CHAPTER 138: CHAPTER 138: HOW MANY FORGERIES HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED SO FAR

Early next morning.

Josephine Thompson swiftly began the inspection of all artifacts.

She led a team comprising seven seasoned experts and appraisers to the first sub-museum overseen by Curator Warren.

Curator Warren accompanied them the entire time, open and straightforward, proactively unlocking all storage rooms and display cabinets for the experts to examine meticulously.

From Shang and Zhou bronzes to Ming and Qing paintings, each collection piece was checked against its number, verified with anti-counterfeiting marks, and had its material and age tested with professional equipment.

Three whole hours passed.

The expert team concluded: "President Thompson, all collections in Curator Warren’s sub-museum are genuine, with no registration errors."

Josephine Thompson sighed in relief and nodded to Curator Warren: "Thank you for your hard work, Curator Warren."

Curator Warren wiped his sweat, smiling: "It’s only what I should do. President Thompson’s thorough approach is something we all should learn from."

Leaving the first sub-museum.

She immediately led the team to the second sub-museum, managed by Director Linton.

Just started checking the storeroom.

The lead veteran expert frowned, picking up a Ming Dynasty blue and white plum vase, tapping its body with his fingertips: "The porcelain quality isn’t right, the sound is dull, unlike the kaolin of the Xuande period."

Another expert took out a portable spectrometer to test the vase’s mouth for a moment, his expression turning grave: "President Thompson, this is a modern imitation, the cobalt in the porcelain body is completely inconsistent with ancient ceramics."

Josephine Thompson felt her heart sink.

She walked to a row of display cabinets, personally picking up a Qing Dynasty jade sculpture for appraisal.

The tactile warmth was somewhat less than what she remembered, and the underneath mark was blurry.

Despite the counterfeit being extremely realistic, she still recognized it.

"This one is fake as well."

The expert also carefully examined it, "It’s fake."

"The imitation is quite close, but the distribution of the jade’s cotton is too deliberate, it’s artificially aged."

Josephine Thompson’s palms turned cold, her heart panicking in waves.

It was already the third antique being replaced.

The loss had already surpassed five billion.

She dared not think further; even if only a few pieces were replaced among so many collections, the loss would still be immeasurable.

"Continue checking, we must inspect all collections today."

"Yes, President Thompson."

The experts continued with the inspection and appraisal.

As the inspection deepened, more problems emerged.

A Qing Dynasty Hetian jade bracelet had been replaced with a Qinghai material imitation.

The Dawnveil Dynasty Ru kiln tea cup was swapped for a casting fake. Even a painting by a master from the Republic of China period purchased last year had been substituted with a high-grade replica.

Totaling it up, no less than eight treasures had been replaced, each invaluable.

"President Thompson, eight counterfeits have been found in the second sub-museum."

Josephine Thompson heard this, her skull buzzing, her whole body chilling with anger.

The Thornton Family was large, yet she was the sole heir.

The people under her evidently saw her as a woman, thinking her easy to deceive and fool.

Added to that her divorce from Nathaniel Gallagher, these individuals became even more unchecked.

"Director Linton, do you have anything to explain?"

Director Linton stood pale and unsteady, his legs almost giving way, continuously murmuring: "President Thompson, it wasn’t me... it really wasn’t me, I don’t know how this happened..."

Josephine Thompson ignored his defense, coldly saying: "Mark and seal all the counterfeits, record detailed information."

"Initially control Director Linton and the deputy director, as well as all the persons in charge of the second sub-museum."

"Understood, President Thompson."

The security team immediately acted, controlling seven to eight individuals, "Cooperate fully, don’t compel us to use extreme measures."

Josephine Thompson was anguished, "Quickly inspect the third sub-museum."

"Mm-hmm."

...

The final stop was Curator Sterling’s third sub-museum.

Perhaps knowing that their accomplices were exposed, the situation here was even worse.

As soon as the experts opened the main storeroom, they found seven or eight empty display boxes stacked in the corner, the corresponding items in the registry marked as "on loan for exhibit".

