Chapter 25

Calvin’s head buzzed. He gripped the bidding sign tightly, frozen in place. He couldn’t bid anymore. Sensing the mocking gazes on him, he felt humiliated. It was worse knowing Elvira was watching. He wished he could disappear.

Judy didn’t look good either. She glanced at Calvin, hoping he would bid again. She didn’t want to be laughed at.

After three inquiries, no one raised the bid. The host closed the bid on Eternity.

Judy’s heart sank like a stone. She realized Calvin looked distraught and the outcome was irreversible. She endured the humiliation and consoled him softly. “Calvin, it’s okay. It’s just a ring. Let’s find a renowned designer to design a bigger and better one. I always thought this ring was too ordinary. I didn’t like it much.”

Someone nearby couldn’t help but laugh. Judy was only criticizing the ring because she hadn’t gotten it. Calvin and Judy could barely sit still.

Calvin looked at the gentle and sensible Judy and felt guilty. “Sorry, Judy. I couldn’t follow through on my promise. I’ll get a better ring for you.”

“Sure,” Judy leaned against Calvin, but her eyes were full of anger. “See if there’s anything else you like. I’ll bid for it.” Calvin wanted to make it up to Judy.

Judy picked a necklace and a gown, priced around one million dollars. They weren’t too pricey.

However, whenever Calvin bid on something, he was immediately outbid by a mysterious bidder. The bidder’s outrageous moves infuriated Calvin. Judy stopped smiling too.

Calvin sensed he was being deliberately targeted. The bidder only bid for things Calvin wanted, raising the bid high and stealing them. Who was it? Calvin couldn’t remember offending anyone recently.

Calvin’s face turned ominous. He wanted to see who it was but could only see a vague shadow. Olivia was roaring with laughter. Elvira also found it interesting. She glanced at the bidder again. Though she didn’t know him, she silently praised him. Elvira hated her family and Calvin. She liked whoever annoyed them.

The auction ended with Calvin and Judy empty-handed. Everyone knew they were targeted by the wealthy bidder and looked at them differently. They steered clear of them so they wouldn’t be implicated. Although no one knew who the bidder was, they knew he was immensely wealthy and thus couldn’t be offended.

Judy could hardly sit still. It was extremely humiliating. She didn’t know who was blindly targeting them.

As everyone prepared to leave, the organizer called everyone to stay. “Hold on, ladies and gentlemen. The auction has ended, but my boss told us to deal with something important, so please stay as witnesses.”

When they heard the organizer’s boss give the instructions, they sat back down curiously. After all, the boss was someone everyone wanted to curry favor with.

Olivia held Elvira’s hand excitedly, praising the boss. No one knew better than her how Elvira had suffered. She wished she could clear up every misunderstanding for Elvira, but she didn’t have the ability. She could only watch Olivia being slandered. Elvira held her breath, watching the people on stage. When she was young, she didn’t have the power to prove her innocence. Now, they were too old to verify. She could only tell herself she was innocent and need not prove herself. She also didn’t need to care about others’ opinions.

But now that someone was willing to stand up for her, Elvira realized she had cared. She wanted to prove her innocence.

The organizer invited the police officer on stage, and the police stated seriously, “At 7:30 this evening, we received a report of false accusation of theft. We arrived on the scene five minutes later. After examining the surveillance footage, we confirmed that Miss Stacy Willis had falsely accused Elvira. This is the evidence.”

The large screen began playing the surveillance footage of the hall. The footage was of good quality and included audio. It captured everything that happened distinctly. It showed Olivia and Elvira arriving half an hour later than Stacy, and they were never close. It showed how Elvira and Olivia went to the dessert area first and focused on eating afterward. Ten minutes later, Elvira was accused of cheating. She never interacted with Stacy and had no opportunity to steal from her.

The truth was shown, causing an uproar. Everyone didn’t expect Stacy to be so shameless as to slander someone.

Stacy was panicking. She wanted to run away, but a spotlight shone on her. The police officer said, “Miss Stacy Willis, you’re arrested for slander.”

Two female police officers quickly caught her.

Stacy shouted, “Let me go! That footage is fake. Elvira did steal it!”

“You mean we are lying? Miss Willis, do you know you’re being recorded right now? Falsely slandering the police will put you in jail for at least three years,” the police officer stated sternly.

Stacy didn’t dare to go against the police. She didn’t want to go to jail. She changed her tune. “No. I mean, I was only joking with Elvira. She’s my cousin. We’re messing around, isn’t that right, Elvira?”