Everyone Has an OpinionAfter bringing in the sound engineers who had sabotaged her premiere, Britney made Grandma Jones promise that only Lily would work with her from now on. And Grandma gave Jason what she thought was a suitable punishment: house arrest.Before he left, Kevin told the Jones family, "Maybe you should get someone to look into this further." The sarcasm in his voice wasn't lost on them and it showed on their faces.With Grandma Jones giving him a very dirty look, Kevin slowly walked out of the mansion.Lily trotted out of the front door, right behind him and said, "Kevin, wait a second!""What's the matter, my love?" Kevin asked with a smile.Lily blushed a little when Kevin called her that. She gathered herself together and asked, "Kevin, tell me honestly, did you already know the truth before you came here? And how do you know Britney? Why did she call you Mr. Williams?"After hearing Lily's last question, Kevin raised an eyebrow. With a mischievous smile, he replied, "Don't tell me you're jealous?"No, I'm not. Please tell me the truth!" Lily didn't know why, but she couldn't look directly into Kevin's eyes.Kevin smiled, shook his head and said gently, "That's enough. I won't tease you anymore. To tell you the truth, Britney and I went to school together. "If you were classmates, then why did she call you Mr. Williams? And why did she come over and ask if you were okay with her decision?" Lily searched Kevin's eyes, hoping to see the truth."I have no idea. Maybe it's because I'm so charming?" Kevin answered with a shrug.However, before Lily could press the issue any further, Kevin's phone suddenly rang.Without looking at the caller ID, Kevin said right away, "It must be my boss looking for me. I have to head to work. Take care of yourself."Kevin didn't give Lily a chance to ask any more questions. He just turned around and left.Kevin walked pretty far from the Jones mansion before he took out his phone again. He saw that it was Phoebe calling.Slightly confused, Kevin dialed her number. "Hello, Ms. Anderson. Sorry about the delay getting back to you. Is there anything I can help with?"Kevin, I really need your help. Do you have the time?" Phoebe sounded anxious."I think I can pull myself away from work. Where are you?" Kevin asked straightforwardly."I'm at the store. I'll be waiting for you at the door when you get here," Phoebe replied. She wanted to make sure Kevin got a better welcome than last time.After hanging up, Kevin waved down a taxi and got to Anderson Antiques in half an hour.As he paid the fare, he felt something in the pit of his stomach. What was it, he wondered.As soon as Phoebe saw Kevin, she immediately grabbed him by the arm and ushered him through the front door.As they walked toward the middle of the room, they could hear at least ten of the local antique shop owners arguing loudly, "This is definitely fake!"Then another one said, "I'd bet everything I own. This painting is definitely authentic."Then a third one responded, "You don't know what you're talking about. Just look at the frame. There's no way this is genuine."Kevin squeezed through the crowd and saw a man watching all this with a distraught look on his face. It was Phoebe's father, Truman Anderson. He was examining a landscape painting very attentively."Uncle Truman, you've been looking at that painting for so long now. What's your opinion?"When Kevin heard the pleasant voice, he looked around and saw a familiar face, Matilda Jones."Kevin, what are you doing here?" Matilda asked curiously.Before Kevin could say anything, Phoebe turned to Truman and asked, "Dad, what do you think? Do you want me to ask another appraiser to take a look?"Truman knew more about art history than almost anyone in Chicago. If even he couldn't identify it, how could anyone else do better?Just then, the man who was trying to sell them the painting asked nervously, "Mr. Anderson, can't you see that this is an authentic landscape? We need a decision right away."Please don't be impatient," Truman replied. "This certainly looks like a seventeenth-century Dutch landscape. However, I'm not familiar with the artist, so it's difficult to come to a conclusion.""The material looks authentic, and I can even see the proper copper and iron pigments," he continued and then paused. "My instinct tells me that this is from the Dutch Golden Age, but I don't recognize the artist. I just can't say it with certainty. Something's not right." "So, you're saying that my painting's a forgery," the man said angrily."I think it might be," Truman replied. He just couldn't give a definite appraisal.The other experts in the room mumbled in agreement. "Mr. Anderson must know what he's talking about."While they were all discussing the painting, Kevin slowly walked up and asked, "May I take a look?"One of them spoke up and rudely asked Kevin, "What are you doing? Do you think you know more than one of Chicago's leading experts? You're just going to make a fool of yourself."Matilda heard all these men scoffing at Kevin and looked over to see his reaction. She didn't know him well, but what she did know was that at Grandma Jones's birthday party, he had been able to appraise an eighteenth-century brooch at a glance. He had definitely made an impression on her.But