Page 55 of Beneath the Thorned Crown

Which is why I raise my hand.

“Ten million.”

Beside me, Isabella’s breath hitches. She turns slightly, confusion flashing in her eyes, but I don’t look at her. My gaze stays locked on Samuel.

The corner of his mouth twitches. Not quite a smile.

He doesn’t blink.

“Thirty million.”

The room stills.

A collective inhale.

I feel Isabella’s sharp intake of breath, her confusion shifting into shock.

She doesn’t understand yet.

Why did he just outbid himself?

I don’t react. I hold Samuel’s stare. Unblinking. Measuring. Waiting.

He’s testing me.

And I let him win.

I lean back in my chair, smirking just enough to be noticed.

And I don’t raise my hand again.

The auctioneer’s eyes flick toward me, uncertainty in the pause before—

The gavel slams down.

“Sold to Samuel Delgado for thirty million.”

No celebration.

No gloating.

Because Samuel knows something is wrong.

I see it in the slight crease in his forehead, the flicker of wariness in his eyes as he watches me across the room. He’s trying to decipher what I just did.

Samuel Delgado has played this game long enough to know I don’t lose. Not unless I want to.

And that thought alone will haunt him.

He lifts his drink in a mock toast. A smirk tugs at his lips, but his eyes—his fucking eyes—are sharp, dissecting me like a puzzle he hasn’t solved yet.

Beside me, Isabella leans in, her voice low. “Why did you stop?”

I keep my smirk in place, my gaze never leaving Samuel’s.

“Because he was always going to win.” I lift my own glass, tilting it slightly toward Delgado in acknowledgment. “I just made sure he bled for it.”

I stand to leave. Nothing else in this room is worth my time. Samuel might retaliate but I’ve already thought of my next move.

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