Chapter 394
\nMarked By the Pureblood Alpha (Deanna and Luis) novel Chapter 394<\/p>\n
The charity auction was getting more and more lively. The host stepped forward again and introduced the second item of the night.<\/p>\n
When the staff pulled away the red velvet cloth, a beautifully framed oil painting appeared under the lights.<\/p>\n
It was painted by a well-known artist. The strokes were delicate, and the colors were deep and layered. The scene showed a group of wolves running between an ancient forest and a cliff under a bright full moon. It looked wild, powerful, and full of old legends.<\/p>\n
This was the painting Victoria wanted tonight.<\/p>\n
Victoria leaned toward Jennifer and whispered, “Your grandpa has wanted this painting for years. If we get it and you give it to him yourself, he’ll think you’re the perfect granddaughter.”<\/p>\n
The host cleared his throat. “The opening bid for The Pack’s Pursuit is five million dollars.”<\/p>\n
As soon as he finished, Victoria lifted her paddle and called, “Six million dollars!”<\/p>\n
Another voice in the crowd rose quickly. “Seven million!”<\/p>\n
Victoria raised her paddle again. “Eight million!”<\/p>\n
Most of the young socialites weren’t very interested in the painting. Usually, only older collectors liked pieces like this, so the competition was mild.<\/p>\n
Just when Victoria thought she had secured the painting, Deanna slowly raised her paddle.<\/p>\n
“Ten million dollars,” she said in a clear voice.<\/p>\n
Victoria frowned and calculated what she could afford. She gritted her teeth and raised the paddle again. “Eleven million!”<\/p>\n
Deanna lifted hers again. “Twenty million.”<\/p>\n
People started murmuring. Spending 20 million dollars on a painting was already shocking. Guests turned their heads, watching Victoria and Deanna with growing interest.<\/p>\n
Jennifer saw Deanna acting all superior, and her anger started rising again. She grabbed her paddle with a sharp, proud motion.<\/p>\n
“Thirty million dollars!”<\/p>\n
Victoria almost jumped in her seat. Her heart skipped a whole beat at Jennifer’s shout.<\/p>\n
Deanna let out a small smile and calmly called out, “Fifty million dollars.”<\/p>\n
Damn. This bitch.<\/p>\n
Jennifer’s competitive streak exploded. The only thing in her head now was that Deanna could not win. “Sixty million dollars!”<\/p>\n
The constant bidding made the host so excited that his voice almost cracked.<\/p>\n
“Sixty million dollars! The Bluestone Pack’s heiress has just raised it to 60 million! Do we have any other bidders?”<\/p>\n
Eighty million?<\/p>\n
Why did I just yell 100 million dollars over a stupid painting?<\/p>\n
She swallowed hard.<\/p>\n
“Mom, Deanna did it on purpose. She wanted to mess with us. I thought if I shouted 100 million, she would raise it again. When she did, I’d stop, and she’d be the one stuck with the loss.”<\/p>\n
But after Jennifer yelled her price, the entire room went silent.<\/p>\n
Onstage, the host sounded like he was announcing a countdown to doom.<\/p>\n
“A hundred million dollars going once, going twice…”<\/p>\n
Victoria and Jennifer stared at him in horror. Each number felt like a knife to the chest.<\/p>\n
Jennifer’s face turned pale. She whispered, panicked, “Wait, why isn’t Deanna bidding?”<\/p>\n
She looked toward Deanna and saw her chatting with Violet like nothing had happened.<\/p>\n
When Deanna noticed her staring, she even smiled. A soft, mocking smile.<\/p>\n
Jennifer clenched her jaw until it hurt. Her face turned red, then white, then red again. Her scent markers shook with fury.<\/p>\n
Damn it. Deanna did this on purpose!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-2476","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/icuow.top\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/icuow.top\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/icuow.top\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/icuow.top\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}