Shannon Everett put on a considerate act and shook her head. "It’s okay, brother. You already spent thirty million on the piano just now. I don’t want you all to spend any more money on me."
Mason Everett frowned. "Thirty million? What’s going on?"
Wyatt Everett immediately recounted how Sienna Everett had driven up the price, still seething with rage as he recalled it.
After listening, Mason Everett shot a cold glance toward the private room on the second floor.
’That Sienna Everett... how dare she bully Shannon? She’s so audacious.’
’Shannon might have framed her and wronged her in the past, but Shannon is still young, just a child. Does Sienna really need to hold such a grudge? Does she have to bully Shannon like this?!’
’Can’t she be more magnanimous?!’
Seeing Shannon Everett looking so aggrieved yet forbearing, Mason Everett patted her hair tenderly. "Don’t be sad, Shannon. Your third brother bought you the piano. I’ll win this necklace and give it to you as a gift."
Tears welled up in Shannon Everett’s eyes as she slyly added fuel to the fire. "Brother, I heard Sienna also really likes necklaces designed by Violet. Why don’t you win it for her? Maybe then we can coax her back to the Everett Family and stop her from running away from home. I really want my sister to come back."
Upon hearing this, Mason Everett, Wyatt Everett, and Morgan Everett’s hearts melted.
’Even now, Shannon is still thinking about Sienna. How can she be so kind and considerate?’
’And look at Sienna. What kind of older sister is she?’
’She can’t compare to Shannon in any way!’
Morgan Everett adored his daughter for being so considerate. So what if Shannon wasn’t his biological child? Where else could he find such a sweet, caring daughter?
As the head of the family, Morgan Everett spoke up. "That’s enough, Shannon. Even if we gave this necklace to your sister, she wouldn’t appreciate it. Besides, is she even worthy of it? She would just cheapen it!"
"Your brother is managing the Everett Corporation now; winning a necklace for you is nothing to him. Be a good girl and just accept it, alright?"
Once Morgan Everett had spoken, Shannon Everett stopped refusing. She feigned reluctance as she agreed, "Well... since Dad put it that way, I’ll accept it."
Shannon Everett appeared demure, but inwardly, she was gloating.
’Not only will I get Mason to win this necklace for me, but I’ll also make Sienna’s image even worse in the family’s eyes. Two birds, one stone.’
As the auctioneer announced the starting bid for the necklace named "Rest of Life," many guests in the audience began to call out prices.
"Twenty-three million!"
"Twenty-five million!"
"Thirty million!"
"Thirty-six million!"
...
The bidders included both men and women; the women wanted to win it for themselves, while the men wanted to buy it for their partners or family members.
After all, the Sapphire Necklace was truly stunning.
Many of the women present were utterly captivated by it.
The auctioneer spared no effort in hyping up the crowd. "Alright, forty million! We have forty million from Mr. Jarvis, paddle number 40! Do I hear any other bids?!"
"Forty-two million!"
"Forty-five million!"
"Fifty million!"
"Fifty-one million!"
Once the price surpassed fifty million, the bidding increments became much smaller. At first, bids were jumping by several million at a time, but now they were mostly increasing by one million.
While many people had been bidding at the start, with voices calling out one after another, only a handful of bidders remained.
After all, not every guest had such deep pockets.
The auctioneer looked toward the back left. "Now we have a bid of fifty-two million from Mr. Zane, paddle number 13! Anyone who wants to raise the bid, raise your paddle now!"
Mason Everett raised his paddle. "Fifty-five million!"
A jump of three million.
Sienna Everett watched this unfold and raised an eyebrow slightly. ’Looks like Mason wants to win it for Shannon,’ she thought.
From the looks of it, he was determined to win.
Just as Sienna had expected, right after Mason called his price, a wealthy man on the other side of the hall immediately countered, "Fifty-six million!"
Mason Everett shot him an indifferent glance and raised the bid again. "Fifty-eight million!"
The wealthy man, getting competitive, countered, "Sixty million!"
Mason Everett: "Sixty-three million!"
Without any prompting from the auctioneer, the two fell into a bidding war.
Once the price hit sixty million, the field of bidders narrowed even further, leaving only Mason Everett and the wealthy man.
All eyes in the hall were fixed on the two of them, wondering who would be the first to fold.
The wealthy man gritted his teeth. "Sixty-five million!"
Mason Everett hadn’t expected him to be so tenacious. His calm expression shifted slightly. "Sixty-six million!"
The size of his bid was no longer as large as before, a clear sign that Mason was approaching his budget’s limit.
The wealthy man pushed back again. "Sixty-eight million!"
Mason Everett was no longer as composed, but after a glance at Shannon beside him, he raised his paddle again. "Sixty-nine million!"
The wealthy man hesitated for a long moment before finally lowering his paddle. Sixty-eight million was his limit; he couldn’t go any higher.
Seeing him give up, Mason Everett let out a huge sigh of relief.
’If that had gone on any longer,’ he thought, ’I’m not sure how much longer I could have lasted.’
Seeing that a winner had been decided, the surrounding guests began to discuss in hushed tones. "Looks like Mason Everett is the one with deeper pockets after all!"
"Huh? I haven’t heard that Mason Everett has a wife. Who’s he buying the necklace for?"
"Probably for his sister."
"His sister?"
"The Everett family’s darling, Shannon Everett! That’s her, the young woman sitting next to Wyatt Everett and Morgan Everett!"
"Speaking of which, I remember that Sienna Everett, the one who drove up the price earlier, is also an Everett daughter, isn’t she? The long-lost one they just found after all those years?"
"You must not have heard. Even though Sienna is the biological daughter, she isn’t as favored as Shannon. There’s no comparison between them."
"I don’t know about that. I’ve seen Sienna Everett before, and in terms of both looks and presence, she’s leagues better than Shannon Everett!"
"Well, as the saying goes, you put your money where your heart is. The Everett Family clearly isn’t willing to spend a single dime on Sienna, which shows how little they think of their ’real’ daughter."
"So in the end, Shannon Everett is the lucky one. She has parents and brothers who dote on her. Who knows, maybe the entire Everett fortune will be hers one day."
These conversations were held in hushed tones, but Shannon Everett managed to overhear a few lines. Hearing people envy her good fortune greatly satisfied her vanity.
’This is the life I’m supposed to have,’ she thought, ’basking in everyone’s admiration.’
’Sienna should be crushed beneath my feet. She isn’t even worthy of carrying my shoes!’
’This necklace is already in the bag. I’m going to flaunt it in Sienna’s face later!’
On stage, the auctioneer raised his gavel and called out excitedly, "For this Sapphire Necklace, ’Rest of Life,’ we have a bid of sixty-nine million from Mr. Mason Everett! Is there anyone who wants to go higher?"
"If not, then... sixty-nine million, going once! Sixty-nine million, going twice! Sixty-nine million..."
Just then, a deep, magnetic voice called out from the private room on the second floor—
"One hundred million!"