Chapter 84 Spend the Rest of Your Life in Prison
As soon as she said this, the entire gallery fell into an eerie silence!
This painting was the gallery's crown jewel. Many people came to the gallery specifically to see it, making the gallery a must-visit destination. It had even been featured on numerous TV interview programs.
How could this painting possibly be fake!
Sawyer smirked.
"Ms. Windsor, this painting has been authenticated by experts on TV. It's definitely real. Please don't pretend to know what you're talking about and make wild claims."
Elijah was also getting anxious. "Ms. Windsor, how could this painting be fake? Many artists have authenticated it. It's definitely genuine!"
Catherine calmly shook her head, her gaze falling on the light and shadow-layered "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn."
The real "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn" had a few roses painted in the upper left corner as decoration - a finishing touch she had casually added while Dominic was painting.
Those few roses elevated the entire visual effect of "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn" to another level. Dominic treasured it so much that he hung it in his own bedroom.
During its first exhibition, the roses weren't painted on yet, so later forgers had no idea those roses existed.
The painting before her eyes, though well-painted, was definitely a fake.
Many details showed obvious overwork, making it nowhere near the same level as the original "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn."
In front of everyone, Catherine pointed to a corner of "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn." "In Dominic's original 'Secrets of the Forest at Dawn,' the brushstrokes here don't follow this sequence."
Sawyer said dismissively, "Ms. Windsor, Dominic's brushwork is impossible to imitate. Who would forge his work?"
Catherine looked at Elijah. "Bring me paper and a brush."
"Right away."
The one thing the gallery wasn't short of was painting supplies. Elijah quickly brought over an easel and handed Catherine the finest paints and brushes.
Catherine picked up the brush and began mixing colors on the spot, skillfully blending the colors of "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn" in just a few strokes!
Everyone knew that what made Dominic impossible to imitate was his brushwork and colors. His color-mixing skills were unmatched in the industry.
Many who wanted to copy Dominic's work gave up at the first step because they simply couldn't reproduce those colors.
Yet Catherine mixed them right away. One color might be a coincidence, but she quickly mixed every color, picked up the brush, and began sketching. In moments, she had painted a corner of "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn"!
"This is Dominic's usual brushwork. This 'Secrets of the Forest at Dawn' not only has wrong brushstrokes, but the colors are also off."
Everyone was stunned!
The "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn" Catherine painted on the small canvas was even more vivid than the one on exhibition.
Sawyer bit his lip, his calves already trembling.
"Even if you can paint, that doesn't prove this painting is fake. We paid three hundred million dollars for this piece."
Catherine's gaze fell on him, clear as water.
"You painted this, didn't you? And that three hundred million dollars went into your pocket."
Cold sweat broke out on Sawyer's face!
How did she figure it out?
No! Impossible! She must be making it all up!
If they found out, he'd go to prison!
"You can't slander my reputation like this. How could I have painted this?"
Catherine took out her phone and video-called Dominic in front of everyone. Before Dominic could speak, she pointed the camera at the "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn" before them.
"What's this? This painting is still in my bedroom right now, isn't it?"
Seeing Dominic, Elijah couldn't care less that this was a heavyweight figure in the oil painting world. If this painting in the gallery was fake, he as the manager would be held responsible!
"Mr. Chambers, I need to ask - are you sure this painting is a fake?"
Dominic laughed scornfully, stood up, and walked to his bedroom, showing Elijah the real "Secrets of the Forest at Dawn."
"Look, this painting even has the roses my hopeless student painted on it. Can't I tell if what you're looking at is real or not?"
"You bought a fake!"
With Dominic's personal confirmation, everyone in the gallery collapsed to the floor!
Catherine's gaze fell on Sawyer, who was preparing to flee. "Elijah, if you don't arrest him now, are you waiting to be arrested yourself?"
Only then did Elijah snap out of it and rush forward to restrain Sawyer.
"Three hundred million dollars! You'll spend the rest of your life in prison!"
Sawyer hadn't expected his long-hidden secret to be exposed so suddenly. He was panicked and terrified.
"I did it all for the gallery's good! How is my painting any worse than Dominic's? You all refused to exhibit my work and only let me restore old paintings! After I painted this, didn't you all treasure it like a precious gem?"
"You dare make excuses? You committed a crime!"
Sawyer hung his head dejectedly, knowing he was finished today.
The police soon arrived at the gallery and took Sawyer away.
Elijah asked respectfully, "Ms. Windsor, should we destroy this fake or..."
"Before destroying it, write Sawyer's name on it and exhibit it in the reproduction section for a while. He has talent, he just went down the wrong path."
"But this is fake, and that Sawyer was so terrible. If we hang it in our gallery, it'll definitely hurt our reputation."
Catherine sat in a chair, looking down at Elijah before her, her gaze sweeping over all the gallery staff.
"You want to prove yourselves? I'm giving you a chance. Paint me a picture now. The good ones will all be exhibited, and the gallery will give you a share of the profits."
"In my gallery, there's no difference between master artists and beginners."
"Similarly, I won't tolerate people who maliciously suppress others or commit fraud."
Catherine's voice was cold as she quickly pointed out all the management loopholes in the gallery with precision, making new demands.
"Tomorrow morning, I want to see the latest personnel structure and financial reports."
"Yes!"
Elijah's forehead was covered in cold sweat!
He hadn't expected Catherine to truly understand both music and painting. Whether it was oil paintings, classical paintings, or even manga exhibitions, she could point out their characteristics at a glance.
The area managers were struck dumb one by one.
"Redesign the exhibition areas, expand the visual effects, rotate out a batch of paintings, and remove all the wasteful and useless exhibition sections."
Catherine took a stack of paper at hand and quickly sketched out all the poorly designed areas in the gallery.
The managers present really hadn't expected Catherine to know everything!
She could spot problems with just one look!
If they really made changes according to Catherine's suggestions, the gallery would definitely be transformed!
"Yes, we'll do it right away!"
"Thank you for your hard work."
Elijah now truly didn't dare play tricks in front of Catherine, nodding and bowing repeatedly. "Not hard at all, not hard at all!"