Chapter 62
Brielle was lost in a daze, barely registering the events unfolding around her, including the fact that Max had secured the Eternal Whispers painting for a cool four hundred million, something she belatedly realized.
Eternal Whispers was the showstopper of the evening, but the auction organizers had one more trick up their sleeve – a mysterious item that wasn’t listed in the catalog and was only to be revealed live at the event.
This secrecy was the reason there was such a buzz of consultants at the bidder’s tables, all eager to catch a glimpse of the hidden gem, which could be anything from a piece of royal regalia that might have graced the brow of an ancient monarch to a lost
masterpiece by a revered artist.
The trio of auctioneers, normally loquacious, held their tongues for a moment, their voices trembling with excitement.
It all seemed irrelevant to Brielle until the crowd erupted into a clamor, snapping her out of her reverie. She looked up just in time to see the final lot revealed – none other than Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi.
—
The noise level in the room skyrocketed as advisors at the bidder’s tables frantically relayed the developments to their employers.
The painting, which most believed belonged in the hallowed halls of the Louvre, was now up for grabs at the auction.
Brielle was taken aback, and then she heard Dustin placing his bid.
The bidding was frenzied, each offer outdoing the last, and the atmosphere reached a fever pitch with the final lot.
Max and Andrew, having won their desired lots, bowed out of the bidding war, but Dustin was persistent, raising his bid four times, his usually nonchalant demeanor replaced with steely determination.
Brielle thought of Dustin’s long-lost sister, wondering if he was bidding on this masterpiece as a consolation gift for his mother, given the painting’s evocative name.
After eight rounds of intense bidding, Dustin emerged victorious, claiming the da Vinci for a staggering nine hundred million dollars.
As the gavel fell, the lights brightened, and waiters began directing the assembly to the adjacent hall for the gala dinner – the true highlight of the evening.
Brielle followed the crowd into the banquet hall, where the aroma of fine wine filled the air and familiar faces mingled in conversation.
Her gaze landed on Mr. Hartley. She couldn’t afford to return from her first business trip
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with nothing to show for it.
Max was escorted backstage by a waiter to complete the necessary paperwork for his purchase, leaving Brielle momentarily alone.
There were no acquaintances around Brielle, so she stood in an inconspicuous spot, thinking about how to start a conversation with the president of the Hartley Group. What she didn’t expect was that a young guy not far away was broadcasting live on their phone. Her face appeared on the live broadcast screen, and although it only flashed for a moment, it was enough to attract attention.
The young man, a delegate representing his employer at the dinner, was likely attending such a posh event for the first and only time, hence his early announcement of the live broadcast, promising viewers an immersive experience of the exclusive auction.
While media coverage was restricted to the auction itself, the post-auction dinner was off-limits to the press. However, no one objected to guests sharing their experience via live stream. The audience following the stream were primarily finance professionals, all curious to peek behind the curtain at the high-powered networking taking place.
The boy was broadcasting live while softly introducing.
“The man over there is the president of Hatfield Inc. It seems like he hasn’t bid on anything
this time.”
“The blonde-haired and blue-eyed one is the president of Hartley Group. I heard that a will be making some new moves, and tonight we’ll see who he meets.”
“By the way, you must be curious about the young son of Infinity Brilliance. He bid on the last auction item for nine hundred million dollars. He’s now backstage filling out paperwork, and he’ll probably be here soon. In the North American circle, his face is heavenly.”
As expected, when Dustin was mentioned, the number of people in the live broadcast room instantly increased. His face is indeed very handsome, and he’s very wealthy. Ordinary people would not have a chance to see such a person, and they all wanted to see what he would look like at the banquet.
The boy swiveled his camera again, continuing to introduce, but what he didn’t know was that Brielle’s face flashed into the camera frame again.
Questions began to pop up on the live feed.
“Was that Brielle just now? Can’t be, her family isn’t that wealthy, right?”
“Brielle? The top finance grad? I remember some forum gossip about her family being poor.”
“Isn’t she engaged to the Dorsey family? What’s she doing here?”
“Who knows? It was all anonymous tips back then, caused quite the stir, but Brielle never
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confirmed anything.”
“Hey man, can you pan the camera around? Let’s see if that’s really Brielle.”
