Save Myself from Desperation

One morning, Zain came to Valentin's hospital room.

Ashley was hanging around, looking a bit tired. A faint shade of black had formed beneath her eyes. Zain thought about telling her to take a rest, but he knew she would just decline.

Joseph had been stopping by the hospital room every day.

During lunch, Ashley got a call from Noah at StarGavel Auctions.

Joseph guessed, "Noah's throwing another puzzle your way, Ashley. Put it on speaker."

Ashley thought the same, but with her mood, she didn't want to see anyone. She swiped the screen and picked up the call.

"Hey, Ms. Ramos, sorry for bothering you again," Noah said, keeping it quiet. "We've got someone at our auction house looking to sell two old bronze statues."

Selling bronze statues at auctions was a no-go, especially the rare Renaissance ones.

Regular bronze ones could be traded through a strict legal process.

"But our experts can't tell if these are real. Can you check them out?" Noah asked.

"I'm tied up right now," Ashley replied.

Being smart, Noah cut to the chase. "So, can you confirm if they're real?"

Ashley sighed. "I'll swing by in a few days."

Joseph muttered under one's breath, "Noah's a smooth operator."

On the other end, Noah whispered like it was a secret mission, "This seller seems shady. If these bronze statues are real, this could be a shady deal in rare artifacts. So, are you busy? Can you stop by now and help out? If there's a problem, we'll call the cops."Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Ashley frowned. She knew that trafficking artifacts was a real possibility.

Zain, hearing Noah on speaker, nudged Ashley. "Check it out. If it's shady, exposing it is a good deed. Plus, it's a thumbs-up for the country."

Besides, Zain wanted Ashley to change things up. She'd been stuck in the hospital room and looked worn out.

Checking a bronze statue wouldn't take much time.

Noah, recognizing Zain's voice, greeted him with respect. "Hello, Mr. Kingsley."

Zain gave a solemn "Hi".

After a pause, Ashley told Noah, "Okay, I'll swing by soon."

Noah showered thanks in high spirits.

Ending the call, Zain told Joseph, "Joseph, go with Ashley. Take care of her and help her relax. I'll stick around with Valentin."

"Got it, Grandpa." Ashley and Joseph headed to StarGavel Auctions. Noah had long been waiting at the entrance.

"Ms. Ramos, Mr. Fox, been waiting for you!"

"Just cut the small talk. Where's the guy with the bronze statues?" Joseph asked.

"He's in a private room on the first floor. Follow me." Noah led the way. "Honestly, those bronze statues even have some writing on them."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Alright, got it."

Stepping into the swanky room on the first floor, they spotted a middle-aged guy lounging in a chair. He had an ordinary square face, dressed casually, and there were two adorable bronze statues on the nearby table.

When he noticed Ashley, the guy, Tobby Swift, stood up, looking perplexed. "Who's she, Mr. Palmer?"

Noah adjusted his sleeves and grinned. "Mr. Swift, meet Ms. Ramos, our appraisal pro. We gotta check if these bronze statues are legit. If they're real, we can slap them up for sale."

Tobby eyed Ashley, uncertain. "But isn't she the celeb Ashley? Knows anything about old stuff?"

Noah proudly lifted his chin. "You catch her on that TV show? Ms. Ramos rocks at appraising on screen. She's also a fancy appraiser for StarGavel Auctions."

Tobby recalled that he had missed the recent TV show but had heard about Ashley's antique skills. 'She seems to know her stuff, maybe even more than that expert Charlie Ramos. But could a young gal like her handle these bronze statues?' he wondered.

As words got out about Ashley's arrival, other appraisers at the auction house quickly gathered around.

"Good to see you, Ms. Ramos."

"Been a while, Ms. Ramos, been a while. Mr. Fox is here too."

"Please check out these bronze statues."

Ashley smiled and chatted with them.

Next to her, Joseph proudly stood tall with his chest held high, soaking up the glory.

Seeing a bunch of elder appraisers praising Ashley, Tobby reluctantly believed that she was a special-appointed appraiser here.

"Please, Ms. Ramos, verify these two bronze statues I brought," he said.

Ashley turned her head, her eyes lighting up a bit. Joseph, catching her vibe, wondered, 'Are these bronze statues the real deal?'

Other appraisers who had already given the bronze statues a look whispered to each other. "The shine, the patterns, and the writing. I scoped them out with a magnifying glass, and they look pretty legit."

"But, you never know. People these days add fake writing to make fake bronze stuff."

A young appraiser, not totally sold, said, "I bet they're real!"

Next to Ashley were professionally crafted gloves. She put on two layers of gloves and, when she attempted to reach for the bronze statue on the left, she noticed rust on its base. She hesitated and decided not to touch it with her hands.

Instead, she grabbed a pro magnifying glass and bent down to carefully check the writing on the bronze statue.

After a bit, Ashley stood up and then eyed the right bronze statue for a while.

After a quick pause, Ashley shook her head. "Fake. Both of them are fake."

As soon as he heard this, Tobby's eyes popped in disbelief. "How's that possible? They are my special pick. They can't be fake. Do you even know antiques?"

Joseph, backing Ashley up, fired back. "Nonsense! She knows more than you. They are your special pick? Well, you got tricked."

Joseph had been itching to get involved, and now that they were fake, he touched them, asking,

"Ashley, how would you know they're fake?"

The young appraiser, who wasn't fully convinced, frowned, "Yeah, are you really sure they are fake? The rust, you see? They look just like the real things."

Ashley glanced at him and calmly explained, "These were made from pre-cast molds along with the Renaissance copper pieces. The inscription on them was added later. As for the rust on the outside, it looks authentic, but at the base of the bronze statues, there are uneven spots in the rust."

Joseph snatched up a bronze statue and checked out the rust on the base.

Other experts huddled in. "Look, right here! The rust isn't even. But what if it's just scratches? Besides this part, the rest of the rust looks legit."

Ashley spilled the beans. "This rust isn't natural. Someone put it there on purpose. They hit it with strong acid and then buried the bronze statue in a pit under the outhouse. It speeds up the rusting.

So the rust looks real, like the genuine stuff."

"What?" Joseph, hearing this, was completely thrown. "Buried under an outhouse?"

"Yeah." Ashley nodded. "It's the easiest way to fake bronze and rust it up. Even though it stinks when buried in an outhouse, the acid takes away the smell."

"Oh, crap!" Joseph shouted. He stared at the bronze statue in his hand, almost going crazy.

"I just touched this thing with my bare hands!" he added.