Chapter 125: The Trap

Having changed into a stunning white silk gown backstage, General Manager Vanessa Canfield walked up to the mic with a smile.

"I know everyone has been sitting on pins and needles," Vanessa said. "So I won’t waste any more of your time. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back the founder and owner of the Heavens Club, Miss Chelsea Lee, to announce the winner of tonight’s sale!"

Walking out from behind the velvet curtain, Chelsea stepped into the spotlight and gave a wave.

Instantly, the room went silent. You could have heard a pin drop on the floor.

Every billionaire in the room held their breath, knowing the biggest power hub in Midtown was about to change hands.

"Like I told you all earlier," Chelsea began, "the Heavens Club means more to me than any spreadsheet can show. Even though I left the daily grind to Vanessa while I was overseas, this place was the very first business I ever built from scratch. Giving it up tonight wasn’t an easy choice... which is why picking the right person to take over matters to me more than anything."

Nobody made a sound as her eyes swept across the room.

"The reason I kept my face hidden until tonight, and spent the first hour walking around your tables without anyone knowing was so I could see everyone’s real colors with zero filter," Chelsea continued. "From what I saw and heard out here, pretty much everyone came tonight hungry for the club’s power and connections."

Hearing that, a lot of rich guys in the room felt a chill run down their spines.

More than a few CEOs started running back through every conversation they had near the buffet and the drinks, praying they hadn’t said anything stupid or arrogant while Chelsea was standing three feet away.

Pissing off the secret owner wouldn’t just kill their bid... it could come back to bite them hard later.

"Of course, seeing how badly all of you wanted the Heavens Club is actually the best compliment I could get," Chelsea added with a smile that let half the room breathe again. "It proves that what we built over the last five years is truly special. And at the end of the day, everyone in this room is in business... wanting the best prize is just human nature."

Unfolding a paper handed to her by Vanessa, Chelsea looked at the numbers and raised her eyebrows slightly.

"A few minutes ago, I looked over the bids backstage," she said, a smirk on her lips. "I have to admit, the numbers inside those folders surprised even me. If it weren’t for tonight, I might never have realized just how much the market values my club! As you all know, every real bid required a 10% deposit wired in advance. When our accounting team added up all the 10% fees from every envelope tonight, the total pool came out to one billion and thirty million dollars."

"One billion and thirty million dollars?!"

"Good God... over a billion dollars just in entry fees?!"

"That means all the bids combined added up to over ten billion dollars!"

"Whoever wins the club tonight doesn’t just get the building... they get a billion-dollar cash bonus handed right to them!"

Frantic whispers broke out across every single table.

Even for tycoons whose companies were worth tens of billions, seeing over a billion dollars in cash sitting in a side pot was enough to make their mouths go dry!

Up on stage, Chelsea held up a hand, silencing the room once more...

"Earlier tonight, I told you our process wouldn’t be like a regular auction," Chelsea said softly. "So I can tell you right now that the bid from tonight’s winner was truly unique. Honestly, when I opened the folder and saw the number written down, even I was blown away."

"A truly unique bid? Blown away even her?"

Confused looks flew around the room as everyone tried to guess what she meant.

Down at the front table, Arthur Snyder puffed his chest out so hard his jacket buttons almost popped off.

To Arthur, "unique" and "blown away" could only mean one thing in the entire world: his massive five-billion-dollar bid!

Every finance analyst in the city valued the Heavens Club at three billion max...

Dropping five billion on the table was 50% over the highest market price... how could a number that crazy not blow Chelsea Lee away?!

Turning to his father with a cocky grin, Arthur whispered, "Dad, you hear that? Five billion blew her mind... the Heavens Club is ours!"

Jeremiah Snyder let out a long breath he felt like he’d been holding all night, nodding with a smile. "Looks like our gamble paid off."

Down on the floor, people couldn’t take the suspense anymore.

Shouts came from the crowd, "Miss Lee, don’t keep us waiting! Who won the bid?!"

Chelsea’s eyes curved into a playful smile as she leaned against the podium.

"Don’t be so impatient... why don’t you guys guess first? I’ll give you two easy hints. Hint number one: like I said, the winner wrote down a very special price. And hint number two: the person who put in that bid happens to be the most handsome man in this ballroom tonight... someone I know will run the Heavens Club brilliantly in the future!"

The most handsome man in the ballroom tonight?!

The second that hint came through the speakers, two hundred heads turned at the exact same time, locking straight onto Arthur Snyder at the front table.

In Midtown society, Arthur had always been seen as the best-looking young heir in the room... and while Harold Phillips beside him had decent looks too, Harold hadn’t even bid and always played second fiddle to Arthur.

Combined with the fact that Arthur had spent the entire night bragging about buying the Heavens Club no matter what, both clues fit him like a glove!

Across the ballroom, almost everyone thought Arthur Snyder had it in the bag...