The gavel had barely stopped echoing from the last call when Maximilian's voice cut through the tension once more.
"Bidder number ninety-nine offers one million four hundred thousand! Do I hear more?"
"One million five hundred thousand!" A man seated two rows behind Vivian Sinclair raised his paddle without hesitation, his expression tight with calculated greed.
The number of active bidders had thinned, but the price continued its relentless climb. Vivian watched the figures rise, her fingers resting against the edge of her paddle. She had already made her decision. This was a gamble, and she was going to take it.
"One million six hundred thousand!" She lifted her paddle, her voice cutting cleanly through the murmur of the crowd.
The hall fell abruptly quiet. Quinn Thorne noticed seve
