Breitwieser and Anne‑Catherine visit the Royal Château of Blois to see Corneille de Lyon’s Madeleine. With many guards and tourists, both judge a theft impossible and move on. Having driven across France to the Loire valley, Breitwieser persuades Anne‑Catherine to take one more look before closing.

Back in the crowded room, Breitwieser notices a double frame and worries about concealment because it is too hot for an overcoat and he has no backpack. When several guards cluster for a brief end‑of‑day huddle and visitor traffic lulls, Anne‑Catherine signals him to act.

Breitwieser tugs the inner frame and discovers it is held only by a few strips of velcro. The ripping sound dissipates in the large room. He frees the portrait, shoves the framed painting down the front of his pants, turns his back to the guards, and walks out the door.

The theft, an elite target that would typically require extensive planning, is just one move in their near‑hundred‑heist streak, maintained at roughly three jobs a month. Even so, Madeleine remains one of France’s premier paintings.

Earlier the same day at the Château de Chambord, Breitwieser uses a Swiss Army knife to lever an antique display case’s sliding door off its track, reaches in, and takes a folding fan and two tobacco boxes. He rearranges the display, remounts the door, then drives to Blois and steals Madeleine.