?Chapter 109:


    Still, no matter how much he tried to convince himself to move on, Jarrod couldn’t shake off the bitter regret gnawing at him.


    Then, a thought struck him. Maia had been so insistent on retrieving the bracelet. Could it be that she had known all along about its extraordinary value? Had she spoken up sooner, they never would have let the bracelet slip away so easily.


    Only one reason made sense. Maia must have been nning to pocket the fortune for herself.


    The more Jarrod thought about it, the angrier he became.


    She was nothing but a selfish traitor.


    “I understand,” Rosanna replied softly, her voice gentle and sweet.


    Rosanna ended the call and sank into her chair with a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, she had already spun a story for Jarrod about selling the bracelet. If he ever sniffed out the truth, he would no doubt demand a cut.


    That money was hers alone, and she was ready to guard it against anyone who dared, even her own brother.


    Rosanna stayed glued to the screen, eyes tracking every new bid. Silent and patient, she waited for the perfect moment to let the bracelet go to the highest offer.


    Meanwhile, across town, Chris’s scowl only grew darker as the minutes dragged on.


    The seller refused to budge, sticking stubbornly to the rising price. With the bidding now soaring past twenty-four million dors, Chris knew he was staring down an endless money pit. Worse yet, he might lose the bracelet entirely.


    Grabbing his phone, Chris punched in Maxwell’s number. His voice, low and edged with irritation, broke the silence. “Get in touch with them. I want a direct conversation.”


    Elsewhere, Maia was perched in front of her monitor, locked onto the auction feed with a re that could cut steel.


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    The longer the auction dragged, the more infuriated she became. Why was someone so determined to snatch Vicki’s bracelet? It made no sense at all.


    A sharp ring from her phone shattered her thoughts.


    One nce at the caller ID had Maia answering without hesitation. “Boss, the buyer contacted me. They want to negotiate privately.”


    Negotiate privately?


    That was not a bad y.


    Dragging this out would only drive the price into madness. Plus, Maia was itching to see who exactly was on the other end. “Okay. How do they want to set it up?”


    “They suggested an anonymous chat channel where you can message directly.”


    Maia tilted her head thoughtfully. “Alright.”


    Without missing a beat, she started cking away at the keyboard, masking her IP and tossing up an extra firewall for good measure.


    Momentster, her monitor flickered. The screen went ck. Then, stark white text blinked into view, saying, “Step out of the bidding. Set your price.”


    Maia leaned back, a slow smirk forming. She said, “Not stepping out. Not unless you show me who you are.”


    Sitting in another room, Chris hesitated before responding, “Face-to-face?”


    Fingers hovering over the keyboard, Maia weighed her options. Then she replied, “Deal.”


    “One hour. Starlight Bar. Do not bete.”


    As soon as the screen cleared and her system reset, Maia picked up her phone again.


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