Chapter 6
The auctioneer let out a long sigh, then picked up his phone and plugged it into the data cable on his podium. “Upon verification, Ms. Sullivan has more than enough funds to make the unlimited bidding. The auction may proceed as normal.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the big screen lit up, projecting my phone interface for all to see.
The balance showed a number with ten digits.
“What the hell is going on?”
Jackson stared hard at the figure, completely frozen.
“Didn’t Mr. Stainbrook cancel all of Nicole’s secondary cards? Where did this money come from?”
“Don’t tell me these two planned this together and are just playing us for fools?”
In an instant, the crowd’s excitement twisted into suspicion. Everyone turned to Jackson, and the glee they’d shown earlier was replaced by open doubt.
Jessie could no longer maintain her demure facade. Her shrill voice rang out like nails on a chalkboard.
“Jackson, what is going on? You told me you’d put her in her place! Why does she still have this much money? Did you lie to me? You owe me an explanation!”
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Irritated, Jackson shoved Jessie aside and stormed up to the auction platform like a caged beast ready to snap.
He grabbed my wrist in a vise–like grip, his eyes dark and furious, like he wanted to drill a hole straight through me.
“Nicole, what did you do?”
I lowered my gaze and glanced at him, then curled my lips into a cold smirk. In the next moment, I yanked my wrist out of his grasp.
My voice was calm and unwavering. “I’m keeping unlimited bidding for all the items in this auction. You can all decide for yourselves if it’s worth draining your liquidity over things that, frankly, have nothing to do with you.”
Everyone in the room scattered quickly.
As they left, they shot accusatory glares at Jackson, convinced that the two of us had teamed up to trap them in a cash flow crisis.
It was a trap–but the real target was never me.
Jackson was left speechless, unable to explain.
Only after the crowd had completely cleared did he turn to me, eyes burning with rage, like a wild animal on the verge of attacking. He marched up to me and yanked me off the stage with brute force.
Jessie was sobbing uncontrollably behind him, only adding to his frustration.
He poured all of that fury onto me, gripping my wrist so tightly it felt like he was trying to snap it in two.
“Nicole, what dirty deal did you make behind my back? Who did you
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sell yourself to?”
I looked up at him coldly.
Then, without warning, I raised my other hand and slammed my phone into his head.
Blood burst from the wound, splattering onto the floor in thick, red drops. Jessie let out a piercing scream.
She scrambled over, panic–stricken, trying desperately to stop the bleeding, but it was no use.
The crowd that had only just begun to disperse turned back at the commotion, now blocking the exit as they gathered like onlookers at a street brawl. These were supposed to be top–tier elites–now they looked like a pack of rubberneckers, eager to see how the chaos would unfold.
Jackson clutched his bleeding head, his blood–soaked eyes glaring at me through the crimson that clouded his vision.
“Nicole, are you out of your mind?”
I let out a laugh–soft at first, then tinged with rising madness and despair.
“Crazy? You’re damn right I’m crazy!
“I went crazy the moment you exposed my mother’s most private secrets. I went crazy when you knew exactly what I’d been through and still used my deepest pain to tear me apart. I went crazy the second you started using every underhanded, vile trick you could think of to get back at me, for another woman!”
I stepped toward him, slowly but deliberately, tears brimming in my
Chapter 6
eyes.
Jessie flinched and tried to back away, but I was never going to let her off that easily. I lunged forward, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and before she could even react, slammed her head straight into the auction table.
Bang!
Her shrill scream echoed across the hall.
I shoved her away and stomped on her wrist with everything I had, grinding my heel down hard.
Jessie curled up in agony, crying and begging Jackson for help.
“She’s going to kill me! Jackson, she’s trying to kill me! Please–help me!”
I bent down, glaring at her like a predator looking down on a helpless insect, my voice cold and venomous.
“What happened to your ‘grace‘ and ‘elegance‘? Weren’t you supposed to be the picture of innocence? Then let’s tell everyone what you’ve done. Let’s see what the world thinks of you then.”
Jessie looked up at me, face full of horror, completely falling apart.
“Nicole, what are you trying to do?
“Jackson! Help me!”
Jackson gritted his teeth, fighting through the pain as he rushed forward and shoved me away with all his strength.
I wasn’t prepared. I hit the ground hard.
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The back of my head cracked against the edge of the stage steps. A wave of dizziness hit me, and I felt the pressure surge through my nose.
Even though I’d long since given up on Jackson, that moment still struck like a fist to the chest.
He came at me again, grabbing me by the throat. His blood dripped onto my face, thick and metallic, the scent making me nauseous.
“Nicole,” he growled, eyes dark with fury, “I don’t care how insane you’ve become. If you ever lay another hand on Jessie again—I swear, I’ll make you pay for it a hundred times over.”
