The Cameo’s Counterfeit Double

This flow follows the creation, circulation, and discovery of fake cameos, showing how mistaken identity fuels the novel’s unresolved mystery.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Frenchman Plans a Swap

A Frenchman Plans a Swap A profitable substitution Charles de C... offers Roger Bolduc a copy made from the family cameo’s impression, allowing Roger to sell the authentic stone. The copy is intended to preserve the D’Anjou family’s symbolic heirloom. The plan depends on secrecy The arrangement requires the original to be certified and the replacement to reproduce its distinctive flaw. The attacks interrupt the transaction before the participants can know what happened to either object.

Two Claims, One Object

Two Claims, One Object Competing requests reach New York The authorities receive claims from Georges D’Anjou and Charles de Castelmont, each supported by photographs. Both parties connect the jewel to people who may have died in the attacks. The recovery is mishandled A single object has two claimants, and officials struggle to determine ownership. The uncertainty creates an opportunity for a counterfeit to pass as the recovered original.

Robbart Orders Copies

Robbart Orders Copies A shortcut to close the case John Robbart and a CIA contact decide that reproductions could satisfy both claimants. They commission copies based on photographs, hoping to resolve the dispute without recovering the actual stone. A risky deception The plan substitutes fabrication for verification. The two fake cameos create an official appearance of closure while pushing the original farther from the people who know its history.

The Copies Reach the Families

The Copies Reach the Families Different reactions Georges D’Anjou accepts the returned copy as genuine, while Charles de Castelmont quickly spots that his is false. The divergence gives Charles reason to believe that the real cameo may still exist. False certainty shapes the future The D’Anjou family treats the replacement as recovered heritage, while Loïc remains uncertain about the Cuban stone. The counterfeit therefore protects the original’s mystery and distorts subsequent claims.

A Photograph Reopens the Case

A Photograph Reopens the Case The fake is exposed Mathieu D’Anjou sends Charles de Castelmont photographs of the family cameo as part of a DNA proposal. Charles recognizes that its distinctive scratch is a recent imitation, matching the fake he received. The true object is confirmed lost The double counterfeit proves that New York officials distributed copies, not the recovered original. The revelation resets the investigation and strengthens Charles’s belief that the authentic stone can still be found.

September 2001

September 2001 to 2002

2003

2003

October 2016