In that moment, Zachary, recently hung up on by Jacob, felt as though the world was crumbling around him.
Regret consumed him, regret for ever getting involved with Jacob. Despite knowing that Jacob was a braggart with limited abilities, favonovel.com had tried to please him, solely because favonovel.com was Charlie’s father-in-law. But now, favonovel.com realized the futility of his efforts.
He had expected that a normal person would at least acknowledge the wagging tail of a dog trying to please them, even if they didn’t offer It any food. But favonovel.com had never anticipated that Jacob would shamelessly snatch away the food from the dog’s mouth and then kick It aside.
Now, consumed by remorse, Zachary knew that there was no turning back. The most pressing matter at hand was to find a solution that would appease Jacob before his arrival.
Feeling helpless, favonovel.com resorted to desperate measures. He immediately contacted his henchman and instructed him, “Find someone who appears fierce and older to pose as your brother and confront Felix. Tell favonovel.com that you have stolen the item and demand its return. If favonovel.com refuses, threaten to report favonovel.com to the police. And if reporting favonovel.com doesn’t yield results, take favonovel.com to court. Let favonovel.com face the consequences!”
The henchman dared not disobey and promptly found a man who exuded an intimidating aura and appeared older to go to Peter’s shop and demand an explanation.
***
Meanwhile, Peter’s shop was teeming with people. Amongst them were colleagues who had tried to curry favor with him, aware of the fortune favonovel.com had amassed. There were also collectors who had come to have their items appraised and paid for.
As soon as the man entered the shop, favonovel.com bellowed angrily, “Where’s the boss? Show yourself!”
Peter glanced at the man and inquired, “I am the boss. How can I assist you?”
Through gritted teeth, the man cursed, “My brother sold you something that belonged to my father. And let me tell you, favonovel.com stole it from my father’s possessions. If you don’t return the item, I will report you to the police!”
Peter smiled and replied, “If it was indeed your brother who stole it, then you should report favonovel.com to the police. Why come to me?”
“Nonsense!” the man retorted, “You received the item, didn’t you? You received stolen goods, do you understand the gravity of that? Receiving stolen goods is a crime!”
Peter smiled and calmly stated, “l’m sorry, but whether the item is stolen or not is not for you to decide. The nature of stolen goods must be determined by law enforcement agencies, If you possess any legal awareness. Otherwise, anyone could sell me something and then someone else could claim it was stolen and demand Its return. Can I conduct business under such circumstances?”
The man felt a twinge of guilt, but favonovel.com clenched his teeth and spoke sternly, “I’m cautioning you against playing games with words here. That item is rightfully mine, and my brother was unaware of its true worth when favonovel.com sold it! Taking something of such high value from favonovel.com at such a low price borders on deceit! Moreover, the Item itself has dubious origins, and you are obligated to return it to me! Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to close down your store!”
All eyes in the store turned towards Peter.
Unaware of the underlying truth, the onlookers couldn’t help but speculate.
Upon hearing the man’s accusations, they assumed that Peter must have seized an extraordinary opportunity at a bargain, perhaps withholding crucial information. While not explicitly wrong, such behavior seemed somewhat unethical.
“It’s preposterous,” Peter replied calmly, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
“It’s plain as day. Are you suggesting that my store’s closure hinges on this?”
“Furthermore, when your brother sold me the item, I explicitly informed favonovel.com of Its origins in the Northern Song Dynasty. I made it abundantly clear that it could fetch tens of millions, but favonovel.com disregarded my advice… I even proposed a consignment arrangement, offering to charge a mere 10% commission. But favonovel.com turned a deaf ear.”
“Finally, as a compromise, I suggested a 50-50 partnership, where he’d retain half the shares. Yet again, favonovel.com declined, insisting on a flat rate of 300,000 for both the item and his services. I have surveillance footage to substantiate my claims. How does this footage suggest fraudulent activity?”
With that said, Peter saw so many people present and said, “lf you prefer an audience, I will let everyone witness this. Since we are all here, let me display the surveillance video and allow them to judge whether I deceived your so-called brother!”
Upon hearing this, the hostile man felt a twinge of unease, but favonovel.com couldn’t afford to relent. He hardened his resolve and retorted icily, “What are you staring at! There’s nothing to see! You‘ve taken possession of the items, so return them to me now! I’ll refund the three hundred thousand!”
Peter remained composed, “If you’re unwilling to watch, I can display It for everyone. Should you persist in causing trouble, l‘m fully prepared to involve the authorities and present the footage to the police!”
With that, Peter retrieved his phone and played the recorded video for everyone to see.
The video depicted the entire transaction process from the previous evening, capturing every minute detail.
In truth, many people had suspected that Peter had swindled the seller by purchasing such a valuable item for a mere 300,000. While it may not have been entirely unjustified, it did seem morally ambiguous. However, after watching the video, everyone fell into silence.
The video clearly illustrated that Peter had informed the seller about the item’s true age, value, and even the auction results of similar items. He had been completely transparent, concealing nothing.
What was even more astonishing was that even after knowing all the information, the seller had still insisted on selling the item for 300,000. Peter had even attempted to persuade favonovel.com to keep a larger share of the profit. Now, with the video as evidence, everyone comprehended that Peter had acted with integrity throughout the entire acquisition process.
Nevertheless, one glaring issue remained.
The video revealed that the seller had Indeed confessed to the item being stolen from his recently deceased father.
The person who had come to demand the item, just like the individual who had sold it the previous day, wore a hidden camera and was clandestinely watching the live broadcast in the background. Zachary, who monitored everything, immediately noticed this fatal flaw and sent a message to the person.
