The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 66

Chapter 66

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No one on the seventh floor responded. All eyes remained fixed on the Master, waiting to see how he would handle this defiant woman.

Inside Booth 508, Candy watched with a mixture of admiration and concern.

She thought, ‘Hannah’s utterly fearless, but isn’t she pushing her luck challenging him in his place?’

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Candy shot to her feet. “You don’t think… the Master actually plans to have us thrown out, do you?”

“Relax,” Hannah said, meeting her gaze steadily. “Answer the door.”

Candy’s hand lingered on the door handle as she threw a worried glance over her shoulder.

“What if they play rough?” she murmured, already imagining the scandal splashed across tomorrow’s entertainment news.

“Still have your Royal Guard on speed dial, don’t you?” Hannah quipped, a playful edge to her voice.

It clicked then for Candy. Hannah’s confidence didn’t come from expecting to win the bid, but from being prepared to seize what she wanted by force if necessary.

The sheer audacity should have been alarming, yet Candy found it irresistibly thrilling.

Drawing a steadying breath, she turned the knob.

Outside stood a single imposing figure, a broad-shouldered guard in dark sunglasses.

“Miss, the Master requests your company on the seventh floor,” he announced.

Candy’s shoulders relaxed slightly. At least they weren’t being thrown out just yet. She looked to Hannah, who gave a slight nod.

“Sure,” Hannah said, stepping forward.

From the arena seats, spectators watched the two women emerge from their booth.

Murmurs spread through the crowd. Everyone assumed they were witnessing an expulsion.

After all, no one challenged the Scepter House’s authority and walked away unscathed. Mere ejection seemed almost merciful.

Then the announcer’s voice cut through the whispers, relaying the message from his earpiece. “The Master accepts the challenge from Booth 508.”

A collective gasp rippled through the arena. “What?!”

“He accepted? But that breaks protocol!”

“Is the Master going soft?”

“Since when does the Master make exceptions?”

The stunned silence gave way to bewildered chatter.

On the seventh floor, the bodyguard swung open the door to the Master’s private suite and gestured for Hannah to enter.

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Chapter 66

When Candy moved to follow, the guard blocked her path with an outstretched arm.

“Just her,” the guard stated. “The Master didn’t ask for you.”

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Candy’s eyes widened in protest. “We’re together! What kind of hospitality is this? Or are you planning to make us disappear one by one?”

“Wait here,” Hannah said, throwing a calm glance over her shoulder. “I’ll be fine.”

Though visibly displeased, Candy retreated under the guard’s watchful eye.

The door clicked shut, and Hannah followed the guard through the expansive suite.

The Master’s private box was twice the size of those below, featuring two interconnected rooms decorated in consistent classical elegance.

They passed through the first chamber toward the viewing platform, where strands of crystal beads shimmered like a liquid

curtain.

Silhouetted against the arena lights stood a tall, broad-shouldered figure. His tailored black garments accentuated his commanding presence, while the backlighting cast him in an aura of mysterious intensity.

“Your guest, sir,” the guard announced respectfully.

Barnaby turned, the intricate demon mask hiding his features save for the sharp eyes slanting upward at their outer corners.

Their gazes locked through the crystalline curtain, two forces taking each other’s measure.

After a prolonged silence, Barnaby’s voice emerged, deep and resonant. “What’s this game you’re proposing?”

“No bidding war,” Hannah stated, pushing through the beads without breaking eye contact. “We submit sealed bids for the Obsidian Pearl. Highest offer takes it.”

“And what does the loser forfeit?” Barnaby’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Hannah understood. One didn’t challenge the Hall Master without putting something real at stake.

“If you win, I pay your price. If I win, I pay mine,” she declared.

A low chuckle escaped Barnaby. “You think this is about money?”

The words hung between them, throwing her earlier confidence back in her face.

He was making it clear that financial terms alone wouldn’t tempt him into her game.

“Three lives saved if I win,” Hannah countered.

As a healer of extraordinary skill, this was the one currency that truly mattered. Life itself held no price tag.

“Done. I’ll bid first.” Barnaby reached for the bidding device on the table, his slender fingers entering a figure with practiced ease before extending it toward her.

“No need.” Hannah produced her own device from beneath her cloak, her movement revealing a slender wrist adorned with an exquisite bracelet.

Pink conch pearls interspersed with white diamonds caught the light, complementing her tender skin perfectly.

Barnaby’s eyes locked onto the bracelet, his thoughts stuttering to a halt.

Chapter 66

This piece was unique in the world and painfully familiar.

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Over a decade ago, he’d scoured continents and crossed peninsulas, shattering millions of sea snails just to obtain four usable conch pearls.

After meticulous polishing, he’d had them set with diamonds into this delicate bracelet, which Rosalie presented to Hannah on her fourth birthday.

His gaze lifted slowly, studying the woman before him with new intensity.

Behind the mask, her eyes, enhanced with makeup and brown contacts, still held that distinctive cool gleam he’d recognize anywhere.

Barnaby felt a surge of exhilaration, the kind of thrill that comes with a monumental discovery.

In that moment, he saw through the disguise. This woman was Hannah, and her claim about being with the Scott family had been a lie.

“Let’s see the result,” Hannah said as she submitted her bid.

As she raised her eyes, she noticed a subtle transformation in the man’s presence.

The icy sharpness that had once defined his gaze was now replaced by an unconcealed brilliance of triumph.

A nervous tremor ran through her. ‘Did he win?’ she wondered.

Nearby, the bodyguard observed the slight change in Barnaby’s demeanor and reached the same conclusion.

He immediately signaled the coordinator to transfer the data.

To their surprise, both parties had entered identical bids: 290 million dollars.

“Sir…” The bodyguard approached and murmured the numbers into Barnaby’s ear.

Barnaby gave a slow nod, his eyes fixed intently on Hannah. “The win is yours,” he declared.

The bodyguard stared in utter confusion.

He thought, ‘But, sir… it’s a tie. Did you not hear me correctly? A tie means we restart, not concede.’

Over the communication line, the coordinators froze in disbelief. Their eyes darted back and forth between the two submitted bids, both clearly displaying the identical figure.

None of them could comprehend why Barnaby would willingly declare defeat.

“Thank you,” Hannah replied, a note of genuine surprise in her voice. Beneath the mask, a subtle smile graced her lips. There was something unexpectedly honorable about the way he accepted the outcome.

Almost instinctively, her fingers drifted to the bracelet around her left wrist, a delicate piece she seldom wore in public, yet always brought along for moments that mattered.

She had discovered it years ago while sorting through Rosalie’s belongings, tucked inside a small box accompanied by a handwritten note: For Hannah’s 4th birthday.

It was a gift intended to bring luck, one she had quietly carried with her ever since.

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