this was different. Even Mr. Anderson thought that the painting was probably a fake. If Kevin made a fool of himself, she might open herself up to ridicule too, especially by her family.Truman looked at Kevin in surprise and then asked, "Aren't you Dorothy Jones's son-in-law?"Phoebe interrupted awkwardly, "Dad, this is the antique appraiser that I've brought in as a consultant." When the onlookers heard this, they all started laughing."Ms. Anderson actually hired this moron as a consultant?" one of them jeered.Truman looked at his daughter and let out a slow sigh. He'd never seen Kevin before, but he had heard a lot of rumors about him.It was the usual gossip that Jason had been spreading around among the members of the Jones family. According to them, Kevin was useless, and they all hoped that he and Lily would get a divorce as soon as possible.But he trusted his daughter. After all, she had been doing a fantastic job with the store. If she thought that he had something to contribute, Truman was willing to listen."Please be careful. If it turns out to be a forgery, we don't want to owe this man anything for damages," Truman said."Don't worry, sir!" Kevin replied as he started to study the painting.The atmosphere in the room changed. Everyone watched patiently to see if Kevin would make a fool of himself.Some of them were wondering if Phoebe was still too young to be in such a prominent position in the company.Phoebe started to get nervous. Although she was very confident in Kevin, she wondered if he was making a mistake. After all, her father had just given his own opinion.After only half a minute, Kevin's eyes flashed and he stood up straight with an astonished look on his face.The mumbling and comments from the onlookers started up again. They were all wondering how he could have come to a decision so quickly. But Kevin didn't pay attention to them. He turned around and looked at Phoebe and asked, "How much does he want for it?"Before she had a chance to reply, the man said hurriedly, "Two hundred thousand!"That sounds about right." Kevin nodded slightly.The rudest of the onlookers said loudly, "Who does he think he is? It's not worth fifty bucks! Mr. Anderson already said it was a fake." Matilda was disappointed to see this.Truman let out another sigh and looked at his daughter glumly, "So, this is your expert?"If there hadn't been so many people around, he would have scolded his daughter. She was actually paying this guy a hundred and fifty thousand a year? Sure they could afford it, but he still didn't like to waste money.When Phoebe heard this, she felt awful.How could Kevin have come to a decision so quickly? Did he really know anything? She was starting to have her doubts.Truman looked directly at Kevin and asked him bluntly, "Can you tell me why this thing is worth two hundred thousand dollars?"Kevin knew that the painting was worth ten times that amount, but he hesitated to say it out loud.Instead, he asked Truman, "Have you ever heard of someone named Vermeer?"Truman was stunned by his question. He answered with a hint of indignation in his voice, "Of course I have. One of the finest Dutch masters. But he only painted two landscapes in his lifetime. What you're suggesting is impossible." "How could this possibly be a Vermeer?" Truman asked him.The antique dealers surrounding them all had very puzzled expressions, not knowing what the two of them were talking about.Kevin explained, "Look closely at the style, the artist's use of light and shadow. There's a distinctive depth to this piece. And the pigments match Vermeer's preferences too. You can't help but feel some emotion as you look at this landscape."But he hardly ever painted landscapes." Truman responded excitedly.Kevin interrupted him and appealed to his experience, "Mr. Anderson, take another look and I'm sure you'll agree. This is a lost Vermeer landscape. I'm certain of it."Truman looked at Kevin in surprise. If this young man was right, this was an extraordinary discovery. After hesitating for a moment, he went back to the painting and took another look. This time, he pulled a magnifying glass out of his suit pocket.Less than a minute later, Truman practically jumped up and down. He shouted, "Mr. Landau, please arrange for this gentleman's payment!"The antique dealers, who had been watching this spectacle with great interest, couldn't believe what they had just witnessed." But seeing Mr. Anderson's excited reaction, they felt very awkward that they had been so rude to Kevin. Matilda looked at Kevin in disbelief. She thought to herself, "How could he have identified this painting so easily?"Phoebe wasn't quite sure what to think. She asked her father, "Dad, are you sure?"Of course I'm sure. Hurry up before the seller changes his mind," he whispered hurriedly in her ear.The man seemed to be anxious to complete the sale and leave," Fine. Then go ahead and pay me. I still have other things to do today and I've already wasted a lot of time here." Kevin laughed to himself. The man had no idea what he was giving up for only two hundred thousand dollars. He obviously knew nothing about art, just some guy making a quick buck. So how did someone like that get hold of such a valuable piece of art? Kevin really wanted to find out.