Chapter 127: Bait for a Hungry Wolf

Showing his teeth, Arthur screamed at the top of his lungs, "Miss Lee, if you were planning to give the Heavens Club to Jude Lawson under the table, you could’ve just signed the papers in private! What right did you have to bring all of us here and put on a fake auction?! Every single bidder in this room put down hundreds of millions or billions more than a hundred grand... by what rule does he win?!"

"Arthur’s right! Miss Lee, you owe every family here an explanation!"

"My group bid five hundred million and wired fifty million into your account! Why didn’t five hundred million beat a hundred grand?! Did you trick us into coming here tonight just to rob us of a billion dollars in entry fees?!"

If Arthur Snyder had won with his five-billion-dollar bid, the rest of the room would have swallowed it without a word; in the business world, getting beaten by a bigger wallet was just part of the game.

Watching a hundred-thousand-dollar joke beat ten billion dollars in real bids, while every single loser lost ten percent of their cash straight into the winner’s pocket drove the entire room to the verge of a full-blown riot.

Facing three hundred furious billionaires out for blood, Chelsea didn’t flinch for a second.

"Before a single folder was handed out tonight," Chelsea said into the mic, "I told you all twice that our rules would be different from any normal auction. The rule tonight was never that the highest bid wins... it was that whoever wrote down the lowest price takes the Heavens Club."

"WHAT?!"

In the entire history of Wall Street and New York business, who had ever heard of an auction where the lowest bid took the prize?

"Miss Lee, do you really expect anyone here to believe that garbage?!" a red-faced CEO roared from the center aisle, pointing a finger right at Jude. "In a multi-billion-dollar auction, nobody in their right mind writes down a hundred thousand dollars unless Jude Lawson was told your secret rule ahead of time! This whole thing was a setup from the very start!"

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Facing the roar of accusations from the floor, Chelsea Lee’s expression cooled into frost.

"Nobody in this building knew my rules beforehand," she said into the mic, "Tonight’s auction followed the exact terms I set."

Pausing for half a second, her gaze swept across the red-faced tycoons below. "Of course, if anyone here really thinks I set up a con to steal your money, you don’t have to stay quiet. You can turn around right now, walk out those doors, and tell my accounting desk to wire back every single penny of your ten-percent fee."

The whole room went silent as the furious crowd stared up at the stage, nobody daring to make a move.

"However... let me make one thing very clear. Anyone who walks out those doors tonight and claws back their money is picking a fight with me and everyone backing the Heavens Club. Let’s see if your family business is still breathing by tomorrow morning."

Every billionaire and mob boss felt a chill shoot straight up their spine.

None of them knew the true scale of the monster backing Chelsea Lee overseas, but every veteran in that room knew one fact: making an enemy of the boss of the Heavens Club over an entry fee would bring down a storm that could wipe out their entire bloodline before sunrise.

Down at the front table, Arthur Snyder stood frozen by his chair, his teeth clenched so tight his jaw burned.

No matter how much agony the tycoons in the room were feeling, not a single soul took a step toward the exit or dared utter another peep.

By now, even an idiot could see what tonight was really about...

Chelsea Lee had never planned on selling the Heavens Club to the highest bidder.

From the very start, she had rigged the whole game to drop the club straight into Jude Lawson’s hands, using the biggest names in Midtown as stepping stones to crown him!

What drove Arthur Snyder insane with rage was the why...

What kind of game were Chelsea Lee and Jude Lawson playing that she would publicly threaten every powerhouse family in New York just to hand him the city on a silver platter?

Beside Arthur, Jeremiah Snyder collapsed into his chair, pale as a corpse.

Five hundred million dollars, half of their entire family fortune had just gone up in smoke without getting them a single brick.

Up on stage, the deadly chill vanished from Chelsea’s face in a heartbeat, replaced by a sunny smile as she waved toward the west pillars.

"Jude Lawson... get up here!"

Standing by the column, Jude didn’t move an inch, his brow furrowing slightly.

Having known Chelsea Lee for less than two days, watching her hand over a multi-billion-dollar landmark for a hundred-thousand-dollar joke scribbled on a napkin set off every red flag in his mind.

In Jude’s world, whenever someone handed you a massive gift for free, there was always a hook hidden inside.

All around him, confused whispers broke out as every eye in the room watched him stand still.

"Who the hell is this Jude Lawson?"

"What’s his deal with Chelsea Lee? Is he the secret boyfriend she flew back from overseas for?"

"Boyfriend or not, nobody gives away an entire empire for pocket change without an angle..."

"Jude! What are you daydreaming for?" Chelsea called out playfully into the mic, tilting her head with a grin. "Hurry up and get on stage!"

Let’s see what kind of trap she’s setting, Jude thought.

He stepped out from the pillars, walked down the cleared aisle, and went straight up the steps to the center of the stage.

The second Jude reached the top, Chelsea caught him by the sleeve and pulled him close to the podium.

"Jude, since I won’t have the time to look after the Heavens Club myself," Chelsea said with a smile for the whole room to see, "from tonight on, the club is yours. As the new owner, I know you’ll take it to even bigger heights!"