A Strange Thing
Like dozens of times before, Amy stared at the painting. There was something different about this time. A strange thing caught her attention as she gazed across the room.
It was when she squinted that she saw it. It appeared to have been tampered with before. It was obvious what she should do next. Taking it to a professional was the best course of action.
Low Light
One crucial detail about the painting made Amy's blood run cold. She wasn't sure whether the painting was an original, but her aunt seemed confident. There was something strange about what she saw.
Her eyes were opened to details she had never seen before when she saw the painting in low light. This painting had more to it than anyone had imagined.
Seeking Help
She called around to see if anyone knew more about art than she did, wanting to do right by her aunt. To better understand her painting, she asked an art history professor for a closer look.
The professor seemed much more interested when she explained what she had noticed about the painting. Both were unaware of what was about to happen.
Taking It There
The old painting was carefully loaded into Amy's car, and she drove to the meeting place. Whatever her aunt gave her, she knew there was more to it than meets the eye.
She learned that he worked at a university during her meeting with the expert. Her surprise would not have been foreseen.
Greed
Upon arriving at the meeting, Amy offered the man a handshake and finally revealed what they both had anticipated. Her attention was drawn to something at that moment.
There was a subtle greediness in the appraiser's eyes. He licked his lips as he stared at the painting behind the cloth. There was no blinking in his greedy eyes.
Restoration
She could tell by how he pulled the cover from the painting that he was eliciting a reaction inside him. "I can restore it for you," he said after looking at it for a long time.
It would only be revealed once a professional restored the painting that something was hidden. Amy wouldn't have expected the outcome.
The Return
Her painting was in the expert's hands for hours while he meticulously restored it. At least that's what he told her. Amy was unaware of his true motives. The project would take a week to complete.
Finally, the man told her he was ready to return it after a long week. When Amy saw what he had done, she would be shocked.
The Shock
The moment Amy saw what the so-called "expert" had done, her heart started racing like an Olympic runner. Why had he done that? The more important question is, what was she even looking at?
That's when he finally spoke up and explained everything. It was shocking to find out what her aunt had kept from her all these years.
The Fortunate Young Lady
Amy Cox lived with her parents in Concord, New Hampshire, her entire life. As a result of her father's success in real estate brokerage in the 90s, they were pretty much set for life. Her mother was responsible for ensuring their family was taken care of.
There was never a feeling of injustice for Amy. Her education was fully paid for, and she worked hard to earn a fine arts degree. However, she was unaware of what was about to happen.
Childhood Memories
She often visited her aunt Wendy, who lived just an hour away. The antiques in her aunt's house, made Amy remember her childhood memories of sleeping over there.
Amy couldn't take her eyes off of one thing, though. Nevertheless, she had no idea it would cause her trouble in the future.
A Painting
Wendy was an art collector and had many antiquities in her house. She had sculptures in every corner and paintings hanging on pretty much every wall. But there was one painting that Amy always remembered fondly.
It was the painting that hung in the guest room where she’d sleep. She’d stare at it before she fell asleep. It soothed her, but it wasn’t what it seemed.
Tragedy
At the age of twenty-five, Amy got a phone call that she couldn’t believe. It was her parents, and they had tragic news for her. Her aunt had passed away suddenly. Amy was devastated. She was always close to her aunt and, with such a busy life, didn’t get to visit her very often anymore.
Fast forward two months, and they had the ceremony and wrapped up the sale of her estate. But Amy got something she didn’t expect.
The Same Painting
As part of her last will and testament, Amy was given a familiar object. It was the very same painting she used to stare at as a child. She didn’t understand why her aunt even remembered that she liked it so much.
It brought back fond memories, and she decided to hang it on the wall in her home, but things would take a turn soon enough.
Normal Day
On an average day like any other, Amy got home from work and cooked dinner before eating on the couch. She was exhausted and wanted to go to bed. But then she started to think about her aunt.
She still wasn’t over her aunt, and old memories came flooding back. She started crying and stared at the painting on her wall again. But then she noticed something.
Looking Closer
Amy got up and looked closer at the painting. She saw a small corner of brown paper sticking out of the frame. She didn’t want to ruin it, but she didn’t remember that from her childhood.
Was it part of the wrapping it was shipping in? She slowly started pulling it out. But she couldn’t believe what she had in her hands after she was done.
