Love Began with the First Meeting

Chapter 207 Secret Trading At Auctions (Part Three)

Brian's eyes suddenly flashed with excitement. He still remembered competing with Richie in France for that particular bracelet to give Shirley. He was only five years old then. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

More than two decades have passed, and he never expected to find a similar bracelet in QY Island after all this time. He was certain Richie would want these two pieces and maybe, he could make a nice profit off him.

"I'll be right there," Brian told Eric and hung up the phone.

He turned to Molly and said,"I have to go somewhere, so I'll have Tony take you back to the hotel." She was stunned at his sudden decision to leave.

"I can go back to the hotel myself," Molly answered sharply.

The sudden turn of events depressed her even more, and she couldn't even understand why.

Brian frowned at her tone. Eyes still focused on Molly he asked,"Are you sure?"

"The hotel is just around the corner. I can find my way," she sounded irritated.

Afraid to lose her way, Molly memorized the route on the drive to the restaurant from the hotel.

He stared at the woman. After a moment, he told her coolly,"Do whatever you want!" Brian's lips barely moved as he spoke.

With that, he stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Tony followed him after giving Molly a brief look.

She was clutching the fork tightly that her hand began to hurt. Molly tried to control her heaving chest by breathing deeply. She was so frustrated because she didn't even know why she was angry.

Several minutes after Brian left, she finally laid the fork down on her plate and asked the waiter for the bill. Her mood had not improved as she headed for the door.

Standing in front of the restaurant entrance, she paused and tilted her head. The dark blue night sky was lit up by the glow of the full moon. Molly gazed at the stars, spread like tiny pearls around the moon. It was a breathtaking view.

However, Molly was in no mood to appreciate the spectacular night scene. Her perspective was nowhere near romantic. Instead, she saw the dense stars as eyes of people laughing at her being alone.

She withdrew her gaze, sighed, and slowly made her way down the stairs. As she reached the final step, she suddenly felt her leg cramping. Molly couldn't help but cry out in pain. Seconds later, her still swollen ankle acted up, and she was in pure agony. It seemed more painful now than when she twisted it.

The pain in her ankle was becoming unbearable that cold sweat beaded her forehead. Molly clamped her lips together and grimaced. It took an extraordinary effort to hold back the tears threatening to fall because of the pain.

She kept encouraging herself to endure the pain as she walked towards the hotel. "It's no big deal, Molly! You can do this! If you can't handle pain from a sprained ankle, where will you find the strength to face life's future challenges?" she kept telling herself.

She stopped and took deep breaths to calm herself.

Besides the physical pain, what made it more difficult was the sadness she was feeling right now. And she couldn't even figure out the exact reason why she felt that way! Was she sad because the pain in her ankle was back or because Brian left her again?

Slowly, Molly limped back to the hotel, taking care not to put too much pressure on the swollen ankle. Like she told Brian, Seaview Hotel was just around the corner, a few minutes' walk from the restaurant. But given her condition, it took her forever to get back to the hotel.

She raised her head to check how much farther she had to walk. Just a little bit more. Taking a deep breath, she continued limping towards the hotel. Since she was so focused on her swollen ankle, Molly never noticed the man following behind her.

The man suddenly quickened his pace as she was about to turn the corner. As he approached her, he took a handkerchief from his pocket, grabbed the woman from behind and covered her nose and mouth with the cloth. Molly was too stunned to do anything but eventually started struggling to escape. She was beginning to feel weak and seconds later became paralyzed. Then everything turned black.

The man caught Molly before she slumped to the ground. A smile curved his lips. He looked around to check if anyone had seen what happened. The woman was light, so he quickly lifted her and made his way back to a car parked nearby.

He settled Molly on the back seat and knew she would remain unconscious for several hours. Then his gaze settled on the small shell hanging around her neck. He took out his phone and dialed. "We got it!" he reported excitedly. "Are we having it authenticated now?"

"Well done!" the voice on the other line said. After a pause, the other person spoke again. "Maybe we can sell it at the auction tonight."

He quickly added,"If it's not too late yet."

"Yes, sir! We can have it authenticated as soon as possible," Molly's kidnapper said.

He quickly hung up and started the engine.

*

The Recreation Center of Southern District was very busy.

Eric was surprised to find Brian already inside the auction hall. He asked curiously,"Did you have an invitation? Did someone ask you for it when you came in?"

Like he told Brian over the phone earlier, today's auction was a different event from that of yesterday's. It was the annual "Supreme Auction" organized by Philip. There were two conditions to participate. First, a person must be able to secure an invitation. And second, a deposit of 20 million dollars was required before entering the auction hall. No one was ever welcome if they could not comply with both conditions.

Even Aaron, one of the most powerful persons in QY Island, needed an invitation to attend that night's auction. And he could not get in using yesterday's invitation. Even calling in special favors, it cost him a lot of time and energy to secure an invitation, which he only received late in the afternoon. So it puzzled Eric how Brian got his so quickly.

Brian looked at him smugly and said,"I don't mind using special means to get what I want."

Eric raised his eyebrows and kept quiet. He still smiled and was quite playful, but there was a hint of fierceness behind his eyes.

He understood what Brian meant. When you have the means, the process was irrelevant. What was always important was the result.

*

"It's Pluto!" a man declared with certainty.

The assertion was made after careful study. The speaker was a man with thinning white hair and round eyes. He was talking to a taller man with short hair.

"It has been lost for half-a-century," he claimed.

Philip examined the small shell with a magnifying glass and said almost reverently,"Now, it's here."

He tried deciphering the ancient Greek text engraved on the shell but gave up. With a sly smile, he wondered about its value while twirling the small shell in his finger. Then he told the other gentleman,"There are two extremely valuable items for auction today."

He looked at the shell again. "It's quite interesting."