The Mafia Heiress's Comeback: She's More Than You Think novel Chapter 259

Chapter 259 Identifying Real Obsidian

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You’ve been beaten–time to give up your most prized antique, as per our agreement,” Lucien said, standing before Dunn with his hand outstretched.

Dunn was sharply pulled back to the present by this demand. He instinctively moved backward. The antiques he had were exceptionally rare, even by Ozel’s lofty standards, and giving one of them to someone in Voutsas, a city known for its underdeveloped antique market, was out of the question.

“Surely you’re not thinking of backing down now?” The sternness in Lucien’s voice intensified.

This caused the bystanders to turn their gaze towards Dunn.

be the so–called top expert from Ozel? Looks like they can’t handle a setback!”

“Shut up! Who told you I can’t handle a setback?” Dunn retorted, trying hard to keep his cool

The loss of an antique was not his primary concern. The real issue was the public nature of his visit to Voutsas -his family and acquaintances were all aware that he was there.

A public defeat would severely damage his reputation.

Considering Voutsas‘ minor status in the antique world, a loss to a local expert here would ruin his credibility

forever.

“Just hand over the item, will you?” Lucien urged, his impatience evident.

“It’s not a defeat–I was just unlucky. If I had picked that painting first, I would have recognized it immediately,” Dunn said, clutching at a desperate excuse.

Everyone was instantly enraged by Dunn’s audacity.

He had appeared just as shocked as everyone else just moments before, yet now he claimed he could have identified the painting? His shamelessness knew no bounds.

“Does anyone here actually believe that?” Lucien scoffed at him.

“It doesn’t matter. I believe the entire contest was fixed. You cheated–placed the painting closer to Maren so she’d grab it before I could,” Dunn insisted, stubbornly escalating his accusations.

“Can you believe this guy claims to be an antiques master from Ozel? I once respected that place. What a

letdown.”

“Really, what sort of master behaves like that? He’s nothing but a brazen scammer.”

“That’s right! His reputation is completely ruined. The painting was right there in the middle, accessible to both. She was simply quicker, nothing more.”

0.0%

n

14:11

O

Chapter 255 1ping hal beden

I’m an employee here,” chimed in the chop seletant. And 1 cam secure you dis le sie Morgan’s Beat visie is our shop she couldn’t have meddled with anything rearranged that shelf my pet last night, es chesting is

out of the question”

Previously, people might have acknowledged TX * * competent antiques expert, albeit nest as adept as

Maren. Now, they recognized him for what he troly was bitter loser

Now, even the shop sesistant was defending Maren’s integrity

“Let’s all calm down.” Maren interjected, advancing with a piece of obsidian in her hand.

The crowd hushed at her command.

“You claim that luck was on my side with the painting, and if you had found it first, the outcome would be different. Did you inspect this piece of obsidian then” She approached Dunn, extending the dark stone

towards him

This particular piece had already been overlooked by Dunn, marked with subtle grayish–brown stains that

resembled soil.

“I did look at it,” Dunn said with a quick glance.

He had scrutinized the obsidian earlier, initially mistaking it for genuine, but eventually dismissed it as fake.

“Are you suggesting this is genuine obsidian?” he asked.

“It is,” Maren replied.

“Absurd!” Dunn laughed dismissively at her statement. “You fool, let me teach you something. The markings aren’t soil–they’re rust. However, obsidian, being a form of volcanic glass made largely of silica, is chemically inert. It doesn’t rust. Therefore, while it might seem like obsidian on the outside, I suspect it’s merely coated. The core is likely made of iron, because true obsidian would never show stains.”

“His assessment is correct.” Scotty and the onlookers, though clearly disgusted by Dunn’s behavior, still had to acknowledge his point.

Indeed, the stains were rust, which obsidian typically does not exhibit.

“You appear quite sure of your expertise,” said Maren, her tone steady amidst the agitated crowd.

“Was anything I mentioned inaccurate?” Dunn retorted. In his view, Maren was merely posing as a connoisseur. The thought of losing to her was intolerable.

“You’re not entirely wrong; you just haven’t grasped the full context,” Maren responded, capturing the crowd’s

attention.

“Really? Enlighten me, then,” Dunn scoffed. He was convinced she couldn’t provide a credible alternate

explanation.

The audience shared his skepticism, unable to conceive of any other interpretation.

Standing confidently before the assembly, Maren replied, “Normally, you wouldn’t find rust stains on obsidian. However, there is a rare exception to this rule.”