Chapter 221: The Real Coming-of-Age Gift
"Exactly!" Dennis Donovan was instantly revived, filled with a sense of purpose.
"These days, you can’t rely on anyone or anything. Rely on a mountain, and it’ll collapse. Rely on a person, and they’ll run away. And men? Nine out of ten are unreliable, and the last one is even worse. Even if one seems decent now, who can guarantee he won’t change in the future? The family has to keep a close watch!"
Guinevere Preston: "..." ’Did you forget you’re a man, too? Some people are so ruthless they even roast themselves.’
’Still, in a way, the old man was really easy to placate.’
Caspian Rhodes’s five-hundred-million-dollar transfer never went through. As Dennis Donovan saw him out, his face clearly screamed, "This is a one-time thing, don’t let it happen again, and get the hell out."
Caspian Rhodes didn’t mind. He simply reminded Arabella Donovan, "About the auction house, you should confirm things with your master as soon as possible. My advice is, if what they said is true, taking over the auction house wouldn’t be a bad idea."
Then, his tone shifted. "But before you take over, you should find some professional accountants and lawyers to carefully go over the books from all these years. That way you can avoid any uncontrollable issues within the auction house. My company has professional finance and legal teams that handle these matters all the time. If you need them, feel free to contact me anytime."
Caspian Rhodes had truly considered every angle for her. Arabella Donovan was a little touched.
"Okay, I’ll call you if I need anything."
Listening to their conversation, Dennis Donovan’s brow furrowed tightly. However, remembering Caspian Rhodes’s mention of a "master" and taking over the auction house, he ultimately held his tongue.
The moment the man was gone, he immediately grilled her. "What’s this about taking over an auction house? Is it the Vance Family’s auction house? What kind of dealings do you have with the Vances? Why would they have you take over their business?"
’I hope it’s not some bottomless pit they’re trying to trap my precious granddaughter in as a scapegoat!’
Dennis Donovan was clearly on the same page as Arabella Donovan. Good things don’t just fall from the sky, especially a prize this big. If you weren’t careful, you could be crushed by the "falling object."
Arabella Donovan briefly recounted what the Vance father and son had said in the private room. Her grandfather was astonished, not just by the connection between the Vances and Arabella’s master, but even more so by her master’s incredible foresight!
"So, you’re saying this auction house is an asset your master set up for you long ago."
"That’s what they said, but I’m still not completely sure, so I didn’t agree to take it over on the spot. I just told them I needed to come back and confirm with my master before giving them an answer."
"You did the right thing. The whole affair is unbelievable, not to mention so much time has passed. Things can change, so it never hurts to be cautious. Go and confirm it with your master. If it’s really as they say, Grandpa will have your back. What’s yours is yours, and no one is going to play any tricks and take it away!"
Arabella felt like nothing was set in stone yet, but she still nodded obediently. "Thank you, Grandpa."
After the auction and spending some more time chatting with the two elders, it was already late into the night.
Arabella glanced at the time—it was already the early hours of the next day. Thinking of her master’s cultivator-like routine of staying up all night, she scurried off to message him.
SpareTheRod: Master, Master, are you there? Are you alive? Are you still breathing? Are you still warm?
A certain someone, who was engrossed in his midnight "cultivation," replied instantly.
TranquilMind: ==Are you trying to summon a spirit in the middle of the night?!
TranquilMind: This person is deceased. For important matters, burn joss paper. For small matters, summon my spirit. For major crises, dig up my grave. [PlayingDead.jpg]
SpareTheRod: Master~~~ [GrabbingShouldersAndShaking.jpg] Do you know a father and son with the surname Vance?
TranquilMind: [ComingBackToLife.jpg] You went to the auction? Did you win the precious inheritance Master left for you?
’Master, you’re still alive and well, and you’re already talking about inheritance!’ Arabella thought with a sweatdrop.
SpareTheRod: You mean the stone with the spiritual marrow, right? I won it.
TranquilMind: I knew my disciple was the phattest! [ProudFatherWipesAwayTears.jpg]
Arabella: ’==You’re the fat one! Your whole family is fat! Oh wait, your whole family includes me!’
SpareTheRod: Be serious! Let’s talk business! The Vance Patriarch said you had them open the auction house, and now they want to transfer it to me, along with all the profits from over the years, all at once. Is that true?
TranquilMind: Of course, it’s true. You didn’t think your coming-of-age present from Master was just that string of broken copper coins, did you?
Arabella froze. A flash of insight struck her, and a look of astonishment crossed her face.
SpareTheRod: So you’re saying... the auction house is my real eighteenth birthday present?
The set of Five Emperors Coins, delivered to her on her birthday, was the token her master and the Vance Patriarch had agreed upon. The person who appeared at the auction house with this token was to be its future owner.
So, the Five Emperors Coins were just the key to unlock the gift. The real birthday present was the auction house itself.
It was just that her cousin’s accident happened right at that time, so she had naturally assumed her master had foreseen the event and specifically sent Snowy with the Five Emperors Coins as her birthday present for that reason...
SpareTheRod: ==Master, you hid this way too well. Weren’t you afraid I might never have come here in my entire life, and this hidden gift would just go down the drain?
TranquilMind: What is fated will be, and what is not can’t be forced. If it’s meant to be yours, it’s yours. Even if you don’t go to it, it will find its way to you.
Arabella’s heart stirred. She thought of the stone that had chased after her, and a strange mix of emotions washed over her.
That was one way to put it, but to suddenly gain a business that everyone envied, handed to her by strangers no less, still left Arabella feeling uncertain.
As if sensing her thoughts, her usually unreliable master was finally reliable for once.
TranquilMind: Don’t feel pressured. The money used to build the auction house in the first place was a thank-you gift the Vance Family had promised me. Besides, do you really think no one in the Vance Family has had any crooked ideas about this auction house over the past twenty years? It’s not that they don’t want it; it’s that they don’t dare to take it.
SpareTheRod: Don’t dare to take it? Why do you say that?
As it turned out, from the moment it was established, the auction house had experienced nothing but smooth sailing, developing at an astonishing pace.
As its scale, fame, and profits grew, some of the Vances inevitably grew restless.
Just as Arabella had worried, many Vance relatives who considered themselves founding members of the auction house felt that their years of hard work, if not meritorious, were at least laborious. They believed their contributions had long since surpassed those of the so-called behind-the-scenes boss, who had only provided the startup capital and had never once appeared or managed a single thing.
Even with the Vance father and son keeping them in line, it wasn’t enough to stop the restless group from scheming to get a piece of the auction house pie.
But they soon discovered that whenever they harbored nefarious thoughts about the auction house, their own businesses would suffer. Whatever amount they managed to skim from the auction house, they would immediately lose double that amount elsewhere.