But Josephine Thompson knew well that there had never been any related loan records.

Experts continued their meticulous inspection of the storeroom in the third sub-museum. Each artifact underwent visual observation, material testing, craftsmanship comparison, and other processes.

Josephine Thompson stood aside, closely watching their actions, her heart constantly in her throat.

Midway through the inspection.

An expert responsible for porcelain appraisal stopped before a display cabinet, tightly furrowing his brows as he picked up a Qing Dynasty Yongzheng period pastel cross-wall plum-meandering bowl.

He first examined the glaze color against the light, then gently rubbed the inscriptions on the bowl’s bottom with his fingertip.

After several repetitions.

He uncertainly told a colleague beside him: "Zimmerman, come take a look at this, I feel something’s not quite right."

Another expert, Zimmerman, took the bowl, using a high-magnification lens to meticulously observe for a while.

Then, after analyzing the glaze and porcelain body composition with a spectrometer, he pondered for a moment: "The glaze color is too bright; though it imitates well, this lustrousness lacks the warmth accumulated by the passing years."

"Moreover, the iron content in the porcelain body is 0.3 points lower than the genuine article, a characteristic of modern imitations."

"Another fake?" Josephine Thompson’s voice contained an almost imperceptible tremble.

This was the third replaced item discovered in the third sub-museum.

The craftsmanship was so authentic that even seasoned experts needed to compare repeatedly to confirm.

"Yes, President Thompson."

The expert sighed, confidently stating: "This counterfeit used traditional firing methods and deliberately sourced old mine materials for the porcelain body; the average person would see no difference. If not for the instruments detecting the compositional variation, we might have been deceived."

Josephine Thompson herself was also an appraiser.

She once more examined the bowl in detail.

Indeed, as the experts said, it was a counterfeit.

"Continue the inspection, ensure all collections are checked today."

"Alright, President Thompson."

The inspection remained ongoing.

In a display cabinet housing jade artifacts, a Qing Dynasty Qianlong period Hetian jade piece caught the experts’ eyes.

This piece was intricately carved, its jade quality warm and seemingly indistinguishable from the genuine article.

The lead veteran expert, however, stared long at the "pores" on the jade material, weighing it in his hand: "No, the density is incorrect."

He called for an archival photo of the genuine article, pointing out a small natural flaw at the base of the piece: "See here, the genuine item has a naturally occurring ’fingernail line’."

"Though the imitation also features similar lines, their direction is overly deliberate, artificially polished."

After instrument testing.

It indeed confirmed this was a counterfeit made from Russian Jade, with a value discrepancy close to a hundredfold.

After the final tally.

The third sub-museum, in addition to the seven missing items corresponding to the empty display boxes, also revealed five replaced counterfeits.

Each of these five fakes was crafted to perfection, with some even replicating the minute flaws recorded in the collection registry, evidently premeditated.

"These people... had long targeted the Thornton Family’s collections." Josephine Thompson clenched her fist, her nails deeply embedded into her flesh.

From Linton Hall to Curator Sterling, from sloppily made to indistinguishably real, the theft under the guise of protection involved far more than one or two individuals.

She glanced at the pale-faced, shakily frightened Curator Sterling being held by security personnel. "Speak, who made these fakes? Where did you transport the real ones?"

Curator Sterling’s lips trembled, speechless, only shaking his head persistently.

Josephine Thompson took a deep breath, suppressing her anger: "Separate him and Director Linton’s people for interrogation, get the most experienced to conduct it. Also, contact customs and Interpol, intercept any suspect artifacts leaving the country immediately."

She turned and left the storeroom.

The sky had already turned black, yet the cold weather couldn’t dissipate the chill in her eyes.

Those people thought they’d find an easy target in a recently divorced woman.

They forgot she was the heir of the Thornton Family, with unyielding tenacity in her veins.

This battle, she had to win, not only to recover the artifacts but also to safeguard the legacy her grandfather left and uphold the honor of the Thornton Family.

"How many counterfeits have been identified so far?"

"A total of sixteen, along with nine items ’loaned for exhibition’ that have not yet been returned to the repository."