Chapter 29 - The Auction of Sins
The Grand Salon of the Hôtel de Crillon was packed to maximum capacity for the annual Heritage Arts Auction. Every billionaire, fashion editor, and socialite in Europe was present, their eyes darting between the auctioneer’s podium and the private box overlooking the ballroom.
Sitting in that private box was Julian.
He looked thinner, his tailored Tom Ford suit hanging slightly loose on his frame, but his arrogance remained intact. Beside him sat Xavier Valmont—a silver-haired titan with aristocratic cheekbones and a sneer that had intimidated French high society for half a century.
Julian leaned over the balcony, catching my eye as I walked into the main hall. He raised his glass to me, mouthing three words: *Watch me win.*
Lot 44 was introduced: *The Rostova Golden Loom.* The historic eighteenth-century French wooden loom that my great-grandfather had used to weave the world’s first seamless silk jacquard. It was the emotional soul of my atelier, seized by creditors during Julian’s engineered bankruptcy and put up for public liquidation tonight.
"We begin bidding at two million euros," the auctioneer announced.
"Three million," Xavier Valmont’s representative shouted from the floor.
"Four million," another collector countered.
"Ten million," Julian called out loudly from his balcony box, leaning forward with a smug grin that made my stomach turn.
A collective gasp swept through the room. Julian was playing with Valmont’s bottomless money. He wanted to humiliate me publicly, to show the world that even after the police raids and the scandals, he still controlled what mattered most to me.
"Ten million euros to Monsieur Julian Vance," the auctioneer declared, raising his wooden gavel. "Going once... going twice..."
May you like
I raised my paddle.
"Twenty million."
