"Fortunately, we didn't discover any items with unclear origins from renowned artists that could artificially inflate their value," one of Tony's men reported. "It appears Master Cole may have lucked out in this instance. Conversely, we're unfortunate to have overlooked the double-check procedure for that longcase clock."Another member of the management team suggested, "Mr. Lennon, just in case, why don't we raise the price of all those items of unknown origin? It's the safest game we can play."Tony, his face flushed with anger, immediately moved towards his subordinate who had proposed the foul play. Without saying a word, he grabbed the man's shirt collar with surprising strength. The man was startled, his eyes bulged, and his mouth opened silently."Pay attention, there is absolutely no room for cheating in the Hidden Relics House. We will not tolerate it!" Tony snapped, his voice resonating throughout the room. The individuals in close proximity halted their activities, divertin
Isabella gracefully raised her bid, "5.5 million dollars!" The camera spotlight focused on her determined face. Isabella's eyes flashed, showing a strong desire to win the bowl.As if responding to the call of battle, a VIP guest from the front row rose from his seat. Calmly, he announced a higher bid, "Six million dollars."Sebastian, sitting next to Isabella, felt his heart beating faster. He watched this scene with interest. Around them, the atmosphere was getting tense. There were whispers among the VIP guests trying to guess how high the price would reach.Isabella, without hesitation, again increased her bid, "Six and a half million dollars!"The VIP guest who had previously raised the bid looked at Isabella with a sharp gaze. She smiled, giving a wordless yet meaningful reaction. "Seven million dollars," she said in a low tone.The price battle intensified, and the VIP guests engaged in a war of words through their bids. Meanwhile, down below, the regular guests were no less en
The man who won the painting was Harvey Tom, the richest son in the elite south-side town of Serene Crest.A person who was naturally arrogant and greedy, Harvey flashed his big, annoying smile at everyone when the painting was delivered to his place."Look, I've managed to win this painting from Sebastian Cole, the owner of the number one company in town!" he said loudly.Everyone shook their heads as they swallowed the bitter truth.Sebastian Cole, someone who probably had the most wealth in Luxington Hill, seemed to have run out of money after buying several auction items.At the same time, Harvey Tom, the richest man of Serene Crest, had bought more than a dozen auction items worth tens of millions of dollars but still did not hesitate to buy another painting worth 20 million dollars.This clearly proved that Luxington Hill was under Serene Crest.This fact made all the auction guests from Luxington Hill feel ashamed.If there was anyone to blame for this, they would not hesitate
"I'm an asshole?" Sebastian furrowed his brow before snapping: "No. You're that asshole!"Harvey, his face as red as a boiled crab, almost exploded in anger. His mouth opened, ready to unleash his fury on Sebastian who was coldly staring at him. However, before he could unleash his poisonous words, his girlfriend, an elegant woman named Victoria, carefully caught his attention."Harvey, stop for a moment. Listen to me," Victoria said in a voice that was calm, but full of authority. She knew how to calm the impulsive Harvey."You know, Sebastian is a close friend of the head of the Dragon Alliance. That's a rumor that seems to be very real. We can't just hurt or defame his name, or we might get into big trouble with the Dragon Alliance which is notorious for not having the slightest mercy on its enemies," Victoria continued wisely, trying to quell Harvey's anger.Harvey frowned, but his anger subsided slightly when he heard about Sebastian's connection to the Dragon Alliance's chairma
Until the auction was over, Sebastian and Isabella did not buy anything else. In fact, their real intention was to find a new painting to replace the empty slot in Cole's Gallery, completely unfulfilled."We didn't buy any paintings at this auction, do you have any other ideas to fill the empty painting slots in your gallery?"Thinking of this, Isabella was silent for a moment, and then she said, "I have an interesting idea!"Sebastian nodded. "If you have one, please don't mind sharing your thoughts with me."Isabella smiled widely; a suspicious smile. The girl said in a low voice, "I was thinking of displaying the paintings you created at Cole's Gallery to fill the void. Isn't that an interesting idea?""How could that possibly be a good thing?" Sebastian frowned as he said that. "Once my paintings are displayed there, your gallery will spontaneously empty out.""You are too modest, Master. In just a glance, I know that you have enough artistic talent to produce a beautiful painting
Looking at some manuscripts with foreign handwriting that looked extremely complicated, Sebastian was totally bored.He didn't have any skills that could help him understand those ancient manuscripts, so if he felt happy to be here, Sebastian would be lying to himself.But at the same time, Isabella never stopped smiling.Sebastian asked her in wonder, "So you understand the meaning of these manuscripts, Isabella?"The beautiful girl nodded and said, "Yes. Before coming here, I read some articles about manuscripts in the Hidden Relics House to understand the translations. Witnessing them in person is much more awe-inspiring than just looking at them on the internet."Sebastian did not know, but it seemed that Isabella had prepared herself well before visiting the Hidden Relics House, including finding out what items were on display in this place.Isabella asked, "Oh, Master, have you completed the payment for the auction items we purchased earlier?"Sebastian nodded and replied, "Cert
Still holding her flushed cheeks, Victoria looked at Harvey fearfully. She then replied, "Harvey, please understand. I've only received a few thousand dollars in the past week, but our vacation expenses are in the tens of thousands. I even had to dip into my savings to cover the shortfall."When Victoria said that, her voice was loud enough for the people around them to hear.Staring at Harvey, they were both saddened and annoyed. Although no one dared to say a word of complaint to him, Harvey knew clearly that these people did not respect him anymore.This was fatal because to Harvey, pride and honor were everything. He became furious and started raising his hand again to slap his girlfriend."How dare you say that shit out loud here! Go to hell!"Harvey swung his hand towards Victoria's unprotected left cheek.Everyone held their breath. They knew that in another third of a second, that hard slap would land on Victoria's face and cause a very serious injury.Some of the house guests
They wanted to blame all the town's downfall on Charles Cole. He was supposed to spend the rest of his miserable and torturous life in prison, but even before the fraud trial was held for the first time, Charles took his own life.Now, they could only take out all that frustration on Sebastian as Charles' only heir son!One of the many people in the room even said, "Sebastian Cole, we shouldn't have kicked you out of Luxington Hill. This city is very kind and allows anyone to live in it. However, you should have the shame to never show your face before us!"After someone finally spoke up, another person chimed in, "You really sticking to the belief that your old man's clean in that fraud mess? Still convinced the entire world's out to get you? We're the bad guys, and you're the lone hero, huh?""Your pops wreaked havoc in this town. If you had even a shred of decency, you'd have hightailed it out of Luxington Hill the minute you got the chance."The other person remarked, "We reckon