Chapter 96

A fake?

Haley's face twisted in outrage. "What are you talking about? Don't be ridiculous! I spent a fortune on that! There's no way it's fake." She turned to Saul, trying to reel him back in. "Mr.Vance, she's just talking nonsense. She's not even an expert. Don't let her fool you!"

In her mind, Stella was just jealous-trying to ruin her moment, especially in front of Saul.

But Saul? He looked at Stella with nothing but admiration.

He'd been watching everything from the lounge,including the moment Stella slapped Haley three times.

And he didn't think she was being petty-he thought she had excellent judgment.

She struck when she needed to, kept calm when it counted, and handled herself far better than Haley ever could.

It wasn't hard to see why William was backing her.

one doesn't match any of them. For starters, real medieval pipes were almost always carved from wood. This one is supposedly made from briar,but that's not the natural color of briar wood.Whoever faked it clearly didn't know much about the material. Also, the shape is just... wrong. Look at the angle-it's off. And the sides aren't even symmetrical."

Saul listened quietly, clearly impressed.

He loved antique pipes.

And everything Stella said? She was spot on. Real antique pipes were meticulously crafted. The bowl was never perfectly vertical, and when split down the middle, the two sides were usually mirror images.

They were handcrafted, demanding high craftsmanship.

But this one? The color was off, the angle awkward,and the symmetry-nonexistent.

Anyone who actually knew about pipes would spot it immediately.

Who would've thought Stella knew her antiques so well?

The pipe was placed on the table for everyone to

see.

One by one, people leaned in to inspect it based on Stella's points. Sure enough-the flaws were obvious.

This pipe really seemed to be fake.

"This pipe really does look fake. No wonder Mr.Vance didn't look impressed when he opened it earlier."

"Exactly. He's a collector. He must've noticed but didn't want to embarrass Haley right away."

The whispers around the room hit Haley like slaps. Her ears burned with shame.

She didn't even know it was fake.

Haley turned toward her mother, silently begging for help.

With the situation having escalated to this point,she didn't know what to do.

Beatrice caught her look and quickly stepped forward, putting on her best smile. "Mr. Vance,there must've been some mistake. We had no idea the pipe wasn't genuine. But our intentions were sincere. When you stayed in Achury, we took such good care of you-surely you don't

think we'd do something ündernanaea, louay s your birthday. Why let someone from outside the family stir up drama? Isn't that what's really going on here?"

She dropped the "Achury" reference deliberately,hoping Saul would soften up.

After all, they were technically relatives, and she was reminding him they'd once hosted him generously-hoping he'd return the favor with some leniency.