Immortal King

Chapter 62

Jack's calm voice echoed throughout the venue through the box's speaker system. The faces of all the guests changed simultaneously as they looked up towards the large private box overhead.

Discussions began to buzz among the crowd.

"Who's this big shot, raising the bid by just one dollar?"

"What does that even mean?"

"Who knows, but he must have some kind of grudge against that couple, targeting them on purpose."

Jolina's face turned pale with anger, and she glared fiercely in the direction of the box. She suddenly stood up and shouted at the auctioneer, who was still in shock on stage, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and close the bid!"

"Madam, someone has already placed a bid," the auctioneer said, spreading his hands helplessly.

"Isn't there a rule that every bid increase must be at least one thousand dollars? He's just messing around!" Jolina retorted indignantly.

"Sorry, madam," the auctioneer said with a serious expression, "but that's the rule here. Guests in the Emperor Box have the right to bid whatever amount they wish. Even if it's just one dollar, or even one cent, it's a valid bid."

Most of the people present didn't qualify to enter the private boxes, so this rule was something they were hearing for the first time. After all, no wealthy person sitting in the boxes before had ever raised a bid by just one dollar.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Emily asked and pulled a wry face.

"Since she was mean to you, I'm not going to let her have an easy time," Jack replied calmly. Emily felt a warm happiness, knowing her man was standing up for her.

Meanwhile, Jolina's face twisted with rage. She couldn't recall ever offending such a powerful person—why was he bidding just one dollar to disgust her? Frustrated, she turned back to the man beside her, continuing to flirt and beg.

The man didn't hesitate and called out, "590,000!"

"590,001."

"600,000!"

"600,001."

***

The bidding war continued until it reached one million dollars!

Jack kept increasing the bid by just one dollar, and the entire audience held their breath, watching the tense standoff. The man was ready to give up—the necklace wasn't worth this price, but Jolina refused to let it go, whining, "Darling, how humiliating would it be if we lost now?"

Hearing this, the man added 100,000 dollars to his bid, bringing it to 1.1 million!

Just as the crowd looked up at the box, waiting for Jack's next bid, his calm voice suddenly rang out, "Since you like it so much, I'll let you have it."

The man trembled with anger, realizing he had just spent 1.1 million dollars on a necklace worth only about 300,000 dollars. It was all because of the foolish woman beside him, constantly urging him on! Furious, the man stood up and stormed out.

At that moment, Jack got a clear view of the man's face as he turned to leave. His expression suddenly changed. 'It's Carl! How could it be him?'

Carl was his cousin. Eight years ago, the Steele family had drugged him and set him up to assault Carl's wife, Julia! After that incident, Carl and Julia had left Wyndcrest immediately—he never expected them to return now!

"Jack, what's wrong?" Emily asked, noticing the change in his expression.

"Nothing. Is there anything you want to bid on?" Jack asked with a slight smile.

Emily replied, "The only reason I came to this auction was because my mom set me up for a blind date. But after seeing your car, they already fled, so we didn't even need to come inside."

"Shall I take you home then?" Jack suggested. Emily nodded, and they left together.

When they arrived home, Nancy immediately rushed over. "Silly girl, why did you come back so early? Did Jack bring you home? Why didn't you invite him in? You have no manners!"

"Mom, why did your attitude change all of a sudden?" Emily asked, surprised. Nancy had always called Jack a cur, but now she was addressing him as Jack, which was hard for her to accept.

"I was wrong before. Just look at that car of his, it's worth tens of millions!" Nancy was so excited she nearly fainted. "This means Jack must have made a lot of money while he was away from Wyndcrest all these years!"

Emily felt helpless hearing this. She wanted to tell Nancy that the car was actually a fake, but she was afraid that if she explained, Nancy would go back to hating Jack as before.

It was better to let her keep misunderstanding; at least it would stop her from arranging more blind dates.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Jack called Drake. "Have you found out where Jerry and the others are?"

"Yes, sir." Drake replied in a deep voice. "They're hiding in the underground casino that used to cooperate with the Yates family."

"The casino is still operating?" Jack was slightly surprised. After a brief moment of thought, he understood. 'Since the Steele and Yates families were destroyed, someone else must be secretly controlling the casino. The Steele and Yates families were just the front.'

"Shall I continue investigating?" Drake asked.

"No. Every city has its dark corners. As long as they don't interfere with my plans, don't start any conflicts with them." Jack said calmly.

After hanging up the phone, another call came in from Simon. As soon as Jack answered, Simon's anxious voice came through, "Sir, I need your help!"

Jack frowned slightly. "What happened? Take your time, is something wrong with Cindy?"

"Don't worry, sir, Miss Cindy is fine. It's Tina who's in trouble!" Simon said, clearly distressed. "Tina's father has been detained by a casino in Wyndcrest. They said they'll cut off his hands if he doesn't pay up. Then Tina disappeared. The casino is full of dangerous thugs—I'm worried something might happen to her when she is alone!"