Chapter 130
Chapter 130:
“I am going to that auction tonight,” she said, her voice hard as forged steel. “And I am getting that brooch back. Whatever it costs p>
At eight o’clock, the grand hall of Sotheby’s Manhattan was a sea of diamonds and bespoke tuxedos, the most powerful figures in New York arranged across the tiered auditorium. Since the kidnapping attempt, Silas had refused to hear any argument against a dedicated security detail. A bulletproof black SUV had delivered June to the entrance, and two plainclothes guards were already stationed at the perimeter of the hall.
June sat alone in the middle rows, wearing a simple black velvet gown with no jewelry. Her hands were folded in her lap, her eyes fixed on the empty stage.
A murmur moved through the crowd near the entrance.
Cole walked in wearing a razor-sharp custom tuxedo, Alycia on his arm in a designer gown, the massive diamond necklace he had bought her days ago blazing at her throat. She was smiling brilliantly, absorbing the envy of the room.
Cole’s cold eyes swept the auditorium. They found June immediately — sitting alone, plainly dressed, bare-necked in a room full of women draped in jewels. A dark, twisted sense of vindication flared in his chest. Without his money, he told himself, she was reduced to looking like a peasant among queens.
He guided Alycia deliberately to the front-row center VIP table — the most visible seat in the room, an unambiguous declaration of position — and settled in.
The auction proceeded through paintings and sculptures to restrained applause.
Then the auctioneer tapped his microphone. The screen behind him illuminated with the image of the Cartier orchid brooch.
𝘠o𝘂𝗋 𝗱аi𝗹𝗒 𝖽о𝘀е 𝗈𝖿 𝘯𝗼𝘷𝖾𝗅𝗌 о𝘯 ѕ.𝘤o𝘮
“Lot 42,” the auctioneer announced. “An exquisite vintage Cartier orchid brooch. The opening bid is five hundred thousand dollars p>
June raised her numbered paddle. Her voice rang out, clear and immediate.
“Six hundred thousand p>
Cole’s back stiffened. He recognized her voice in an instant.
He turned his head slightly and saw her holding the paddle. The humiliation from her apartment three nights ago surged back into his bloodstream like poison. He decided she was posturing — trying to buy jewelry to save face, to perform indifference to a room full of witnesses. He decided to destroy that performance in front of everyone.
He leaned back in his chair with practiced ease and raised his paddle.
“One million,” Cole said, his voice carrying clearly across the hall.
A collective intake of breath moved through the room. Doubling the bid without hesitation was not a counter-offer. It was a declaration of war.
June’s face went pale. She stared at the back of Cole’s head. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She raised the paddle.
“One million, two hundred thousand p>
Cole didn’t turn around. He flicked his wrist. “Two million p>
Alycia gasped softly beside him, her face flushing with excitement. She assumed Cole was fighting for the brooch to give to her. She turned and found June in the crowd, fixing her with a look of pure, venomous triumph.
June’s fingers tightened around the wooden paddle until her knuckles went white.