Riches in Disguise

Victor shook off Charlotte's hand. "Don't play the poor card with me. Just tell me right now whether you are paying or not.noveldrama

"If you are, then accept the responsibility, and we will proceed with the appraisal process. If not, I'll call the police immediately."

Charlotte lost all composure when she heard him. There was no way she could afford to pay the compensation, but if she didn't, she might end up in jail.

Not only had she been deceived by Lucas, but she also had to run into such a difficult situation. She was indeed rather pitiful that night.

As the crowd in the hallway grew, with some even secretly taking photos, I couldn't bear seeing her in such a situation anymore, no matter how much I disliked her. As such, I stepped forward.

"Sir, this painting looks like a reproduction to me."

Victor was stunned for a moment when he saw me. He then asked in surprise, "What do you mean? Are... Are they your friends?"

I gave a nod. "Yeah. They are my friends."

Victor immediately understood what I was trying to do. His stern, cold expression transformed into a warm smile.

"Oh, well, I guess I can't keep up with the lie anymore. I can't believe you could

tell. Ha ha. This is indeed a reproduction, so there's no need to compensate us for

it.

"Brenda, clean this up quickly. We don't want Mr. White... I mean, we don't want anyone stepping on the glass!"

"Yes, sir."

With that, Victor walked away with his hands behind his back.

The rest of the people in the hallway were utterly dumbfounded. "A reproduction?"

"Damn. That guy almost scammed her out of three million!"

"What the heck? That poor girl cried her heart out, yet it turned out to be a reproduction. She begged for nothing!"

The people in the hallway looked at Charlotte with pity. Charlotte was on her knees momentarily in shock before grabbing Isabelle's hand to help herself up.

Infuriated, she snapped, "He tricked me! He tried to make me pay millions for a fake painting and even threatened to call the police! How dare he? I'm going to report him for fraud! I'll call the police myself!"

Seeing her take out her phone, I quickly stepped forward to stop her by grabbing her hand.

"You should let it go. There's no need for that. He's not making you compensate them anymore, so why bother looking for trouble? Besides, even reproductions cost money.

"This painting looks pretty good. It's probably worth a few thousand dollars. If you call the police, you might end up having to pay a few thousand in compensation."

Though still angry, Charlotte listened to reason and slowly lowered her phone. But as soon as she did, she pushed my hand away forcefully.

"Don't touch me!"

As I was momentarily stunned, I almost cursed her out.

Matthew couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Charlotte, don't push it! If William hadn't pointed out that it was a fake, you would've had to pay millions in compensation!"

Even Isabelle felt compelled to speak up for me. "Exactly! He just helped you-at least show him some gratitude."

Charlotte glanced at me with an arrogant sneer. "It was just a lucky guess. That's all!

"Even if he hadn't spoken up for me, I wouldn't have had to pay anyway once the appraisal or police investigation was done. In fact, I might've even gotten compensated!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Helping her out did nothing for me. It wasn't worth it at

all. Not wanting to deal with her anymore, I turned and walked away.

As soon as I got back to my room, I received a message from Victor. He texted, "Mr. White, was what I did just now okay? I didn't cause you any problems, did I?"

"No."

"That's good to hear. However, the painting was still your father's. I'm worried that he'll be upset since I made that decision on my own. Could you explain the matter to him for me?"

Not wanting to put Victor in a tough spot, I reassured him before calling my dad. Unexpectedly, he told me, "That hotel is yours anyway!"