Chapter 201: The Final Lot
"How... how much?" After a dead silence, someone in the crowd finally asked, their voice trembling.
They knew this thing might be cheap, but they never expected... *this* cheap!
"Fifty thousand."
"One hundred thousand."
"..."
The quicker-witted ones had already started raising the price—not for the worthless rock, but mainly for the so-called mysterious tycoon.
Arabella Donovan raised her paddle for the first time as well. Ms. Kerr glanced over, slightly surprised. "Miss Donovan, you like this stone?"
"I think it’s oddly beautiful. It would be perfect as a decorative rock in my grand-uncle’s garden."
Ms. Kerr: "???"
’This stone... is beautiful?’ Ms. Kerr silently glanced at the big, grimy, grayish rock on the stage, not quite understanding Arabella Donovan’s sense of aesthetics.
But since Arabella Donovan liked it, she forced herself to offer a compliment. "Now that I look closer, its shape is certainly unique. You have a good eye, Miss Donovan."
Arabella Donovan probably felt her own reason was a bit flimsy, so she just smiled without saying more and turned her attention back to the bidders.
Just as Caspian Rhodes had predicted, the stone’s appearance had deterred many experts in stone gambling. Most of the early bidders were simply hoping to snag a bargain due to the low starting price, while also trying to see if this was an opportunity to meet the mysterious tycoon.
But once the price surpassed five hundred thousand, the number of bidders slowly dwindled.
When Arabella Donovan called out eight hundred thousand, the few people who had been bidding against her silently lowered their paddles.
"Eight hundred thousand! Do I have a higher bid? Number eighteen bids eight hundred thousand! Eight hundred thousand, going once... Eight hundred thousand, going twice... Eight hundred thousand..."
Just as the bidding was about to close, a familiar voice suddenly cut through the crowd.
"One million."
Arabella Donovan raised an eyebrow and followed the sound of the voice, her eyes meeting Timothy Donovan’s smug, gloating expression.
"One million! Number fourteen bids one million! Do I have a higher bid?"
"One million and fifty thousand."
"One million five hundred thousand."
"One million five hundred thousand! Number fourteen bids one million five hundred thousand!"
Timothy Donovan’s second bid, with its unconventional jump in price, made it instantly clear to the other guests that he was bidding maliciously.
Brandon Jennings’s expression darkened. He looked at Timothy Donovan as if he were a sewer rat—a disgusting creature he unfortunately couldn’t do anything about.
Arabella Donovan’s expression remained unchanged as she raised the bid again. "One million, five hundred and fifty thousand."
"Two million."
"Two million! It seems number fourteen has a special fondness for this stone, bidding two million! Any higher bids?"
Listening to the auctioneer’s cheerful praise, Timothy Donovan smugly scanned the room, waiting for Arabella Donovan to continue bidding. Instead, he saw that a thermos had somehow appeared in her hands. She leisurely unscrewed the lid and took a calm sip of hot water, showing no intention of raising her bid.
The look on Timothy Donovan’s face froze. Suddenly, he was the one panicking.
Anyone could see that he had been deliberately trying to make things difficult for Arabella Donovan, maliciously driving up the price of an item he had no intention of actually buying.
If Arabella Donovan gave up now, he would be the one stuck with that worthless rock. Why would he spend so much money on a useless stone that was guaranteed to hold no treasure? Wasn’t this just lifting a rock to smash his own foot?
In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through Timothy Donovan’s mind. He even began to spin conspiracy theories, wondering if Arabella Donovan had seen through his petty scheme from the start and deliberately laid a trap for him.
"Two million, going once... Two million, going twice... Two million..."
Just as the auctioneer’s gavel was about to fall, Arabella Donovan finally, unhurriedly, raised her paddle again. "Two million and fifty thousand."
"Two million and fifty thousand! Number eighteen bids two million and fifty thousand! Do I have a higher bid?"
By now, Timothy Donovan was drenched in sweat. He turned to see Arabella Donovan still smiling at him. She even brandished her paddle in his direction, gesturing for him to continue.
This blatant provocation made Timothy Donovan’s anger flare, yet he was terrified that she was deliberately goading him, having dug a pit and waiting for him to fall right in.
His hand clenched the paddle, but it felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. He didn’t dare raise it again.
"Little brother, maybe we should just let it go. That woman is backed by our Second Grand-uncle now. She definitely has more than a mere two million. No matter how much you like that stone, you can’t win against her."
Just as Timothy Donovan was about to give up, his brother’s words struck him like a heavy hammer, and his pride made him subconsciously want to raise his paddle again.
"That’s enough." Just as Timothy was about to raise his paddle, he flinched at Victor Donovan’s sharp rebuke and stopped, the paddle remaining down.
In that brief hesitation, the auctioneer on stage slammed his gavel down. "Two million and fifty thousand, going three times... and sold! Congratulations to bidder number eighteen for winning lot number eighteen, a raw stone weighing eighteen catties!"
After saying this, the auctioneer himself paused, stunned. "It seems lot number eighteen was truly fated for bidder number eighteen. All the numbers line up perfectly. How auspicious!"
Arabella Donovan held up her paddle and smiled, appearing quite pleased to have spent so much money on the stone.
Only Brandon Jennings and Caspian Rhodes knew that, at this moment, a certain someone’s heart was bleeding.
’Mr. Rhodes clearly said the stone was nothing special and that it should have gone for under a million, no problem. Who could have imagined I’d end up paying two million and fifty thousand—more than double! It’s all that damn bastard’s fault. Just because the tiger isn’t roaring, he really thinks I’m a Hello Kitty! Just you wait. You dare to swindle me? Sooner or later, I’ll make you spit back out everything you took from me!’
It was clear that a certain someone was feeling the sting this time. After baring her fangs and claws and spitting threats in her mind for a while, she shot a cool glance in the direction of Timothy Donovan and his family. Her eyes were calm, her expression placid, as if she hadn’t given them a second thought.
Only the two who could hear her thoughts knew how much that extra million-plus bothered her. In her heart, she had already added the entire family to her little black book.
Listening to her inner rant, so completely at odds with her calm exterior, Caspian Rhodes couldn’t help but smile. This girl was, as always... so wonderfully petty and vengeful.
On the other side, the expressions on the faces of the three Donovan men—the father and his two sons—were grim.
"I don’t care how you two usually mess around," their father hissed, "but if you ruin what we’re here for today, no one will be able to save you!"
The two brothers flinched, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. They quickly bowed their heads and apologized. "Dad, we’re sorry. My brother and I won’t cause any more trouble."
"Yes, yes, we won’t cause any more trouble," Timothy stammered.
As they were speaking, a staff member from the auction house suddenly walked on stage and whispered something in the auctioneer’s ear.
The auctioneer looked slightly taken aback, but then he nodded. Putting his polite smile back on, he announced, "My apologies, ladies and gentlemen, but it seems we’ll need just a little more of your time. The raw stone was supposed to be the final lot of today’s auction. However, there’s been a slight change, and we are adding one last-minute item."