The murmuring in the crowd grew louder. The auctioneer pounded his wooden mallet to try to restore order, but everyone ignored it. Sensing an advantage, Lawson straightened up and looked out at the crowd, puffing his chest out like an actor.

"That's right," he continued. "My niece's father, James Stewart, passed away after a horrible car accident when she was only fifteen. My wife and I took her in, raised her, and gave her everything she could ever want, but this is how she repaid us! She ...