A Note
It was a small brown envelope. The only writing on it was “To my dearest Amy.” She sniffed and wiped away her tears as she opened the envelope and pulled out a note. She started reading it.
As she kept reading through the notes, things started to get more complicated. She wasn’t being straightforward. Was she in her right mind when she even wrote it?
A Hint
The note was short and sweet, but all it said was, “I remember you loved this painting. Just remember to never judge a book by its cover.”
This left Amy more confused than ever. Was she just reciting a common phrase to live by? She decided to go to bed and get ready for the next day. But her mind wondered what Wendy’s words meant.
Couldn’t Shake The Feeling
Amy went to work the next day, but she couldn’t quite focus on being productive. She was thinking of what had happened the day before. Did she mean something, or was she just being nice?
And why was the note tucked away and hidden inside an envelope? Surely there was something important that she was missing? She needed to get to the bottom of this.
Getting Home
Amy thought about the painting the entire day. As soon as she clocked out of work, she raced home, thinking of nothing else.
She was supposed to make dinner, but instead, she was scrutinizing the painting. She stared at it for an hour. What was so special about it? But she had no idea what she was stepping into.
She Saw It
Amy stared at the painting, just as she had done dozens of times before. But this time, it was different. She stared at it from across the room before noticing something strange.
She squinted her eyes, and that’s when she saw it. It was like it had been tampered with before. She knew exactly what to do next. She had to take it to a professional.
Blood Running Cold
Amy’s blood ran cold when she noticed one crucial detail about the painting. Her aunt seemed convinced that it was an original painting, but Amy wasn’t convinced. She saw something that didn’t add up.
The moment she saw the painting in low light, she saw details she had never seen before. There was more to this painting than anyone thought.
Calling Around
Wanting to do right by her aunt, Amy decided to call around and see if there was anyone who knew more about art than she did. She managed to find a professor of art history and asked them if they could take a closer look at her painting.
When she described what she noticed about the painting, the professor seemed so much more interested. But neither knew exactly what they were about to discover.
Heading Over
Amy carefully loaded the old painting into her car and headed over to the meeting place. She didn’t know what to expect, but she knew that whatever her aunt gave her, there was more than what appeared on the surface.
She was meeting the expert at the university he worked at. But she wouldn’t be prepared for what they found.
Showing Him
After arriving at the meeting place, Amy shook the man’s hand and finally unveiled what they had both been waiting for. But that’s when she noticed something.
It was subtle, but the appraiser had a greedy look in his eye. He licked his lips as he stared at the painting behind the cloth. His greedy eyes are not even blinking.
The Truth
He pulled the cloth cover off of the painting, and Amy could tell it stirred a reaction inside of him. He stared at it for a long while before saying, “I can restore it for you.”
He explained that the painting was hiding something, and it would only be revealed once it was restored by a professional. But Amy wouldn’t be prepared for what the end result would be.
True Motives
Amy left the painting in the hands of the expert while he spent hours carefully restoring it. That’s what he at least told her. But Amy had no idea what his real motives were. It would take a week to finish.
After a long week, the man finally told her that he was ready to give it back. But Amy would be shocked when she saw what he had done.
Heart Racing
When Amy saw what the so-called “expert” had done, she felt her heart start to race like an Olympic runner going for gold. What had he done? More importantly, what was she even looking at?
That’s when he finally opened his mouth and explained everything. But she couldn’t believe what her aunt had been hiding from her all these years.
Another Painting
Amy didn’t understand what she was looking at.”This isn’t my painting!” She exclaimed to the restorer. But he smiled and said, “It’s quite a peculiar case, actually. Your aunt hid the real prize behind another painting.”
Amy was even more confused, but he was happy to explain to her exactly what he meant. Amy’s aunt’s painting was two in one.
Painted Over
The painting that Amy was so familiar with wasn’t the original work on the canvas. The expert theorized that in the early 1900s, the painting was painted over because of a shortage of canvases.
At the time, the original painting didn’t hold much value, but now that it was an antique, he had a lot more significance to the time period.
Renaissance
The original painting was from the 1800s and is a rare antique. This meant that it was worth so much more than the one painted over it. The restorer had a lot of skill to melt away the top layer without damaging the original.
The original painting was a scene out of the Renaissance. It was much more stunning and beautiful than ever before. Amy never sold it, though. It was too special to her.