Married by Accident Taming the Billionaire (Cecilia) novel Chapter 299

Chapter 299 They Were Certain of Victory
Thirty million was not a small amount. Maggie had to consider if her company could afford the payment.
However, when she thought about the financial situation of the company, she could only sigh and give up.
It was indeed pointless to fight against the wealthy Nelson family at an auction.
Maggie also realized that Remington and Cecelia were determined to win, and they would definitely overcome any obstacles.
Just as everyone was looking at Maggie, she suddenly received a text message.
The message showed only one word. "Bid."
After reading the message, Maggie gained some confidence and raised her paddle again, raising the bid.
Remington continued to make other bids with 45 million, 60 million, and 75 million.
Maggie tenaciously held on until Remington shouted, "150 million!"
It caused an uproar in the auction hall.
"Oh my God! 150 million? Does Mr. Nelson want The Collection of Fragrant Clothes that badly?"
"I heard that The Collection of Fragrant Clothes contains a treasure. If he can really find it, it would be worth a deal."
"But what if there's no treasure? That would be just half a sheet of worthless paper."
Discussions filled the air. Maggie received another message.
[Stop!]
After the price reached 150 million, they could only give up.
"150 million! This price has set a new record in the history of our auction house. Is there any higher bid? Alright! 150 million goes once! 150 million goes twice! 150 million goes three times! I announce...."
Just as the auctioneer was about to hammer down with excitement, a loud explosion suddenly occurred on the stage.
The auction platform exploded, shrouding the room in thick smoke and flying sparks. The auctioneer was blown away.
Several guests in the front row were affected as well.
The sudden danger caused everyone at the scene to panic and scream, running toward the exit.
A blast of heat swept over, and Remington protected Cecelia with his body. Thankfully, their location was not too close to the explosion, so they weren't injured.
But chaos ensued in the room. It was uncertain if there would be further danger. Remington quickly took Cecelia and ran toward the exit.
People crowded at the exit. Just as Remington and the others were about to leave, another explosive sound came from inside.
Flames spread, and smoke filled the entire auction hall.
"Mr. Nelson!"
Winger and his men pushed through the crowd and found Remington and Cecelia. "Are you both okay?"
"We're fine!"
Remington took Cecelia to a relatively safe place. Both of them had a stern expression, thinking the same thing.
The explosion just now was most likely aimed at the secret recipe.
"Protect Mr. Nelson and Miss Linsey!"
Winger and his men guarded them while also reporting something to Remington. "Mr. Nelson, we caught someone attempting to attack Adam at the hospital. Now, there's an explosion here as well. I suspect that someone planned this, and they took action simultaneously."
Remington nodded, and Cecelia sighed. "Thankfully, we were prepared in advance. Otherwise, Kevin might have been dead."
Many people had already fled, leaving the building. Some people stayed in the lobby on the first floor, waiting to see what would happen.
Jersey approached from the side. "Cecelia, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Jersey."
"It was really dangerous just now. This place is not safe. How about I take you back?" Jersey offered.
"Jersey, just go back first. I have to stay here and wait for the police to handle the situation."
Cecelia and Remington had not confirmed the current condition of the secret recipe. They couldn't leave casually.
Remington held Cecelia tightly. "Don't worry! I will take care of her."
"Alright. Contact me anytime if you need some help!"
Jersey left first. After the incident at the auction house, the person in charge of Christie's Auction House arrived promptly with his team to reassure the scared guests.
"We need to go in and see if the secret recipe is still there," Cecelia said.
The smoke in the auction hall gradually dispersed, and there was no big fire. Winger and his team found fire extinguishers and went in to put out the flames.
Cecelia and Remington returned to the auction hall together, where several injured people lay on the ground, moaning in pain.
"Don't worry, everyone. We have already called the police and an ambulance. They will be here soon."
Cecelia comforted the injured and searched the scene. They found that the explosion had occurred at the auction podium and the front rows.
They found the display case where the secret recipe had been stored and saw that it hadn't been damaged by the explosion. It had only been knocked over with broken glass. The recipe and the box containing it were gone.
"The explosion didn't affect the display case. It was probably knocked over during the blast. But the recipe is gone. It seems that someone took it long ago," Cecelia analyzed. She then turned to look around. "There is only one exit. Could it be that the culprit took advantage of the chaos, grabbed the recipe, and escaped through the exit when the explosion happened?"
"It's very likely that the culprit was among the crowd in the auction. Go check the surveillance footage."
"Yes!"
The two subordinates quickly left the auction hall.
Cecelia noticed the auctioneer, Mr. Baker, lying on the stage. He was still alive and pointing in the direction of the display case with his finger.
Cecelia approached the auctioneer, crouching down to ask, "Mr. Baker, do you know something? Did you see who took the recipe?"
"A-A man." The auctioneer saw a masked man in the smoke after being blown away and collapsing on the ground. That man smashed the display case's glass and took the recipe.
The auctioneer then pointed toward the ceiling. Cecelia looked up, understanding what he meant. "Remington, the person didn't escape through the door. He escaped through the ceiling and ventilation ducts."
"Quick! Search all the ventilation ducts!" Remington ordered, and Winger and his team hurriedly left the scene.
Not long after, the police, paramedics, and firefighters arrived at the scene and provided assistance. The injured were carried out and taken to ambulances one by one.
The leading officer conducted an investigation at the scene, and Cecelia and Remington also provided their statements.
They informed the police about everything they had learned.
"Mr. Nelson, Miss Linsey, don't worry! We will do our best to get back the stolen item." The police also sent people to search for clues.
Cecelia and Remington left the auction hall together and encountered the man in a white suit again.
The man seemed to have been waiting for them. When he saw them approaching, he spoke, "There's no need to exert yourselves searching for the recipe. The one that was stolen was just a replica."
"What? A replica?" Cecelia looked at the man in front of her with surprise, curious as to why he would say that. She wondered if he had any evidence to support his claim.
"Yes, what was displayed today was actually a replica, not the real thing," the man replied calmly.
Cecelia couldn't help but eye him again. With the white suit jacket removed, he was wearing a white shirt, and he appeared refined and handsome.
But there was a mysterious aura surrounding him that was hard to decipher.
Remington also stared at the man with suspicion. "Why do you say that? Do you know something?"