CHAPTER 14: THE PRICE OF FREEDOM, PART II

(Evelina’s POV — Aurelis Auction Hall—Later)

The lights dimmed again, painting the hall in velvet and shadow. The air thickened—money, perfume, and something sharper underneath: hunger.

Every eye turned toward the stage.

The Mermaid Tears Necklace glowed within its glass case, blue fire swirling at its core like it was breathing. The crowd’s collective breath caught.

[System: Target Item Detected—Mermaid Tears Necklace.] [Reward: Quit the Game and Return to Your World.] [Balance: 9,999,000,000,000 Credits Remaining.]

My pulse skipped. Home. I... I can go back home. The real one. The one I built—not perfect, but mine. And now it was right there. Just a few steps away. Just a number on a bidding card.

A single price stood between me and freedom.

All I had to do was win.

No—I have to win.

This isn’t luck. This isn’t hope.

This is my only chance.

The host lifted his gavel, voice rich and theatrical. "Ladies and gentlemen, the bidding for our final treasure begins! Starting bid—five million credits!"

A ripple of murmurs spread across the hall. The room practically vibrated with anticipation.

I raised my paddle, calm as a knife edge. "Five million."

A few heads turned. Father glanced back once, surprise flickering behind his mask before politeness smoothed it away. Then—another voice. Low. Lazy. Beautifully dangerous.

"Ten million."

My head snapped toward the sound.

Private balcony. Low light. A man half-leaning against the railing, mask set aside, silver hair catching the chandelier’s glow.

Theo Vinter.

What in the hell is that man doing here?

The crowd murmured at the sudden leap in price. The host practically glowed with excitement, his voice booming.

"Ah! A bold start—ten million from the handsome gentleman above!"

Theo’s fingers tapped lazily against the railing, his posture all ease, all arrogance. A predator pretending to be bored. His gold eyes flicked down to me once, unreadable.

He wasn’t bidding for the necklace. He was bidding for fun. But for me—this wasn’t a game. This was my exit. My freedom. My world is waiting just beyond that glass case.

I raised my paddle, voice steady even as my pulse thundered. "Fifteen million."

Theo’s lips curved—faintly, dangerously.

"Twenty."

I clenched my jaw. "Twenty-five."

He leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on the railing. "Thirty."

And then—

"HUNDRED MILLION!!"

The voice didn’t belong to Theo. It came from the front row.

Arden.

I froze. My blood turned to ice.

Of course it was him. Of course he’d want the one thing that mattered to me—not because he wanted it, but because I did.

The host nearly choked on his own enthusiasm. "One hundred million from the gentleman in the front seat! What an incredible offer!"

No. No. No.

If Arden gets it, he’ll hand it to Sera the second it leaves the stage. That necklace will go straight to her soft little neck—her luck, her light, her story.

And I’ll lose everything.

I raised my hand, heart hammering so hard it hurt.

"One hundred and fifty million."

The words left my mouth before I could think, slicing through the room like a blade. Gasps rippled across the audience. Heads turned. Cameras flashed.

Arden’s glare locked onto me from across the aisle—pure fury under a polished mask. His jaw tightened, his eyes burning with the same hatred that once slapped me across the cheek in the game.

I didn’t care.

I couldn’t care.

He could burn me alive with that glare and I’d still raise my hand again if I had to.

This was mine.

The host hesitated, clearly struggling to breathe in the tension. "A-ah—one hundred and fifty million from... the lady in the black dress!"

Whispers broke out, rippling like wildfire.

"Is that the Hartgrave daughter?"

"She’s insane—one fifty?"

"Does she even know what she’s doing?"

I ignored them. My world had narrowed to the pulsing blue glow at the corner of my vision.

[System Alert: Arden Hartgrave — Affection -1 → -4%.][Warning: Emotional Hostility Rising.]

I stared straight ahead, grip tight around the bidding paddle.

"I don’t care," I muttered under my breath. "He can hate me all he wants."

The necklace gleamed under the chandelier—light fractured across the glass, catching in the air like tiny shards of destiny.

All I had to do was reach it first.

All I had to do was win.

The host lifted his hand, his voice ringing over the murmur of the crowd. "One hundred and fifty million—going once!"

Yes. That’s right.

"One hundred and fifty million—going twice—"

My chest tightened. My grip around the paddle steadied. And then—

"Nine hundred and ninety-nine billion."

The hall exploded.

Gasps. Murmurs. A few champagne glasses actually shattered. The number hit the air like a thunderclap wrapped in velvet. My head snapped up—and there he was.

Theo Vinter.

Leaning against the balcony railing, one hand in his pocket, the other still holding the microphone the host hadn’t realized he’d surrendered. His silver hair caught the chandelier’s light, glinting like a blade that had just tasted blood.

The host’s voice stammered over the chaos. "N-nine hundred and ninety-nine billion from the gentle man above! Going once!"

No.

Not yet.

I could still outbid him. I still had money. I still had a chance.

"Going twice—" The host continued.

My breath hitched. My hand trembled, paddle half-raised.

"Evelina."

A voice cut through the air. Low. Cold.Arden.

He was in front of me before I even realized he’d moved, his hand clamping around my wrist like a shackle. His eyes were hard, his voice sharper.

"It’s enough."

