Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 176

The next lot up for bid was an antique emerald scepter.

Summer had zero interest in buying it, but she raised her paddle anyway. "Fifteen thousand dollars."

Exactly as she anticipated, Lily immediately followed. "Thirty thousand."

Xavier glanced at Lily again. She hadn't mentioned wanting this piece before they arrived.

"I just remembered my grandmother's birthday is coming up," Lily justified quickly. "This emerald scepter would make a lovely gift."

Xavier nodded, saying nothing more.

And so, a scepter valued at barely seven hundred thousand dollars was relentlessly bid up to ninety million between Summer and Lily.

Summer was supposedly so frustrated that tears sprang to her eyes. Real tears streamed down her face, making her look utterly devastated.

"She clearly doesn't have the funds but insists on starting a bidding war, only to cry when she loses. I've never seen anything so pathetic. She's acting like someone is bullying her."

"Exactly. Look at Ms. Sutton—elegant and poised. Unlike her. It's embarrassing."

Sniffling dramatically, Summer acted completely unhinged. "Who says I don't have money? I'm winning this! One hundred and five million!"

Lily heard the crowd's favorable whispers and craved the satisfaction of publicly humiliating Summer even more. "One hundred and twenty million!"

Summer sobbed harder, shouting through her tears. "One hundred and thirty-five million!"

The entire crowd erupted in mocking laughter.

Xavier frowned, intending to caution Lily, but she had already shouted her next bid. "One hundred and fifty million!"

Summer immediately fired back. "One hundred and sixty-five million!"

Xavier lightly tugged at Lily's hand. "Lily, maybe just let her have it."

Lily pouted in displeasure. "But this is for my grandmother. Xavier, do you really want me to just hand it over to her?"

Seeing her visible annoyance, Xavier let go of her hand. "Never mind. She brought this upon herself. Go ahead and bid."

Delighted, Lily practically sang her next bid. "One hundred and eighty million!"

Summer slumped in her seat and surrendered, completely folding to hand the scepter over on a silver platter.

Another wave of intense applause swept the room, congratulating Lily on dropping another hundred and eighty million on an item barely worth seven hundred thousand.

Summer lowered her eyes to wipe away her tears. In a flash, every ounce of her sorrow vanished without a trace.

If Lily loved hijacking bids so much, Summer was going to let her steal to her heart's content. Let's see just how much cash the Sutton family had to burn.

Up next was an antique jade imperial chess set.

As Xavier leaned in, Wesley whispered, "Aren't you going to stop her? How many hundreds of millions is this now? I know you're rich, but you can't just burn cash like this."

Xavier just chuckled softly. "As long as she's happy."

While they spoke, the host eagerly asked if there were any further bids.

The entire room turned their attention to Summer.

Summer had zero intention of buying the chess set, but she expertly contorted her face into a mask of agonizing internal struggle.

After all, she still had to bait her hook.

After dragging out the silence for nearly a minute, Summer let her shoulders slump in defeat. Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth to say, "Forget—"

"Two hundred and fifty million!" A deep, rich, and incredibly familiar voice suddenly echoed through the hall.

"?"

Summer's eyes flew open, her head snapping up toward the source of the interruption.

A tall, slender figure in an immaculate suit was casually leaning against the window frame of The Grand Tier Suite on the second floor.

It was none other than Silas Sinclair!