Six hundred thousand.
I kept raising my paddle each time.
Then a voice came from the table beside us. “Eight hundred thousand.”
I turned my head. Victoria. She was sitting at the table next to ours, looking directly at me with a small, smug smile.
Vani followed my gaze.
“Oh,” she murmured.
The MC looked toward me.
“Nine hundred thousand?”
I raised my paddle again.
“Nine hundred thousand.”
Victoria lifted hers immediately.
“One million.”
A murmur spread through the room.
“Two million,” I said calmly.
Victoria didn’t hesitate. “Three million.”
Emily leaned forward across the table. “Does she even have that kind of money?” she whispered.
Theo smiled slightly. “Definitely.”
“Four million,” I said.
Victoria raised her paddle again. “Five million.”
The whispers around the ballroom grew louder. Vani leaned closer to me. “You know you could just buy me a necklace later,” she murmured quietly.
“I know.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because she thinks she can win with daddy's money.”
Victoria lifted her paddle again. “Six million.”
I didn’t even pause. “Ten million.”
The room went silent. The number echoed across the ballroom as people turned toward our table. Victoria stared at me. The confident look on her face faded, replaced with disbelief.
The MC blinked before recovering. “Ten million dollars,” he repeated.
He looked toward Victoria. “Any further bids?”
Victoria’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t lift her paddle again.
The MC raised the gavel. “Going once… Going twice…”
