Mr. Kendrick laughed — a short, humorless laugh."I, Kendrick, have handled real royal artifacts for forty years. The real prince's scepter is in the National Museum, locked in a vault. This piece of junk isn't even worthy to polish a prince's shoes! You were scammed, and you didn't even know it!"He tossed the scepter back onto the table with a clatter.Then he turned and looked at the scrolls and the other antique paintings they had brought as birthday gifts.He pointed at the large portrait of the ancient writing."And this? This writing? It's a replica of ancient writing. Recently made. Look at the ink — it hasn't even fully settled into the paper. Real ancient calligraphy sinks into the fiber after a hundred years. This is just printed and then brushed over to look old. You can still smell the chemical fixative."Grandpa Sedgwick finally couldn't take it anymore. He turned to Harold and Marcus and Frederick's empty spot. His face was red with fury and disappointment. His cane hi

"Yes," John said clearly. "This is a fake. This is a modern replica made by the Mac Jefferson Studio in America. Its real value is about five hundred dollars.""Preposterous!" Mr. Kendrick's assistant stepped forward angrily. "Do you know who Mr. Kendrick is? He has been appraising for forty years! Do you know how many museums hire him as a consultant?"Mr. Kendrick raised a hand to silence his assistant, but Mr Kendrick face was dark, he wasn't smiling either."Young John, those are very serious words. Do you have proof? I have examined this piece under a 10x loupe, under UV light. The glaze is natural, the crazing is natural. There is no flaw. How can you say it is a replica from Mac Jefferson? Do you know that studio? Are you sure they can make fakes that even experts cannot detect?"John was not intimidated. He tapped the belly of the elephant twice with his knuckle. It made a dull, slightly hollow sound — not the sharp ring of true pottery."The flaw, Mr. Kendrick, is not on the

"Marriage preparations?" John asked.Kyra laughed and hit his chest playfully. "What? You don't want to marry me? I understand. But it'll only be for a while till I gain full control of the Sedgwick corporation. I can't let it fall in the hands of my greedy uncles!"John scratched his head. "No, no, I want to. I just... it is a little fast."Just then, Kyra's phone started ringing loudly. She looked at the screen and her face changed instantly. It looked urgent."Hello? What? Now?" she said into the phone. "Okay, okay, I am coming right now!"She hung up and looked at John anxiously."John, I gotta go! It's the company. The board members are fighting again. Since Grandpa announced I am the new CEO, they are making trouble. I have to go to the office right now.""It's okay, go," John said.Kyra opened her small handbag and quickly took out a thick stack of cash and a bank card."Here, take this," she said, pushing it into John's hands.John was shocked. "What is this for?""For you! Fo

John walked quickly to Perry's flat room. It was a small room at the edge of Flux Academy, the cheapest dorm for students who could not afford much.He knocked and opened the door. Perry was sitting on the edge of his bed. His right hand was wrapped with cheap, dirty bandages. The bandages were already stained with blood. His face was very down. He looked pale and tired."Perry!" John said, surprised. "What happened to your hand?"Perry tried to hide his hand behind his back. "Nothing, John. It's just a small injury. I fell."John came closer. He did not believe him. He gently took Perry's hand and looked at it. Through his divine eyes.The bones inside were shattered. The nerves were torn. This was not a small injury. This was a very broken hand. It was broken in three places.If it stayed like this, Perry could no longer use this hand ever again. He would be disabled for life."Who did this?" John asked, his voice low.Perry looked down. "It was Blake. After you left. He said I did

Blake limped back to the small storage room at the back of Flux Academy. His nose bandage was crooked. His shirt was torn. His chest was hurting from Perry's punch. He was breathing hard.Mr. Victor Kane was inside, sitting on a wooden table, counting a small pile of money again. He looked up and saw Blake.His face immediately became angry."Blake! What happened to you again? You look worse than before! Did you fall into a gutter?"Blake quickly closed the door behind him. He was shaking a little."Mr. Kane, sir, there was a problem. I need you to handle it. Please, there was a big problem at the basketball court."Mr. Kane stood up. He was much taller than Blake. He crossed his big arms."I'm still pissed at you." Mr. Kane said loudly. "Listen, Blake! I will do no favors for you until you bring back my money! No favors! You hear me? First my thirty thousand, then we talk! You brought me useless small money yesterday. Now you come back with a new story?"Blake raised his hands, tryi