Chapter 304
The last time Kelly lost out on a necklace at auction, she had stayed gloomy for days. Her mood dipped so low, she even ended up in the hospital more than once.
Later, Carter had promised her-he’d get her a new necklace. One that would be even better than the one Sharon’s mother had once owned.
And now, seeing the necklace Deep Blue under the auction lights, Kelly suddenly understood.
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Carter… you didn’t have to do all this for me.”
Carter’s deep, steady gaze fell on her. “Deep Blue with your violin Deep Sea-that’s perfection.”
Kelly had wanted Sharon’s mother’s necklace purely to spite Sharon. But compared to Deep Blue, that necklace felt utterly insignificant.
Right now, her entire mind was consumed by the vision of herself on stage-Deep Blue at her neck, Deep Sea in her hands. Elegant. Untouchable. A vision made real.
And Deep Blue wasn’t like the other items tonight. It started with a base price of two million.
Unlike earlier lots, where the minimum increment was just in the low thousands, this one required at least ten thousand per bid.
Plenty of people had come tonight for this necklace alone.
Realistically, Deep Blue was worth somewhere around ten million. But given how tonight’s auction had gone so far, even ten million might not be enough.
Most predicted it could climb to twenty million easily.
As expected, the price quickly shot to eight million.
Then, for the first time all night, Carter’s voice sounded. “Ten million.”
The whole room shifted. The atmosphere tightened instantly, like the air itself had crystallized.
All eyes flicked toward him.
This was Carter, the man at the pinnacle of the business world in Zachemaine.
Who would dare go against him?
Even his rivals wouldn’t openly embarrass him. In business, today’s enemy could be tomorrow’s partner. Best not to burn bridges.
The auction hall fell into dead silence.
Even the auctioneer felt a moment of awe.
So this was what it meant to be a real boss.
A single line from him silenced the entire room. Like a walking mute button. (1)
Normally, the auctioneer would hype the crowd, do a little song and dance before starting the countdown.
But this time… it was Carter.
No one else was bidding. No one would dare.
No need to waste anyone’s time.
Chapter 304
“Ten million-going once.”
“Ten million-going twice.”
Just as the gavel was about to drop, a clear, melodic voice sliced through the silence.
“Twenty million.”
The room exploded.
“What?!”
Every head snapped toward the bidder.
Twenty million.
She’d doubled it. Instantly.
That wasn’t ten bucks. That was an entire ten million. 1
Sharon sat there, wearing the same serene smile as if this was the most natural thing in the world.
Her calm didn’t falter-not for the gasps, not for the stunned stares.
Yes, the necklace was beautiful. Maybe worth ten million at most. So was this a matter of love… or something else entirely?
The room collectively shifted their gaze toward Carter.
Bold. She was bold. No fear at all-not even of crossing Carter.
His eyes darkened as they settled on her.
Then, his gaze flicked to Nate.
Nate, still stunned, caught the signal and scrambled to react.
He lifted his paddle with visible hesitation. “Twenty-five million.”
He knew full well-whether or not the necklace landed in his hands, Carter would cover him.
But even so… his swagger from earlier was long gone.
This wasn’t fake money. This was real. Cold, hard cash.
No matter how much he wanted to play the hero, some numbers were enough to make anyone’s knees shake.
Nate understood exactly why Carter signaled him.
It wasn’t because Carter couldn’t afford it. It was because he wanted to test Sharon.
See if she was serious. See if this was just another stunt to bait them into overspending,
Because by now, the price had soared more than ten million over its real value.
This was no small number-not even for them.
But then… something happened.
Sharon didn’t stop.
She raised her paddle again.
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