"Let me go," I hissed, jerking my arm back. "You don’t understand—"

"Enough," he repeated, quieter this time but far more dangerous. "You’re embarrassing yourself."

The words hit harder than any slap. I yanked free, heart pounding, ready to raise my paddle again—

"Sold!"

The gavel hit the podium.

The sound cracked through the air like a gunshot.

"Sold to the gentleman above!" the host announced, his voice bright and trembling with relief. "For nine hundred and ninety-nine billion credits!"

Applause erupted around me. Thunderous. Hollow. Distant.

I just stood there, frozen.

No breath.No sound.Just the fading echo of the gavel still reverberating through my skull.

"Wait—" My voice broke as I stumbled forward. "Wait, I wasn’t done. I was about to bid more—"

The host smiled politely, the way people do when they’ve already decided your words don’t matter. "I’m sorry, Miss, but you were... a second too late."

A second.

A single, goddamn second.

The necklace glimmered under the light as the attendants moved the display case off the stage. I stared at it, unblinking, until the blue glow blurred through the burn in my eyes.

[System Alert: Mermaid Tears Necklace — Lost.][Reward: Unavailable.][Objective: Failed.]

The text blinked once, mocking me, before fading into nothing.

It felt like someone had just slammed a door I’d been running toward my whole life.

My knees almost gave out, but I forced them to lock. The room swayed, blurred by the crowd’s laughter, the hum of wealth, the sound of my own heartbeat crashing in my ears.

Arden’s voice reached me distantly. "You see? Obsession blinds judgment. Learn your place, Evelina."

His words hit like a blade turned sideways—quiet but brutal. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even breathe.

How did I lose it? I had money. I had time.

I had everything... and still, somehow, I was too late. Then—

The sound.

Footsteps. Slow. Measured. Deliberate.

The crowd turned, like a tide shifting toward a storm. The low murmur rose into a wave of gasps as a familiar voice drifted through the air—smooth, unhurried, and soaked in authority.

Theo Vinter descended the grand staircase.

The light hit his silver hair first—then the sharp edge of his jaw, the glint of gold in his eyes, the faint smirk that looked like it could buy silence and sell chaos.

Every step he took was a statement. The air bent around him—parting, cautious, reverent.

"Is that... Theo Vinter?"

"The Vinter Group’s CEO?"

"My god—what’s he doing here?"

"They say he owns half the city... and the other half fears him."

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t look away.

He walked like sin given human form—flanked by six bodyguards in black suits, each step echoing like a countdown. And when he reached the marble floor, he removed his mask.

The hall fell utterly silent.

Even the host stopped breathing.

Theo Vinter—up close—wasn’t beautiful. He was terrifyingly precise. Every line of his face looked carved for power, every movement deliberate. He could have walked into a war zone and people would have made room.

And I...I realized what real danger looked like when it smiled. My pulse hammered against my ribs.

I have to get that necklace back. Even if I have to beg. Crawl. Bargain with the devil himself.

But before I could take a step, Theo walked past me—his gaze brushing mine for a split second, unreadable—and went straight toward Sera.

"Hello, Miss Sera Hartgrave," he said softly, his voice carrying like velvet laced with gunpowder.

The crowd buzzed instantly.

"Oh my god—he’s speaking to the adopted daughter?"

"Why would he—?"

"Wait, is he... smiling?"

Lucein stepped forward first, his usual charm gone, replaced by raw protectiveness.

"Mr. Vinter," he said coldly, "you’ll stay right where you are."

Father joined him, his presence commanding. "This is neither the place nor the time, Mr. Vinter."

Arden flanked them, eyes sharp, posture tense. "Theo Vinter," he said flatly, "stay away from my sister."

Theo looked at the three of them as if they were children threatening to bark. Then—he smiled. Slow. Measured. Terrifying.

"Oh, do not worry, Arden," he drawled, his voice a purr of mock reassurance. "I’m merely here to deliver a gift."

"We don’t need anything from you," Lucien snapped, his tone hard as steel.

Theo tilted his head slightly, his golden gaze flicking to him with the faintest trace of amusement. "Ah, but you’ll make an exception for this one."

He nodded toward the stage. "Host."

The host rushed forward, still trembling from the previous chaos. He held out a silver tray, and upon it—encased in light—rested the Mermaid Tears Necklace.

"The necklace, Mr. Vinter," the host said weakly.

Theo took it.

The gem caught the chandelier’s light again—ocean blue, alive, perfect. The sound of it shifting in his hand felt deafening.

Then, with deliberate calm, he turned toward Sera.

"I present," he said, his tone dipping into that dangerous calm that made even the air shiver, "this necklace... to Miss Sera Hartgrave."

Gasps rippled through the hall.

And I—I couldn’t move.

I stared as the attendants helped Sera lift her hair, the necklace slipping around her throat like a chain of light.

Her smile was radiant. And mine—burned.

The System chimed, mercilessly cold.

[System: Mission Failed.][Reward: Invalid.]

The words hit harder than bullets.

Everything around me blurred—faces, lights, laughter—all fading into a haze of noise. The necklace gleamed against Sera’s skin.

That faint ocean-blue glow that had once meant freedom now shimmered like a locked door.

My locked door.

The System prompt flickered once before vanishing, taking my last thread of hope with it.

And just like that—I lost my only chance to go home.