Chapter 6

A week later, I was released.

Not because Kieran had a change of heart, but because Seraphina was out of the hospital, and he was in good spirits.

The sunlight was blinding the moment I stepped out of the detention cell.

The butler handed me an itemized bill.

"Miss Aurora, this is for your treatment, food, and lodging during your time in the dungeon. Lord Kieran has already settled it for you."

Looking at the astronomical figure, all I could do was laugh.

He imprisons and tortures me, then expects gratitude?

"Tell him I'll repay it."

I returned to Moonlight Tower one last time and found most of my things were gone.

That room had been completely transformed into Seraphina's "recovery suite."

Without pausing, I went straight to Christie's auction house in the city center.

During my treatment, Dr. Vane had let slip a crucial piece of information: to fund Seraphina's rare supplements and to punish my "disobedience," Magnus had decided to auction off a collection of family heirlooms.

Among them was the true Blood Moon ruby necklace.

So Seraphina had lied that day. The necklace wasn't with her but with Magnus, who was solely driven by profit.

The auction house was opulent, a hub for New York's elite.

I sat in a corner, wearing sunglasses.

Before coming, I'd sold off all my assets, raising fifty million.

It should have been enough. I had to get my mother's last possession back.

"Next, we have lot number 8, from the ancient Nocturne family, the legendary Blood Moon ruby…"

The auctioneer's voice boomed with excitement.

The necklace lay in its black velvet box, like a drop of solidified blood, radiating a mournful glow.

It was the only heirloom my mother had left me.

"Starting bid, five million dollars."

"Ten million," someone called out.

"Twenty million."

The price kept climbing.

I gripped the armrests of my seat, my fingernails digging in.

Finally, I raised my paddle:

"Fifty million."

But someone immediately countered:

"Sixty million."

A familiar voice echoed from the VIP box on the second floor.

I looked up.

Kieran was seated there, a wine glass in his hand, appearing utterly at ease.

Seraphina was beside him, playing the role of the demure woman.

He was buying the necklace?

A faint, almost absurd flicker of hope ignited within me.

Perhaps… he was buying it to give back to me? As an apology? After all, it was my mother's heirloom.

"Lord Kieran bids sixty million! Are there any higher offers?"

The hall erupted in murmurs.

Sixty million dollars for a necklace. It was an exorbitant sum.

"Sixty million, going once, sixty million, going twice… Sold!"

The auction hammer fell.

My heart sank with it.

A server carried the packaged necklace up to the second-floor box.

I removed my sunglasses, staring intently at the box.

I saw it all too clearly.

Kieran took the box, opened it, and removed the red necklace.

Without even glancing down at the crowd, he turned and gently fastened the necklace around Seraphina's neck.

"This is a get-well gift for you." Though I couldn't hear his voice, I read his lips.

Seraphina shrieked with delight, throwing herself into his arms for a kiss.

I felt as though I was plunging into an ice cellar.

Something inside me shattered completely.

He knew perfectly well it was my mother's heirloom, yet he bought it without hesitation and then hung it like a mere trinket around the neck of the woman who had ruined my life.

I stood up and pulled out my phone, dialing the number I had sworn never to call again.

"Lucian," I said into the receiver, my voice eerily calm.

Lucian's concerned voice came from the other end, "What is it, my little fiancée calling me out of the blue?"

"Come pick me up in a few days. Once I've settled things here, we'll get married," I said, looking at the embracing couple on the second floor, speaking each word with deliberate precision.