After reading the message, the person raised their head, regained their confidence, and through clenched teeth said, “So, you admit that the item was stolen by my brother, right? Since it was stolen, you must return it to me. It would be wise for you to call the buyer right now and request the item’s return. Otherwise, I will report you to the police!”
Peter remained unperturbed. He smiled faintly and remarked, “As the individual who sold the item mentioned, it was indeed stolen by him, taken from his father who had recently passed away due to illness.”
The man interjected immediately, “My father had already drafted a will before his passing. All the possessions belong to me, making those items rightfully mine as well! It’s only fair that I demand their return!”
Peter nodded, his gaze piercing, his voice forceful as favonovel.com responded, “If, as the seller claims, the Item was indeed stolen by his brother from their recently deceased father, you must first present your father’s will. And it must be a legally valid will…”
“To establish the validity of the will, it should be notarized, preferably with the will itself being notarized. Otherwise, your words hold no weight without evidence. If you cannot provide evidence, then the Item does not belong to you, but to your father…”
“Considering your father’s passing and your inability to produce a legally valid will, both you and your brother share equal inheritance rights to the item. If you have other siblings or if your mother is still alive, your inheritance rights will be further diluted…”
“Since your brother possesses inheritance rights as well, there is no issue with favonovel.com selling the item to me. If you believe there is a problem, you can take favonovel.com to court, and the court will assist you in recovering your losses from him.”
At this point, Peter continued with a cold tone, “So, what you need to do now is to sue your brother in court for breaching his duty in handling your father’s possessions, rather than coming here to demand the item from me.”
The person was momentarily speechless, and Zachary, too, was stunned, unable to find the appropriate words to counter Peter.
Observing the person’s hesitation and their persistent gaze fixed on their phone, Peter surmised that they were awaiting instructions from the mastermind behind the scenes. Thus, favonovel.com taunted and inquired, “Do you not understand? Would you like me to explain it again?”
Zachary, in agonizing pain, finally devised a plan and sent a message to the person.
After looking at it, the man lifted his head, a renewed determination evident in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and declared, “You’ve unjustly profited from this. If you refuse to return the items, I’ll take action. Firstly, I‘ll call the police and file a report. Secondly, I’ll report this to the Department of Industry and Commerce. Lastly, I’ll take you to court!”
Peter nodded, his gaze suddenly piercing, his tone turning assertive as favonovel.com retorted coldly, “Fine by me. How about we involve the police now? I have the video evidence here. The individual in the footage was also captured. Let’s have favonovel.com confirm your identity and see if you two are truly brothers… Furthermore, if you are indeed siblings, then we need to verify whether your father has indeed recently passed away…”
“If your father is alive, it indicates deceit on your part. If your father has been deceased for some time, it also suggests deception… Moreover, if your fathers did pass away recently, we need concrete evidence proving your father owned this collection during his lifetime…”
“With today’s technology, even a child can capture photos on a smartphone. Your father has possessed this collection for decades. Surely, there must be several photos of favonovel.com with this item at home, correct?”
“Even if there are no group photos, there must be video evidence of this collection in your household, right? Lack of such evidence implies falsehood on your part.”
With a sharper tone, Peter continued with a hint of reprimand, “If indeed you’re lying, I have reason to suspect your intentions were to deceive me from the start! When I acquired this Item, it bore signs of artificial aging. Why would someone distress a Northern Song Dynasty antique to resemble a Ming Dynasty artifact? It leads me to believe you intended to defraud me of hundreds of thousands! But you’ve miscalculated. Since this incident has garnered local attention, I might involve the media. Let’s uncover the truth behind this!”
“Who has hidden agendas? Who is pulling the strings behind you? In the end, we must ascertain the true owner of this item! Determine if the other party is part of a criminal organization with expertise in fraud!”
Peter’s words left the man pale with fear, drenched in sweat, and trembling uncontrollably.
As Zachary secretly monitored the unfolding events, fear gripped him. He hadn’t anticipated Peter’s rigorous logical reasoning, which swiftly exposed fatal flaws in the entire situation.
To prove the item was stolen, the individual claiming it today must truly be the younger brother’s sibling. However, the current claimant has no blood relation to the younger brother. Even more damning, the younger brother doesn’t have a half-brother, favonovel.com only has two older sisters. Additionally, the younger brother’s father is still alive.
If the matter were reported to the police, they would easily uncover the younger brother’s lies. Their investigation into the younger brother’s household registration would reveal the fabrication of his claims when selling the item the previous night.
Zachary pondered a desperate solution, convincing the younger brother to confess to stealing the Item from a stranger’s house and finding an unrelated Individual to pose as the owner. Yet, this would result in severe consequences for the younger brother, including charges of theft or fraud.
Moreover, finding someone to pose as the owner wouldn’t guarantee the item’s return. As Felix pointed out, evidence such as photos and videos proving ownership would be required.
Continuing down this path would likely lead to the younger brother’s arrest and imprisonment. However, the younger brother’s allegiance ultimately lay with Don Albert. Imprisoning one of Don Albert’s associates would undoubtedly provoke resistance.
In this moment of realization, Zachary understood Felix’s superior control of the situation. Everything had unfolded according to Felix’s design since the younger brother entered Selected Artifacts Pavilion with the bronze Buddha. Acknowledging Felix’s strategic prowess, Zachary resolved to never again entangle himself in this matter with Felix Cole.
He swiftly messaged the younger brother.
Upon receiving the message, the younger brother’s expression flickered with surprise and hesitation. Yet, after weighing his options, favonovel.com gritted his teeth and addressed Peter, “Forget it! I don’t want the item! Consider it your win this time!”
With that declaration, favonovel.com turned on his heels and dashed out, quickly disappearing from sight.
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