"Emily, does the Phoenix Bracelet mean something special to you?"

Emily kept her eyes on the stage below, her hands slowly clenching at her sides. "Not particularly, but it’s a family heirloom. When my husband was a child, his family fell on hard times. His parents had no choice but to sell one of the bracelets. He’s always wanted to buy it back so he can pass it down to our son."

A family heirloom is meant to stay in the family—only then can it truly be called one.

But having just one of a pair left was undeniably a shame.

Nancy thought about her own past and couldn’t help but sympathize with Emily.

If it were her, wouldn’t she have done whatever it took to recover it?

Linda, wide-eyed and blinking rapidly, chimed in, "But Emily, didn’t you sell that land to Nancy earlier? Billion dollars! It shouldn’t be hard to get that bracelet back, right?"

Emily gave Linda an awkward glance. "Most of that money went into investments, and the rest was put into a dedicated account. I was worried that one day I might… well, I wanted to save it as a fund for my son’s future. I don’t spend much, so I only kept ten million for myself."

Honestly, ten million in liquid cash wasn’t exactly a small amount.

But bidding for something at an auction often stretched even the wealthiest.

By this point, after the man in the audience shouted a bid of ten million, the entire venue had gone silent. No one else made a move, and the auctioneer began to raise his gavel.

"Ten million, going once…"

Nancy panicked and turned to Ashley. "Raise it by a million each time—quickly, bid!"

Ashley gave Nancy a deep, questioning look but then raised her voice. "Eleven million!"

The crowd collectively turned to stare at Nancy, their disbelief written across their faces.

"Has Nancy lost her mind?"

"It’s just a bracelet. The starting price was fifty thousand, and now she’s raising the bid like that? Did marrying Charlie turn her into some clueless rich woman?"

Even Vivian was stunned, her mouth hanging open.

Earlier, Nancy had hesitated to bid fifteen thousand for a box of rouge. Now, she was casually throwing out eleven million?

Vivian had never even seen that much money in her life! Could Nancy really afford it?

For a moment, Vivian couldn’t shake the feeling that Nancy had played her for a fool.

The man in the audience smirked and lifted his paddle again. "Twenty million!"

Nancy frowned slightly and motioned for Ashley to continue. Ashley smiled and called out, "Twenty-one million!"

The crowd collectively gasped.

Are these two insane?

The man arched an eyebrow and raised his paddle once more. "Fifty million!"

The entire venue erupted.

It was just a gold bracelet!

For fifty million, you could buy a whole vault of gold bars!

This was madness. That man had to be out of his mind.

Emily’s eyes widened in shock at the staggering figure. When she saw Nancy raise her hand again, she quickly grabbed Nancy’s arm. "Nancy, let it go…"

Her voice trembled as tears welled in her reddened eyes. "Fifty million is far more than the dragon-phoenix bracelets are worth. And… and I don’t even have that kind of money."

"I do!"

Nancy’s amber eyes burned with the determined intensity of a gambler unwilling to lose. She shook off Emily’s hand and signaled Ashley again.