Chapter 24

Isabella just didn't want to deal with Pearl. Who Pearl decided to marry was her own business; it had nothing to do with Isabella.

Isabella couldn't be bothered to argue with Pearl, a woman who only knew how to "step on others." She really didn't have any interest in getting into it with her.

Just as Isabella was about to head back to her seat, she spotted John following someone upstairs to the auction room.

From where Isabella was standing, she could only see the guy from behind, and she guessed that the man walking in front of John was the rumored uncle.

When she got back to her seat, Isabella noticed Pearl sitting not too far away. A hint of mockery crossed her lips.

Amelia saw Isabella's smile and asked, "Isabella, did you find something interesting?"

Isabella nodded and filled Amelia in on what had happened in the restroom.

"John and his uncle went to the upstairs room. If Pearl is really going to marry John's uncle like she claims, why is she sitting down here in the hall?" Isabella speculated, and Amelia agreed.

"Looks like Pearl is just trying to get in with the Williams Family. That's why she's lying," Amelia said, looking at Pearl with a hint of disdain.

Isabella shook her head. "I heard John's uncle isn't married, so Mason might be trying to set him up. But Mason doesn't seem to have a good knack for matchmaking."

This was probably one of Isabella's few complaints about Mason. Mason's choice of spouses for them was terrible. John was a jerk, and Pearl was just a nouveau riche without any class.

Upstairs, John and Michael sat comfortably. From there, they could look down at the auction hall through the largest floor-to-ceiling window.

John looked at Michael in confusion and asked, "Michael, why did we come to this auction? If you like something, we could go to a higher-end auction."

Even though there were a lot of big shots at today's auction, they were nothing compared to the Williams Family.

Michael, with his legs crossed, asked, "I heard a painting your grandfather liked is going to be here today. I'm planning to buy it and give it to him as a birthday gift."

"Is that so? Then why not just tell the organizers and buy it directly?" John still couldn't understand why Michael was making such a simple thing so complicated.

Michael looked at John, exasperated. "Even though we're rich, we can't solve everything so straightforwardly. Otherwise, life would be much less fun."

John shrugged, still not getting what Michael meant.

Michael didn't expect John to understand. His gaze was fixed on Isabella below.

"Michael, did you notice Isabella followed us here too? Last time, when Bianca and I went to apologize to her, she slapped Bianca right in front of me. You know, Bianca is her cousin," John said, looking at Isabella below with disdain.

Michael glanced at John and asked, "Last time Isabella asked you to check the compatibility between her and Bianca, did you investigate?"

John shook his head, sneering, "Michael, don't be fooled by her. This is clearly Isabella's scheme. She wants to create conflicts between me and Bianca using this method."

Michael looked at John speechlessly. Owen seemed quite intelligent, so why did John, his son, seem so unintelligent?

Michael had originally wanted to throw Isabella and Bianca's test report in John's face for him to see carefully, but when he saw John's unconditional trust in Bianca, he gave up on the idea.

Michael shook his head helplessly, thinking, 'John, even if I throw the evidence in your face, you won't believe it, will you?'

Suddenly, John pointed below and said, "Michael, that's the person Grandpa has arranged for you to marry, Pearl from the Brown Family. She seems like a nice person. What are your thoughts?"

Michael disdainfully pursed his lips, "She's not worthy."

Suddenly, Michael's brow furrowed. He noticed Isabella clutching her stomach in discomfort. Then he saw Amelia taking out a white object from her bag and handing it to Isabella, who then left her seat and headed towards the restroom.

Michael immediately understood what was happening. He called a staff member to prepare heating pads to send to Isabella below.

"That girl must be on her period. Go down and give her the heating pads to warm her stomach. And don't say it's from the Williams Family; just say it's a benefit from the auction house owner to the customers," Michael instructed before having the staff member prepare it.

John looked at Michael discontentedly. "Michael, you don't need to be so kind to Isabella."

Michael smiled. "After all, she is the fiancée your grandfather arranged for you. You don't have to always stare at her like she's an enemy."

After saying that, Michael ignored John.

The auction soon began.

The first item up for auction was the painting Isabella wanted. The starting price was $300,000, with increments of at least $50,000.

Isabella had prepared $800,000 for this auction, which was her savings over the years.

After a few rounds of bidding, the painting had already reached a price of $700,000.

"Is there a higher price than $700,000?" The auctioneer looked at the crowd with a hammer in hand.

"It seems no one is bidding higher than $700,000, so this painting will go for $700,000..." Before the auctioneer could finish, someone suddenly raised their paddle.

"$1 million!" Pearl raised her paddle high and shouted loudly.

Isabella had thought no one would bid higher than $700,000, so a smile appeared on her face. However, Pearl's sudden bid made her smile disappear instantly.

Isabella looked at Pearl coldly, and Pearl had a smug look on her face.

"$1 million! Is there a higher price than $1 million?" The auctioneer shouted loudly with the hammer raised, but her gaze was on Isabella.

Narrowing her eyes, Isabella stood up from her seat. "I bid $2 million!"

Amelia, on the side, was almost frantic. She knew how much money Isabella had. If Isabella insisted on a higher price, she would have to dip into that $30 million.

Pearl smirked as she watched Isabella slowly raise her paddle. "I bid $3 million!"