chapter58

So tonight, no matter how high the Golden Antler went for, she was determined to

win it. She'd give it to Connor to help with his leg injury. Once he saw how much she cared, he'd have to notice her feelings. He'd have to.

"What? Connor hurt his leg?"

"Yeah."

Paige let out a soft sigh. "No wonder you came in person. You and Connor are so close. Lucinda, when are you two getting married?"

Connor's name wasn't just big in the Capital. He was famous across the country and even overseas. Paige honestly felt a little proud that her best friend was engaged to someone so powerful.

Lucinda's cheeks turned pink. "Paige, what are you talking about? I'm only eighteen. Marriage isn't something I need to rush."

Paige grinned. "You sure? Who's the one always telling me how amazing Connor is?"

"Oh, come on, Paige, don't tease me."

Meanwhile, in Box 9.

Sandy stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring down at the mysterious, grand auction hall. The whole place left her speechless. She'd only ever read about auctions like this in novels or seen them on TV. Now she was actually here.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. Why hadn't her parents realized sooner that Lydia was a fake? Why had they let her spend eighteen years suffering in that tiny village?

"Soren, I heard the Golden Antler is super rare, like a once-in-a-century thing. What if I don't win it?" She turned to the tall man behind her, eyes wide and pleading.

Soren pulled her into his arms. "Sandy, if we don't get it, it's okay. Mrs. Smith will still see how much you care."

Sandy had only just come back to the Smith family. Mrs. Smith might live way out in the country, but Sandy had overheard Milana and Jenson talking about how Mrs. Smith actually held most of the company's shares. Lately, her leg trouble had gotten so bad she couldn't even get out of bed. Sandy wanted to win her over, so she'd looked everywhere and found out about this miracle cure. She didn't have much money, but even if she lost the auction, Mrs. Smith would still know she'd tried her best. Maybe that would help her get a better share of the inheritance someday. At exactly eight o'clock, the auction started.

First up were things like jewelry, antiques, and famous paintings, with rare herbs mixed in.

Each box had a display showing the current bid. As the numbers shot up from a starting bid of a hundred thousand to five hundred thousand, then a million, three million, and even into the tens of millions, Sandy could only watch in shock.

She only had two million on her, a welcome gift from her parents. At first, she'd been over the moon, feeling like she'd hit the jackpot. She'd never even seen that much money before. But now, she realized just how small she really was. Two million didn't mean a thing here.

Golden Antler was the rarest item of all, saved for last. About an hour later, a pair of tiny, golden, almost glowing antlers rose out of the stage, so beautiful they made people gasp.

Right away, Lydia put down her phone and sat up straight. As soon as the mechanical voice said, Bidding has begun, and she reached for the button, the system announced, "Box 3 bids one million.

The buttons showed bids of one hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, eight hundred thousand, and the highest, one million.

Lydia was caught off guard. Looks like she had some real competition tonight.