Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 463

Celeste's voice was soft and urgent as she tried to pull Helena back toward the auction floor.

This hasty retreat didn't align with Celeste's usual calculated demeanor.

Right on cue, Helena snapped her head around. "Is that true? Who dares to outbid me!"

Spotting Mrs. Montgomery's bodyguard rushing out the front doors, Helena descended into full panic mode.

Completely abandoning her confrontation with Sienna, she practically sprinted back to the auction table.

For a fleeting second, as Sienna watched Helena's frantic silhouette, she could have sworn she caught a deeply buried glint of contempt in Celeste's eyes.

But when she blinked and focused again, that deceptively sweet face betrayed nothing but a perfectly polished, flawless smile.

Sienna's suspicions only deepened.

She knew that over the years, Celeste had bent over backward to win Helena's favor, catering to her obsession by helping her hunt down rare jewelry.

Though Sienna wasn't an expert on the market value of those gems, it was obvious Helena cherished them. She treated them like holy relics.

Helena was a veteran in the high-society collecting circle. If those jewels were cheap fakes, she wouldn't have been fooled so easily.

So, was this unfamiliar man's forgery technique simply that flawless?

Or had Celeste been playing a massive psychological long con, methodically stripping away Helena's defenses to pull off this grand heist?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden scoff from Silas, who had been quietly observing the entire time.

He lazily set his teacup down, leaning back against the plush sofa. His eyes swept over the floor below, overflowing with the mocking amusement of a man watching a spectacular trainwreck.

"What's so funny?" Sienna asked him.

The amusement in Silas's eyes didn't waver. "Just marveling at how two people can't seem to piece together a single functioning brain between them."

Sienna instantly caught the underlying meaning.

She recalled the cryptic comment he made earlier: *That entirely depends on the hidden motives and the conscience of the person who made the introduction.*

He wasn't ignorant of what was happening; he had deliberately brought her here to witness it.

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