2025-01-20 14:21:57The number echoed across the hall, silencing the faint murmurs.
immediately gasps rippled through the crowd, their admiration palpable. “Such generosity,” someone whispered, their tone full of awe. “No wonder he’s part of the Blake family,” another chimed in. Meanwhile, Caleb basked in the praise, already imagining the ring being placed in his hands. The room had gone silent. No one dared to outbid him, knowing it was just a waste of time. But just as the auctioneer prepared to call out the final sale, a calm, steady voice interrupted. “Ten million.” Immediately the room froze. All heads turned in unison toward Raymond, their expressions ranging from shock to disbelief. “Did… did he just…?” someone stammered, their voice trailing off. “Is he serious?” another whispered, eyes wide with astonishment. Upon hearing what Raymond just said, Caleb leaned back in his chair, his smirk growing wider with each passing moment. His eyes darted between Raymond and Malisa, convinced that whatever boldness Raymond showed was because of her backing. ‘There’s no way he’s doing this on his own,’ Caleb thought smugly. ‘He probably doesn’t even know the rules.’ Mr. Drake’s auction was well-known for its strict policy: the bidder and the payer had to be the same person. No one could swoop in and cover the cost. It was a rule that safeguarded the auction’s exclusivity and ensured only those with real wealth could participate. Without being told Caleb was certain Raymond hadn’t bothered to understand these details. He’s walking right into his own humiliation, and he can't wait to see how everyone is going to mock him for being so useless, and stupid. However, seeing the flicker of determination in Raymond’s eyes as he gazed at the ring, Caleb decided to teach him a lesson, confident he could crush him easily. He sneered, raised his paddle, adding a modest increase to the bid. “10.1 million dollars” Seeing Caleb bidding again the crowd hummed in approval, their attention now fully locked on the battle for the ring. They all thought Raymond would give up now, that his recent show was just for formality. However Raymond didn’t hesitate. With the same calm expression, he lifted his paddle and increased the bid again, drawing more gasps from the crowd. “11 million dollars.” Caleb’s smirk deepened. The fish bit the bait. He raised his paddle again. “11.1 million dollars.” Meanwhile, the murmurs among the crowd started growing louder. They couldn't believe someone so useless as Raymond would be the one challenging Caleb of all people. “He has no idea what he’s doing,” someone whispered. “Does he even know the payer has to be the bidder? He’s making a fool of himself.” “Look at him—so calm. He’s bluffing for sure.” The noise of judgment filled the room, but Raymond remained detached, his focus solely on the auctioneer. At that moment Malisa, sitting beside him, glanced around at the skeptical faces. Her smile was faint but steady, her posture relaxed. She didn’t need to say anything to reassure Raymond, she knew how much he's worth. Without wasting any more time Raymond raised his paddle again. “12 million dollars.” Immediately the room fell silent again for a moment, the crowd stunned. “He’s still bidding?” one person whispered, their disbelief clear. “What’s he thinking? He doesn’t have that kind of money.” “He’s going to regret this,” another scoffed. Seeing Raymond's attitude Dahlia couldn’t hold back any longer. The tension in the room was palpable, and Raymond’s unwavering confidence of something he can't afford unnerved her. She leaned forward, her voice low but sharp enough for him to hear. “Raymond, stop this. Don’t be reckless. You don’t know what you’re doing.” However Raymond didn't respond immediately, his calm eyes fixed on the auctioneer as the current bid hovered in the air. Her frustration grew. “Do you even understand where you are?” she hissed. “That black card you’re holding—it’s fake. It won’t work here. You’re going to make a fool of yourself, and the consequences won’t just be embarrassment. Do you know what happens to people who cause trouble at Mr. Drake's auctions?” At that moment Raymond finally turned his head slightly, his expression unbothered. “I don’t need you to worry about me,” he said evenly, his voice steady and composed. Immediately Dahlia’s breath hitched at his calmness. She couldn't understand why Raymond looked so certain. At that moment Caleb’s smirk widened as he observed the exchange. He leaned back in his chair, his arrogance practically radiating from him. “See that?” he muttered to the guest next to him, gesturing toward Dahlia and Raymond. “Even his ex-wife knows he’s out of his depth. This will be fun.” Raising his paddle, Caleb increased his bid by another modest amount, his tone dripping with mockery. “15 million dollars.” “Let’s see if he still dares to play along,” he said loud enough for the crowd to hear, earning a few chuckles of agreement. At that moment, sitting beside Raymond, Malisa folded her arms, her lips curving into a faint smirk. ‘Let him dig his own hole.’ she thought, her eyes glinting with amusement. She had seen enough to know where this was headed. The murmurs in the crowd grew louder as all eyes shifted to Raymond, expecting him to fold under the pressure. “Is he going to back down now?” someone whispered. “He’s been bluffing the whole time. Watch him try to weasel his way out.” Raymond’s lips curved into a sneer. He was tired of this game. Without a moment’s hesitation, he raised his paddle again. “50 million dollars.” The moment Raymond made his final bid, the room erupted into chaos. Guests whispered furiously among themselves, their voices a mixture of shock and disbelief. “Did he really just bid that much?” one man murmured, wide-eyed. “And to think he doesn't even look, move, or disturb, for someone who doesn't have anything to brag about.” At that moment Caleb cheek raised, almost covering his eyes, knowing he had gotten Raymond where he wanted him. Without wasting any more time he stood up barely containing his glee. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, his voice filled with exaggerated politeness. “I think we can all agree that one fifty million is no small amount. To avoid any unnecessary confusion or delays, why don’t we verify if Mr. Raymond actually has the means to back up his bid?”
