Chapter Two: The Perfect Counterfeit

The review took place in the ground-floor gallery before directors, insurers, and three media outlets. Cheng displayed spectroscopy results first. “Leather age and dye composition match. Ms. Shen’s objection rests on stitches alone and irresponsibly damages our reputation.” Jianwei raised the side lighting over the bag. “A master counterfeit has less trouble copying materials than copying time. Genuine metal oxidizes at different rates in different places. This clasp was artificially aged on the surface, but the thread channels are new.” Magnified two hundred times, polishing marks appeared like tracks in snow. “Second, the brand used saddle stitches and concealed the finishing knot at the sixth hole. This one ends at the fifth.