?Chapter 1664:


    “My God, that’s an outrageous number — it’s blown past every previous record. Alban is clearly targeting the Wade family.”


    “Obviously. The Wades are close to the Joneses, so Alban’s driving up the price just to needle them.”


    “I thought Alban had a specific reason for wanting the Emberbloom. Now it looks like the Wade family is the one desperate to secure it.”


    “I’m not convinced it’s the Wades. It could be the Jones family. The real question is what they intend to do with it.”


    “I heard one of the Jones sons is involved in medical research — maybe they want it for experiments.”


    Spection rippled through the room as everyone guessed at the Emberbloom’s purpose and who would ultimately im it. No one dared challenge the Jones or Martel families — not only because the price had shattered records, but because crossing either family was unthinkable. Pouring a fortune into the Emberbloom without a clear n would be a disastrous loss. They couldn’t use its properties, nor could they resell it profitably. To them, it was meaningless.


    “He’s doing this deliberately!” La hissed through clenched teeth. She turned to Christina. “Bonnie, maybe we should stop — it’s already higher than the historical peak.”


    “Keep bidding,” Christina said evenly.


    The Emberbloom was exceedingly rare, clinging to sheer cliffs and nearly impossible to harvest intact, which drove its value astronomically high. When Christina had first purchased it for twenty million, onlookers had mocked her as a reckless bidder with more money than sense. What they failed to grasp was that, to her, its value far exceeded that figure. In her hands, it could be a cure that saved lives — or a lethal substance no one would anticipate. At this moment, she needed it for a treatment. The cost was irrelevant. She would not walk away without it.


    “Raise it again,” Christinamanded.


    Her icy stare fixed on La, pressing down with such force that La lifted the bidding paddle almost reflexively. “Twenty-two million!” A chill ran down La’s spine as she struggled to make sense of the shift in Christina. She was usually gentle andposed — how could her presence feel so overwhelming now?


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    Before La could recover, Alban’s aggressive bidding left her reeling. No matter how high she pushed the number, he immediately surpassed it. Grinding her teeth, La lifted the paddle once more. “Twenty-six million!”


    Before Alban could respond, Christina reached out and gripped La’s hand, then signaled to the auctioneer with absolute resolve. “Raise your price again if he continues.”


    The hall fell into stunned silence. La went rigid, the color draining from her face.


    “Bonnie, what are you doing?” La whispered, panic flooding her voice. She was convinced Christina had lost her mind. The Wade family couldn’t possibly match the Martel family’s resources, yet Christina was forcing her to stake everything. If Alban, that ruthless man, refused to yield, the consequences would be catastrophic — and La dreaded the fury waiting for her at home if this ever came to light. Her body shook with rage, but she swallowed it in silence, not daring tosh out.


    As the audience slowly recovered, murmurs spread through the room.


    “Who is that woman sitting beside Miss Wade? How can she pressure her into bidding against Alban like that?”


    “Did you see Miss Wade? She’s gonepletely pale. Taking on the Martel family — she doesn’t stand a chance.”


    “That woman beside her must be someone she trusts. She’s dragged Miss Wade straight into trouble. This is what happens when you put faith in the wrong person.”


    The onlookers regarded La with pity, but when they looked at Christina, their expressions turned scornful. In their eyes, she was a bearer of misfortune — the kind ofpanion who brought ruin to anyone who stayed close.


    Among everyone present, only Alban knew who Christina truly was: the precious daughter the Jones family had finally recovered. What did it matter if she stood against the Martel family? He met her gaze. Her eyes were icy, edged with provocation, and the faint curl of her lips carried unmistakable confidence. Intriguing — she was clearly nothing like the harmless figure she pretended to be. Beneath that gentle exteriory something sharp and calcting, waiting patiently for the right moment.


    Alban made no further bids. In the end, the Emberbloom was imed for twenty-six million — an unprecedented price.


    The audience, hungry for spectacle, showed visible disappointment when Alban abruptly withdrew. “No way. Alban backed down? The Wade family can’t possibly match Martel resources — what stopped him?”


    “Could it be that the woman beside Miss Wadees from an even more powerful background? Is that why he retreated?”


    “Or maybe he simply thinks paying that much is absurd. Twenty million is reckless — twenty-six million is sheer madness.”


    Before long, the crowd settled on thisst exnation as the truth behind Alban’s withdrawal. Their gazes returned to La, nowced with ridicule. Feeling those looks burn into her, she lowered her head. Shame flooded through her, and quiet resentment toward Christina took root for turning her into a public joke.


    La had onceughed at the anonymous buyer who paid twenty million for the Emberbloom, calling them foolish beyond reason. Now she had be an even bigger fool. She bit down hard on her lip and forced herself to think rationally. If winning Christina’s favor allowed her to marry into the Jones family, then spending twenty-six million was a small price to pay — turning this sum into a bridge toward unimaginable wealth was, in fact, a strategic investment. With that thought, her mood began to lift. Once she became Bain’s wife, the Jones family would treat her generously. Right now, people mocked her as someone with more money than sense, but one day, after she married in, those same people would praise her foresight for turning a single gamble into vast returns.


    “La,” Christina said softly, reaching out to take her hand. “The next item is the Elderroot. I want to bid on it for Grandma.”


    “Leave it to me — whatever you want, I’ll secure it,” La replied without hesitation. She was confident Alban wouldn’t care about a medicinal root, and without himpeting, no one else would dare challenge her.


    “Thank you, La. Grandma will be delighted when she sees it — she’ll definitelymend us,” Christina said, smiling warmly.


    She was deliberately dangling the Jones family as bait, fully aware La would swallow it without hesitation. Since the Wade family had dared to scheme against her, collecting payment now was only fair — nothing more than long-overdue retribution.


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