He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 283

Her fingers began to tremble uncontrollably. She didn't know what was wrong with her lately—the shaking would hit out of nowhere, sometimes so badly she couldn't hold a pen. Her chest would tighten until she felt like throwing up. Only by burying herself in relentless work could she finally catch her breath.

The second the noise stopped, panic would flood in. That was why she had been leaving every light in her apartment burning through the night.

As she rode with Helena, the older woman continued explaining the auction rules, adding a cautious warning. "A lot of top appraisers will be there tonight. You'll likely be the youngest one in the room, which means they'll underestimate and provoke you. Just ignore them. The Xavier family doesn't carry much weight in the city anymore, and I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you if things get ugly."

The Xaviers didn't even crack the top ten anymore, losing ground year after year. If they weren't so desperate, the patriarch would have never gambled everything on a ruthless bastard son like Gideon. None of the legitimate younger generation had shown any spark, making Gideon look like a polished sword among dull iron.

Juniper nodded softly. "I understand, Mrs. Xavier."

The mega-auction house was a three-hour drive away, operating entirely under the radar. No one knew who the real boss was. Whenever they secured exceptional goods, they announced it the day of. Rumor had it the boss only auctioned pieces he personally favored, rarely taking outside commissions. Some suspected the auction house was merely a legitimate front for laundering black-market antiquities.

Regardless of the rumors, the place had operated seamlessly for years. As long as you played by their rules, you got the goods.

The facility was nestled near the mountains on the outskirts of the city. Traffic was backed up for miles, a parade of luxury cars proving that every heavy hitter was here for the rough-stone stakes. It was staggering that Margot Harrington's birthday could force so many elites to drop their pride and scramble like this.

Juniper had never heard of the Harringtons before. "Are they that powerful?"

Since they had some time before arriving, Helena filled her in. "The two patriarchs are practically founding fathers. Their pedigree is absolute, yet they keep a notoriously low profile and completely avoid political dogfights. The family is incredibly united. Arthur Harrington actually beat out old Mr. Saint for a massive political seat back in the day. The old saying goes: business never wins against the government. Building a relationship with them is the ultimate safety net. You never know when you might need a favor from the top."

At the end of the day, all the networking in the metropolis boiled down to trading favors for power.

Juniper nodded, though it was unclear how much she actually cared.

Noticing how exhausted Juniper looked, Helena asked in concern, "You look a bit pale. Did you skip dinner?"

Helena caught herself glancing over multiple times. She honestly wasn't surprised that a man like Nelson was hooked on a woman like Juniper. Surrounded by trust fund kids who were either boringly obedient or violently rebellious, Juniper possessed a strikingly pure aura. She was like a deer that had stumbled out of the woods—naive, unguarded, and deeply moving in her simplicity.

They arrived at the massive auction venue. A small army of valets in uniform stood in perfect formation. As soon as guests stepped out in the underground garage, the staff flawlessly parked the luxury vehicles.

This entire stretch of land was built purely to service the auction house, hinting at the unfathomable wealth of the boss behind the scenes.

Helena and Juniper were escorted to an elevator, then guided through a labyrinth of corridors until they reached a thousand-square-foot viewing hall. In the dead center, hundreds of rough stones were piled onto tables.

The stones were stacked, meaning only the top layer was clearly visible. The rest were partially obscured inside heavily carved wooden crates.

A thick red velvet rope barricaded the tables, keeping guests roughly thirty feet back.