She Accepted Divorce, He Panicked

Scar didn't think it would go this smoothly.

She prepared several other reasons and actually rehersed in her head on her speech to persuade Damian, who known to be an ironwrist in the courtroom, shouldn't be persuaded easily. But maybe just eager to maintain the peace with his long lost sister, Damian jumped on board without so much as a nudge.

All parties are set, and now between Scar and the necklace, remains only "the last minute".

Everyone knows "once, twice, sold," but few know that after the host announces the upset price, bidders have 60 seconds before the item is announced unsold. This time is called "the last minute" because it's the most crucial battle between bidders to decide, fake, trick, or hide their strategies over an item.

You don't want to show your cards too early too clearly. Some would wait for the last few seconds to call, and others use this time to feel out the bottom price from other bidders. Once the first call is announced, it's a bloody war.

Ava wants an unsold, obviously. To keep both the fake files lethal to her AND to own the necklace legally from here.

Scar on the other hand, want both. Getting the necklace at the lowest price would be her goal, and her budget was set by Silco -- two billion. Thanks to Sebastian, she still has her entire budget untouched.

The question mark lands on Johnny Vanderbilt.

If he allowed the necklace to be auctioned to fish out the owner, he would go for a low price, too, while trying to keep the necklace out of other people's hands. If however, it's his gift to Anna Fuller, then it means he's not hostile to the Fullers, and therefore would go for as high a price as possible if others make a try at it.

After all, he doesn't care about pocket money like a few billion.

That would be the worst case for Scar. And if that happens, Scar doubts if Damian could help even if he remains on her side.

"Let's start the bidding at--"

Scar grips her plate hard. Remaining a poker face, she feels lucky that Silco got her a box on the second floor, so no one would see her tensed stiff body.

"--thirty million dollars, for the one and only, Tears of the Ocean Queen!"

Scar couldn't help but look over to Johnny Vanderbilt's window, and as promised, Damian entered at the announcement of the host at Scars

instruction -- She wanted his persuasion to happen at "the last minute", so even if he failed to persuade his father, it would at least distract him.

Barely even shooting a glance at his son as Damian talks at him, Johnny Vanderbilt sits on his throne calmy with a cold smirk on the corner of his lips. Scar's heart sinks.

It's too childish a trick. A cold-hearted business shark like Johnny Vanderbilt who crawled his way up to the top of the business world wouldn't let such a trick influence him.

The clock ticks, and Scar waits nervously. She needs to wait for the last few seconds if she wants a lower price. So this is actually the moment of truth:

If Johnny Vanderbilt waits with her, then he is probably friendly. But if he calls early, then he is an enemy because calling early is a show of attitude, a confirmation of the will to get an item. Suddenly Johhny Vanderbilt sits up straight, his legs no longer crossed like before when he was relaxed, and he looks surprised with a frown. Damian, too.

Scar looks over, following his sight, and in the middle of the aisle stands Anna Fuller, in a demure faint blue dress and an elegant small hat in the samecolor. In her hand is her rown plate, a huge red number on it: 27.

For whatever reason, she didn't come with Jack Fuller, and shenoveldrama

didn't plan to

was mu- the number she got

was much smaller than him,

meaning she was going to come way before he decided to. And

apparently, Ava and Jack Fuller were

surprised at her presence, too.

"Mom?! Dad, Mom is here!" Ava shouts, very unnecessarily. Jack Fuller glares at her before darting his sight to Anna.

Her eyes nail to the window on the second floor, searching for the eyes of Johnny Vanderbilt behind those glasses.

Scar stands up, and at the same time Johnny Vanderbilt raises his plate, his captivating with a husky timbre reaches Scar's ear for the first time in her life: "One billion."