Ariel would recognize the ring anywhere.

It was a family heirloom that Katie had passed down to Elena. Back then, Elena wore this ring as her wedding ring. At one point, the Sanderson family encountered some financial issues. Morgan took the ring and sold it for cash to gather funds for his business.

Elena felt really hurt because of what Morgan did.

He did not discuss it with Elena before selling the ring. By the time she realized the ring was gone, it was already too late. The ring was nowhere to be found.

Elena still could not forgive Morgan for his actions, even after their relationship fell apart.

Although Katie had not said anything, Ariel could tell she would think about the ring occasionally.

Ariel never thought she would come across the ring at a charity auction after all these years.

“I suppose what belongs to the Walker family will eventually come back to us one way or another,” she pondered.

Even Janice had noticed the sudden change in Ariel’s emotions.

Tears welled in Ariel’s eyes. Her hand, holding onto the numbered paddle, was shaking slightly. She wanted to raise her paddle the second the auctioneer made the announcement.

Before Ariel could even open her mouth, someone in the first row raised their hand. “15 million.”

Ariel looked in the direction of the voice with widened eyes.

Nancy curled her lips as she sat there elegantly. She seemed determined to secure the item currently displayed on the stage as she fixed her gaze on it.

She leaned toward Jayson slightly. “That ring is a work of amazing craftsmanship. These antiques that were made decades and even centuries ago are so extraordinary. Sometimes, they’re even much more impressive than items made with modern craftsmanship.”

Jayson looked at the enlarged photo shown on the big screen. He paused briefly. “You should bid for it if you like it.

11

Nancy beamed. “Okay.”

Ariel did not miss the moment when those two were whispering to each other with their heads lowered.

Her lips were pressed into a thin line. Ariel had no idea what Jayson had said to Nancy, but she had a bad feeling about it.

Anyhow, the ring once belonged to the Walker family. Ariel needed to get it back.

She tried to calm herself down and called out, “16 million!”

After Ariel made her bid, several people sitting in the first row directed their gazes toward her.

Nancy narrowed her eyes when she saw that it was Ariel. She smirked. Nancy did not really see Ariel as competition.

Meanwhile, Matt clicked his tongue. He could not understand why Ariel was trying to follow suit as soon as Nancy made the first move.

Frederick was visibly annoyed as he knitted his brows. He muttered in a low voice, “As I’ve said, Ariel is always trying to pick a fight with Ms. Stanton. She’s always trying to take away what Ms. Stanton has laid her eyes on. Does she feel that inferior to Ms. Stanton?”

Nancy heard his words.

She chuckled quietly and said, “20 million.”

Ariel tightened her fist. “25 million.”

Nancy could easily top Ariel’s bid since she had Jayson supporting her with his immense wealth. “30 million.”

Ariel felt as though someone was jabbing her heart with a needle. Her back had stiffened up.

She was considering whether she had enough money to continue bidding.

Ariel had not saved up that much personal savings. The largest sum of money she had received was when the military requisitioned the U.N2 that she had developed and paid her compensation. All of the money she had would only add up to a total of around 50 million dollars.

Ariel needed to secure Elena’s wedding ring by winning the bid. Also, she needed to have enough funds to pay for her and Leonard’s treatments. She could not back down now.

Ariel’s lips turned pale. She took a huge risk and made the highest bid she could afford. “40 million!”

Before she passed away, Elena kept saying how sorry she was for letting Katie down. The man she had chosen to marry was an awful person. She even lost their family heirloom. Elena had harbored a lot of resentment during the final moments of her life.

Ariel could not afford to lose the ring again.

The amount of money she could afford to spend on the ring was 40 million dollars. The remaining 10 million dollars had to be reserved for her to pay for the treatments and the subsequent rehabilitation therapy.

Ariel could not just act on impulse and spend all her money on the ring.

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Nancy frowned when Ariel made a bid of 40 million dollars. Even though she liked it, the ring was worth at most 20 million dollars. 30 million dollars was the highest amount she would be willing to pay for the ring.

“Can’t she tell that the ring is not worth that much money? Or is she just trying to raise the price?” Nancy wondered.

She looked toward Jayson. “It’s not worth it if I try to make a higher bid than that. We should be spending the money on things that are more worthy.”