Chapter 3

The sound of leather shoes tapping on the ground drew closer. I looked up, and my eyes narrowed.

It was Lander!

He was now wearing a formal suit. He had shed the carefree persona he always put on around Jillian, his expression full of mockery. He looked down at me and said playfully, "I found you a good buyer tonight, Firo."

What was this madman talking about? I wanted to say something, but Lander had already taped my mouth shut.

Soon, he put a clown mask on me and dragged me out. "You're more important than I imagined. You got Jillian to bring you to an auction like this. That's basically handing you the company's weakness. Do you know what this place is? It isn't a legitimate auction house.

"This is Boss Rossi's turf. As long as you have money, you can buy anything you want here. That includes… people." He drew out the pause before the final word. His fingers brushed across my face before he clamped down on my throat.

As I struggled to breathe, something suddenly occurred to me.

Boss Rossi?

Wasn't that my old man's turf?

My breathing grew more frantic, and less and less air reached my lungs. Lander's triumphant voice kept echoing in my ears. "Don't worry. Once you're up on the auction stage, not even Jillian will be able to save you. I want to see whether Jillian will still want you after those rich women ruin you!"

He suddenly released me and admired the red mark on my neck. I struggled and made muffled sounds, desperate to say something, but all I could do was watch Lander drag me into the auction house like dead weight. "This is the third lot. Please handle it."

Lander reassumed his persona of a proper gentleman and handed me over to the auction staff.

My eyes widened when I realized this was Leo Colombo, who was often at my father's side! Leo! Save me! I writhed back and forth, trying to remove the mask from my face.

Leo glanced at me, then frowned at Lander. "Is he here voluntarily? You know our rules."

Lander laughed awkwardly and stuffed a thick envelope into Leo's hands. "Everyone knows Boss Rossi loves his son more than anything and can't stand seeing innocent people getting victimized. Don't worry. This man is desperate. His family needs money for medical treatment and he begged me to get him a good price!"

Leo did not take Lander's envelope, nor did he pay any more attention to me. He simply lowered his head and silently counted down. "Fine. Go inside."

I watched helplessly as Lander walked into the auction house's main hall and sat down beside Jillian. Their conversation reached my ears, and it sounded painfully ironic. "The call to Firo still hasn't gone through?"

Jillian shook her head, enduring Lander's hands wandering over her body. "Why can't he understand how much effort I've put into this for his own good?

"Firo's family is too ordinary. My mom already made a huge concession by agreeing to approve of me marrying him. I'm destined to marry the heir of another powerful family for an alliance marriage."

Her words struck me.

An alliance marriage?

From beginning to end, Jillian had only treated me as her plaything!

For a moment, I forgot to even struggle as I could only feel the ache in my heart.

How could Jillian do this to me?

Back then, when she proposed to me, she kept saying I was the only person she would ever love. As if Lander's interference weren't enough, she'd been secretly making plans like this all along.

I gritted my teeth and glared at Jillian, wishing I could tear her apart.

Nice one, Jillian…

It was at this time that all the lights in the hall dimmed, and every staff member began to move.

I kept on making muffled sounds, trying to get the attention of anyone passing by.