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Chapter 459
The shockwave from the collision rolled outward through the warehouse in a visible ripple, dust and loose debris thrown outward from the point of impact like water displaced by a dropped stone, and for a moment, both Raymond and Tobias stood locked against each other, neither yielding, the air between them still humming with the aftershock of forces neither ordinary steel nor ordinary flesh had been designed to withstand. Raymond felt it first in his forearms, a deep, bone-level ache where he had intercepted Tobias's strike, followed almost immediately by a colder, more unsettling sensation spreading outward from the point of contact, as though whatever technique Tobias had gathered carried with it something beyond simple kinetic force, something that sought to settle into the body and disrupt it from within. He broke the lock deliberately, stepping back and exhaling sharply, forcing the strange, creeping cold outward through controlled breath, a technique of his own cultivated acro
Chapter 458
The shockwave from the collision rolled outward through the warehouse in a visible ripple, dust and loose debris thrown outward from the point of impact like water displaced by a dropped stone, and for a moment, both Raymond and Tobias stood locked against each other, neither yielding, the air between them still humming with the aftershock of forces neither ordinary steel nor ordinary flesh had been designed to withstand.Raymond felt it first in his forearms, a deep, bone-level ache where he had intercepted Tobias's strike, followed almost immediately by a colder, more unsettling sensation spreading outward from the point of contact, as though whatever technique Tobias had gathered carried with it something beyond simple kinetic force, something that sought to settle into the body and disrupt it from within.He broke the lock deliberately, stepping back and exhaling sharply, forcing the strange, creeping cold outward through controlled breath, a technique of his own cultivated across
Chapter 457
Tobias studied Raymond for a long moment, and in that pause, something in the wide, dust-choked warehouse seemed to hold its breath along with him. Overhead, thin bars of afternoon light slanted through gaps in the corrugated roofing, cutting pale lines across the concrete floor, illuminating drifting motes of dust disturbed by the movement of four people who had all, in different ways, arrived at this place expecting it might be where something ended."You want a name," Tobias said finally, "as though a name would give you leverage. That is a very ordinary kind of thinking for someone who has already proven himself capable of extraordinary things.""Humor me," Raymond said.Tobias's mouth curved, not quite a smile."The circle answers, ultimately, to the Custodians," he said. "You have likely already learned that much, given how thoroughly you gutted my predecessor's mind before disposing of him. Above the Custodians, there is one voice that has not been meaningfully challenged in lo
Chapter 456
Word of Black's death reached the circle's inner administrative ring within a day, delivered not through any dramatic revelation but through the mundane failure of routine check-ins, missed reports, silence where reports were expected. It took only slightly longer for the death of Melissa's grandfather's brother to be confirmed, his body discovered among rubble that investigators loyal to the circle quietly cleared away before local authorities could ask inconvenient questions.Two deaths. Two senior figures. Both traced back to the same name.Raymond.The circle did not panic. Panic was not how an organization of its age and patience responded to loss. But it recalibrated, quickly and with total seriousness, and within two days of confirming both deaths, a decision was reached at a level high enough that few within the organization ever learned it had been made at all: Raymond was no longer a nuisance to be monitored. He was now a threat requiring direct, decisive resolution.Two ope
Chapter 455
Dawn arrived over the farmhouse slowly, gray light seeping through the gaps in the curtains long before the sun itself crested the tree line, and Raymond, who had not slept at all through the remaining hours of the night, watched the transformation of darkness into pale morning with the same steady vigilance he had maintained since their arrival. His body registered the fatigue of the night's violence and revelation as a distant, manageable pressure rather than genuine exhaustion, the kind of tiredness that experienced fighters learned to set aside when circumstances demanded continued alertness.The old man had eventually fallen into an uneasy doze sometime near four in the morning, his bound body slumping slightly against the ropes securing him to the chair, his breathing settling into the shallow, uneven rhythm of someone whose sleep offered little genuine rest. Raymond had not disturbed him, recognizing that whatever answers remained to be extracted would come more readily from a
Chapter 454
The car moved through streets that grew progressively quieter and darker as the city thinned into its outer edges, streetlights becoming sparser, storefronts giving way to warehouses and then to the scattered, isolated structures that marked the transition between urban sprawl and the open countryside beyond. Raymond drove with both hands steady on the wheel, his eyes flicking periodically to the rearview mirror, checking and rechecking for headlights that might indicate pursuit, though none appeared across the twenty minutes it took to put sufficient distance between them and the compromised apartment.Melissa sat in the passenger seat, her bag clutched in her lap, her eyes fixed on the passing darkness outside the window without truly seeing it, her mind still turning over everything the night had revealed, examining it from every angle as though sufficient scrutiny might somehow soften its edges or reveal some hidden reassurance buried within the horror. It did not. Every pass thro
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Reader Comments
I’m confused. The opening bid was 30 million. Why is he only offering 10 million now?