District Police Station is the owner's brother. Otherwise, how could he be so arrogant?"

Lorenzo heard it too and was so angry he almost passed out. I quickly went up to support him, and Alicia filled me in on what happened.

Turned out, when Lorenzo was wandering around, he took a liking to a religious oil painting by Paul Gauguin. Even though it looked like a practice piece, the brushwork and style were consistent, so it seemed genuine.

However, after agreeing on a price of $300,000, Lorenzo paid the sum. Upon inspecting the painting again, he discovered it was not the same one!

In environments such as this, influential individuals tend to single out newcomers for exploitation.

"Lorenzo, please don't be angry. Let me take a look at the painting?" I said.

Lorenzo glared at me, "You want to look at the painting? Do you even understand it?"

I smiled wryly and shook my head, "I don't understand, but maybe I can..."

"I'm so angry!" Lorenzo threw the painting to me and turned to glare at the shop owner, "Shameless! Crooked merchant! You'll pay for this sooner or later!"

The shop owner ignored him, looking confident that we couldn't do anything to him.

I took the painting and slowly opened it. It was an old oil painting with a unique style, a clear layout, and a mysterious and solemn religious tone. There was a signature in the lower right corner, though it was a bit blurred.

It was indeed Paul's name, but many imitations by later artists had reached near-perfection. If this was a fake, it might only be worth a few thousand dollars.

But Lorenzo had spent $300,000. He couldn't just get scammed like this.

Judging by the shop owner's boldness in disregarding the police, it appeared he held significant influence. The murmurs of the onlookers likely held truth.

I was at a loss, feeling super anxious, my eyes scanning the shelves in the shop.

All of a sudden, I narrowed my eyes and caught sight of a tiny white snake swiftly slithering across a parchment scroll on the shelf, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

I immediately had a hunch, this painting was not simple!