The evidence was overwhelming.
But Cross still denied everything.
He claimed Lydia had acted independently.
Then investigators found an email.
One sentence.
Make sure Lawson takes the blame before anyone can authenticate the piece.
The case suddenly made sense.
They didn't simply want the statue destroyed.
They wanted it destroyed before its authenticity could be officially confirmed.
If the museum authenticated it, the value could become enormous.
Cross couldn't simply buy it cheaply anymore.
So they created another plan.
Destroy the original.
Then use the chaos to steal what remained.
But why frame me?
Because if the statue appeared to have been damaged by its owner, insurance investigators might treat it as a fraudulent claim.
The museum might stop cooperating.
And Cross could eventually acquire the surviving fragments through a private sale.
It was a sophisticated plan.
Almost perfect.
Except they had made one mistake.
They underestimated how carefully museums document important objects.
Before the destruction, Dr. Elaine Foster had already photographed the statue from dozens of angles.
She had recorded microscopic details.
Casting seams.
Surface oxidation.
Tool marks.
Every imperfection.
Those photographs became the key.
Elaine compared them with the broken pieces.
The pieces matched perfectly.
Then she found something else.
A tiny casting irregularity inside the statue's base.
The same irregularity appeared in the old photographs.
The statue was authentic.
And the broken pieces were still enough to prove it.
Cross's entire plan had failed.
The police arrested Lydia.
Then Julian Cross.
But Lydia didn't remain silent.
She confessed.
Not because she suddenly felt guilty.
Because Cross had promised to protect her.
He hadn't.
Once she realized she was facing prison alone, she told investigators everything.
She explained how Cross had learned about the statue.
How he had instructed her to photograph the property.
How they had weakened the statue.
How they planted my hammer and glove.
How she called the police before destroying the evidence.
Then she admitted the final part.
The statue wasn't supposed to be destroyed completely.
They intended to break it into large pieces.
Cross believed he could later obtain those fragments and secretly restore the sculpture.
He thought he could turn a family heirloom into a private fortune.
But the plan failed because the statue broke differently than expected.
The museum conservators eventually reconstructed it.
The restoration took months.
When the final piece was returned to my garden, I stood beside my mother’s old fountain.
The statue wasn't exactly the same.
The repaired areas were visible if you knew where to look.