Chapter 13 - The Falconer Was Found in Geneva
Recovering the original sculpture took almost a year.
It had passed through four owners.
The current owner was a retired Swiss financier who had purchased it through a respected dealer and had no reason to know its history was fraudulent.
That complicated everything.
There were ownership claims.
Insurance questions.
Good-faith purchaser laws.
Negotiations between attorneys in multiple countries.
No dramatic police raid.
No instant return.
Eventually, the evidence was strong enough that the parties reached an agreement allowing the sculpture to be surrendered pending final resolution, with financial claims redirected toward the parties responsible for the fraudulent sale.
The day the Falconer was authenticated, I stared at the photographs.
The tiny repair beneath the left arm.
The correct maker’s mark.
Victor’s notes had been right.
The original still existed.
Marco had not destroyed it.
He had turned it into money.
May you like
And then spent fourteen years hoping nobody would discover which sculpture was real.
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