"Three hundred million."


    Jasper stared at Ste in disbelief.


    "Is this woman out of her mind?"


    He shot Haynes a questioning look-should they keep bidding?


    Haynes''s dark eyes were as deep and unreadable as ink, swirling with shadows.


    He nodded ever so slightly.


    Jasper cleared his throat. "Three hundred and fifty million."


    She couldn''t possibly raise the bid by a hundred million at a time like Ste did.


    But Ste didn''t hesitate. "Four hundred million."


    The room, which had been buzzing with excitement, fell into stunned silence.


    All eyes were on Ste, as if she''dpletely lost her senses.


    Even the most extravagant spenders wouldn''t throw money around like this, would they?


    Rachel''s expression shifted from shock to disbelief and back again.


    It was rare for her to find something she truly wanted, and now Ste was willing to pay a ridiculous sum just to outbid her?


    Rachel couldn''t help herself. "Ms. Cameron, I know there''s a bit of history


    between us, but is it really worth sabotaging the auction just to settle a personal score?"


    Everyone in the room looked at Ste with suspicion.


    The price was outrageous, almost absurd.


    And honestly, who could just casually put down four hundred million for a ne?


    No one believed Ste had that kind of money.


    As for Haynes...


    Haynes might, but he wasn''t stupid enough to spend it on something like this.


    Even the auctioneer seemed a little lost.


    Auctions were serious business; if you bid and couldn''t pay, there would be consequences.


    If everyone could just make fake bids and walk away, there''d be no point to the whole event.


    At that moment, a staff member approached the auctioneer and whispered something in his ear.


    The auctioneer nodded.


    Momentster, someone walked over to Ste''s seat.


    "Ma''am, if you were joking, we can restart the bidding process from thest legitimate offer."


    Clearly, the staff didn''t believe Ste could actually pay that much for a ne.


    Haynes had that kind of wealth. But this woman in the fourth row? No way.


    Before Ste could reply, Jasper jabbed a finger at her and shouted, "She can''t afford it! She''s just here to mess things up and drive up the price!"


    The staff member''s face grew serious.


    "Ma''am, please, this isn''t the time for games."


    If she hadn''t actually bought a few other things earlier, they wouldn''t have bothered with politeness or even given her a second chance.


    Ste gave a calm, faint smile. "I''m not joking. I really do intend to buy this ne for four hundred million. Is that a problem?


    Or do you have some kind of bidding limit and I''ve disrupted your auction?"


    The staff member''s brow furrowed. "Ma''am, are you absolutely certain you''re not ying around?"


    Then Neville''s rich,nguid voice rang out. "Sir, by repeatedly questioning whether my friend can pay, are you doubting us? Or just insulting us outright?


    If that''s the case, maybe you should just throw us out and be done with it. That would certainly send a message about the seriousness of your event."


    The staff recognized Neville. At his words, their expression changed.


    "Mr. Connolly, I didn''t mean it that way... It''s just, the bid is extremely high. I just need to confirm that thedy is serious."


    "I''m absolutely serious."


    Ste nced in the direction of Haynes and Rachel, a hint of amusement in her eyes.


    "Mr. O''Brien, do you still want the ne?"


    Challenging Haynes-now that took nerve!


    But then again, if Haynes couldn''t handle one woman daring to provoke him in


    public, wouldn''t that be a real blow to his reputation?