After the Vows Burned

“I don’t need it,” I said coldly.

“Huh?” Tiara seemed genuinely surprised.

I didn’t bother being polite.

“It seems like everyone’s brains here are just for decoration. If my mother ‘stole’ her father from her mother, then she should be older than me, shouldn’t she?”

“Sorry, but I haven’t fallen so low that I need help from an illegitimate daughter.”

“Raquel Jackson!”

Matthew finally spoke, but only to warn me for another woman’s sake.

I glanced at him. “Buy it out.”

Tiara sneered. “But Raquel, you don’t have any money left.”

I chuckled.

“How exactly do you know I’m out of money? I’m buying it out. Not just for this one. I’m buying out all 520 paintings in this hall.”

Everyone burst into laughter. They looked at me as if I were a complete idiot.

The host didn’t even acknowledge what I said and kept asking others for bids.

“Anyone offering a higher price?”

I glared at him. “I said I’m buying it out. Did you not hear me?”

The men around me grew irritated.

“Do you even have money? Stop pretending!”

“Can you stop pretending? We’re trying to bid here!”

The host sounded annoyed.

“Ms. Jackson, the asset verification shows you’re not qualified to buy it out. If you keep causing trouble, we’ll have to ask you to leave.”

I picked up a tissue and calmly wiped the cold sweat from my hand.

“Who said I’m out of money? The Jackson Group hasn’t declared bankruptcy yet.”

Hearing that, Matthew gave me a brief glance.

The host replied, “We included your Jackson Group shares during the pre-verification. Even without a formal bankruptcy announcement, the remaining assets are far from enough to buy things out.”

“I request to reverify,” I interrupted him.

People looked at each other in confusion.

I stepped up onto the stage and took the microphone. “What? Are you afraid?”

The host looked at Matthew.

Matthew gave the faintest nod.

“We’ll reverify, then.”

The big screen switched to my account information.

The people in the venue whispered.

“Look at how confident she is. Could the Jackson Group actually have been revived?”

“Impossible. In Astrid City, if the Fuller Group wants to destroy someone, they could do so at ease. With a plot of land so expensive rendered unusable, the Jackson Group is doomed.”

“She must be completely unhinged after what her husband’s done to her. Anyone would go crazy.”

The verification ended.

Everyone stared at the screen.

My balance showed only 25 cents.

The room erupted in thunderous laughter.

“She has really gone mad. We can grab a random person off the street and they would have more savings than she does!”

Tiara, sitting in Matthew’s arms, had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

“Raquel, it’s embarrassing to pretend to be rich. It wouldn’t hurt you to beg us to help you buy it out, would it?”

The host added, “Ms. Jackson, your assets clearly aren’t enough. Please stop causing trouble.”

I looked calmly at the account screen on the phone.

“Verify it again.”

The host shoved his hand impatiently.

“Ms. Jackson, this is an auction, not your private estate. Stop being unreasonable and leave…”

But before he could finish, the numbers on the screen changed, the image that had shown only twenty-five cents began to skyrocket, digit after digit flashing so fast they blurred.

The entire hall fell silent.

Matthew and Tiara jumped to their feet.

Everyone stared at the big screen, stunned.

“H-how is this possible?”