Chapter 131
Chapter 131:
She had thirty million dollars in liquid capital in her personal account — but nearly every cent was earmarked for Apex Bio’s critical upcoming clinical trials. Diverting those funds would instantly collapse her company and destroy everything she had built. She could contact her wealth manager to liquidate other assets, but Cole’s rapid, aggressive bidding left her no time to mobilize those reserves.
She drew a shaking breath. Her voice carried the faintest tremor as she committed everything she had to the moment.
“Three million p>
Cole heard it — the slight, involuntary crack in her voice. He recognized the edge of the cliff.
He smiled. It was a cold, merciless thing, entirely without warmth.
He raised his paddle high.
𝗪𝖾 𝘂𝗽d𝗮t𝘦 𝖾𝘷𝘦𝗋y wее𝗸 on
“Five million dollars p>
“Five million, going once!” The auctioneer’s voice carried through the tense silence of the hall. “Five million, going twice — sold! To Mr. Cole Compton p>
BANG.
The gavel came down.
The auditorium erupted into thunderous applause. Every head turned toward the front row, eyes wide at the brutal, effortless display of wealth.
In the middle of the hall, June’s hand went completely numb.
The wooden paddle slipped from her fingers and fell onto the carpeted floor without a sound.
Her face had gone as white as paper. The light in her eyes simply died. The last physical connection to her mother had just been torn away and handed to the man who had spent four years making her invisible.
A hostess in white gloves moved down the aisle carrying a black velvet tray. Resting on it was the Cartier orchid brooch.
She stopped at the front row.
Cole stood. He wanted June to see this. He needed her to understand, one final time, the absolute scope of what he controlled.
He lifted the delicate brooch from the tray. He turned to Alycia and, in full view of hundreds of witnesses, leaned down and pinned the orchid directly onto her gown, over her heart.
Alycia covered her mouth with both hands. Tears of pure vanity traced down her cheeks. She lifted her chin and basked in what she believed to be her greatest victory.
Cole looked past her. His eyes found June in the shadows of the middle rows.
His gaze was full of cold, arrogant satisfaction. He mouthed the words: You lose.
June stared at the brooch sparkling on the chest of the woman who had poured boiling water down her back.
A wave of profound, physical nausea moved through her. The cruelty of it was suffocating in a way she had no words for. She did not cry. She did not scream. Something inside her simply went dark and quiet, like a room after the last light is switched off.
June stood. She gathered her skirt and walked toward the exit, moving like a ghost — hollowed out, entirely empty.
Cole watched her go. The smirk on his face faded slowly. A strange, sharp pain flickered in the center of his chest, brief and unwelcome. He ignored it.
Just outside the auditorium doors, Vera was moving quickly down the hallway in a sharp blazer, having rushed over directly from her law firm. She passed June in the corridor and stopped dead.
She looked at June’s face. It was the face of someone who had just watched a loved one die.
“June?” Vera reached out. “What happened p>