Chapter 1578:
Her eyes flickered with triumph as she shot Elena a look of pure smugness.
Breathless from rushing upstairs, the auctioneer headed straight toward Lyla. Lyla lifted her hand, brimming with satisfaction, ready to claim the Phoenix Wood. But at the last second, the auctioneer veered away, slipping right past her outstretched reach.
Annoyance flashed across Lyla’s face.
“What’s the hold-up? I paid the highest price. That belongs to me!”
“I apologize, Miss Stanley, but this item has been pulled from the auction,” the auctioneer explained.
Lyla’s voice rose with outrage.
“That’s ridiculous! I outbid everyone. You can’t just change your mind and claim the item is withdrawn from the list!”
As Lyla stood her ground, a subtle shift passed through the crowd. The looks people gave her turned faintly disdainful. Was she really unaware that Wesley owned the auction house? Making a scene here was reckless.
Despite Lyla’s protests, the auctioneer remained unmoved.
“Our boss made the final call, Miss Stanley. A bid is only a bid until the hammer falls, and the sale was never finalized.”
Lyla glared, stubborn and loud.
“Is your boss out of his mind, turning down that much money?”
The auctioneer’s tone turned frosty.
“Watch what you say. You don’t have the right to question our boss’s decisions.”
Lyla’s anger simmered, but before she could speak again, the auctioneer dismissed her entirely and turned to Elena instead. Facing Elena, his entire demeanor shifted. He spoke with deference.
“The Phoenix Wood now belongs to you, Miss Harper.”
Lyla’s composure shattered.
𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖈𝖊: ⳑ𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝗍𝖊𝗅𝘀․𝗰𝗈𝗺
“What? Why her?” she demanded, her voice trembling with disbelief. She’d offered eleven million and been denied, while Elena was about to walk away with the prize.
“Her bid was lower than mine, so why does she get it?” Lyla shouted.
“If you’re going through with the sale, it should go to me!”
Unfazed, the auctioneer replied evenly, “The Phoenix Wood isn’t being sold. Our boss said it’s a gift for Miss Harper—and anything else she wishes to take home today is hers as well, no matter what.”
Lyla’s temper had already curdled into bitterness, and now it erupted into raw fury. Pointing at Elena, she snapped at the auctioneer, “Seriously? All of it just for that tramp to take?”
Her shriek rang through the room—sharp enough that every onlooker, and Wesley, who had just stepped in through the door, heard it clearly. The moment his eyes landed on Lyla, his gaze turned pitch-dark, a dangerous glint warning of a barely restrained storm.
When Wesley spoke, his voice carried the unyielding weight of authority, each syllable cutting the air like steel.
“Repeat what you just said. Who did you dare to call a tramp?”
The instant Wesley appeared, every pair of eyes swung toward him, and the atmosphere snapped taut.
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