CHAPTER 1
This story began in October, before COVID-19. I was invited to spend a day with my Scottish cousin and her husband. Little did I know that I was about to be introduced to a story that would change my life, the lives of hundreds of children, and potentially the world.
We had just enjoyed a beautiful walk around the Crieff countryside and were settling down for a bite to eat. Our conversation started with talks about my anti-bullying presentations and summer camps but abruptly changed directions.
My cousin’s husband, Lindsay, told me about a lady he met as a bank manager in Crieff. She was looking for a loan for sixty thousand pounds to start a charity that would serve the children of Scotland. She was considering selling some of her family heirlooms. Lindsay told her the bank would loan her the money and not sell her items. This triggered her curiosity and interest in discovering the value of her family heirlooms.
The lady I am speaking about is Fiona McLaren. One of the items Fiona had was a painting that had been hanging up in her farmhouse, enhancing the interior over the years. The wall around the painting was painted, and some of the new paint was applied to the painting. The painting was given little attention. In the 1960s, Fiona’s dad, who was a physician, received the painting from a grateful patient.
However, when the crisis hit the 59-year-old woman, she decided to sell off unnecessary objects. “Traveling” between the piles of her belongings, she remembered the painting and brought it to the auction house Sotheby’s experts for valuation.
However, in an astounding twist, the picture is likely to have been the work of master artist Leonardo da Vinci and worth over 156 million dollars.
“I showed it to him, and he was staggered and speechless, save for a sigh of exclamation,” McLaren describes the expert’s response.
According to the auction house, the painting could be 500 years old and features Mary Magdalene with her son. Fiona brought the painting to an appraisal, and what she discovered would change her life. It was about to change the game. It was first thought to be a painting by one of Leonardo DaVinci’s apprentices.
The painting underwent a detailed verification process. The famous Leonardo Da Vinci expert Maurizio Seracini looked it over for a week. Maurizio returned to Italy to inform Fiona of his opinion of the artist in the painting. This gentleman’s verdict was delayed because he got an eye infection and was not well for several weeks. Maurizio’s verdict was confirmed. The painting was painted by none other than Leonardo Da Vinci. It has been proven to be five hundred years old and to have been housed in the Vatican. It was assessed to be worth four hundred fifty million pounds. Fiona McLaren would use these funds to establish the Catrina Foundation to help needy children.
This is where I come in. In my conversation with my cousin’s husband, he offered me the position of camp advisor.
Three collectors have shown interest in buying the painting. A financial representative who worked with J.K. Rowling and Princess Diana had been connecting with billionaires. You would wonder who would have this kind of money. There are people out there who do, as there are three interested buyers. Like all the stories that become adventures, this story will continue to unfold because of the willingness to push through fear and develop the courage that opens the doors to these adventures.
CHAPTER 2
The painting was initially thought to be John the Baptist and his children. Fiona later wrote a book entitled “The Last Commission,” which backed up her opinion of it being Mary Magdalen and her children. Jesus marrying Mary Magdalen and having children would create real controversy in the Catholic Church, and it did; the Vatican was not happy with the possibility that Jesus had children and married Mary. Fiona wrote an entire book on her justification for believing this painting to be that of Mary Magdalen. The proven facts, at this point in the story, were that the painting was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, that it was at some point in the Vatican, and that it was over five hundred years old.
The painting was brought into my cousin’s dining room when the facts were forming and changing to be refrained. The person framing the painting had no idea what he was framing: a piece of history by the master painter Da Vinci.
Interest has been shown by billionaires from the Middle East and individuals who want it as a showcase for the museum they wish to establish.
CHAPTER 3
The controversy around the painting has gone on for years. Self-proclaimed experts have said it’s not a Da Vinci, but after years of verification, there is no doubt that it is a painting painted by the master painter. Recently, there has been documentation from the Vatican that it was once in the Vatican but was stolen by Napolean and brought to France. The woman depicted in the painting is one of Louis XII’s wives and their children. How it got from France to England is speculation.
CHAPTER 4
Here is where the story turns into a bizarre coincidence.
I sat in my lawyer’s office in Burlington, admiring his walls of signed photographs from people like Lady Ga Ga, Tiger Woods, and Celine Dion. I knew my lawyer’s parents were billionaires and highly influential people. I thought, “I wonder if his parents invest in paintings.” I asked him the question, and his response was “yes.”
I prepared an information sheet on the painting and presented it to him. When he asked how much they wanted for it, I thought he was gasping when I told him an offer of two hundred and fifty million pounds was already on the table. He didn’t even flinch when I told him the price. He then told me that his family owned two Leonardo Da Vinci paintings. I couldn’t believe it. I connected him to Fiona’s friend, a professor at the Smithsonian Institute. Wouldn’t it be amazing if my lawyer bought the painting? I guess only time will tell
CHAPTER 5
What Does Time Say
