Chapter 259: Heavy Pockets Aboard

Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Heavy Pockets Aboard

The sleek interior of the executive Mercedes-Maybach pulled away from Geneva Airport’s private hangar, smoothly gliding onto the pristine Swiss highway. Outside, the dusk sky cast a cool violet hue over the countryside, but inside, the atmosphere was a mix of nervous curiosity and nonchalant wealth.

Fancy was hunched over her phone, her thumb rapidly scrolling through the trending feeds. The vibrant colors of the social media apps reflected off her wide, anxious eyes.

"Aliya..." Fancy whispered, leaning across the leather seat and nudging her friend’s shoulder. "I think I know why your brother and the guys looked so dead serious back on the plane."

Aliya, who was casually admiring a display of luxury Swiss timepieces on her tablet, turned with an arched eyebrow. "Oh? Did the market drop a fraction of a percent? Or did Noah realize he forgot his favorite cufflinks?"

"No, look!" Fancy handed her phone over, pointing directly at the bold, glowing headline from The Capital Sentinel.

Aliya skimmed the article, her eyes casually tracing over the high-resolution photos of Jake alongside Catharine Stone and Elizabeth Roys, flanked by wild commentary about secret affairs and high-society harems.

A second passed. Then Aliya let out a soft, dismissive scoff and tossed the phone back into Fancy’s lap.

"I thought it was something actual," Aliya said, rolling her eyes as she leaned back into the headrest. "It’s just another piece of trash celebrity gossip."

Fancy blinked, clearly stunned by the total lack of panic. "Just gossip? Aliya, aren’t you even a little worried about your brother’s reputation? The whole country is talking about this! They’re saying he’s playing double games with two of the most influential families back home!"

"Fancy, please," Aliya laughed, shaking her head. "I would bet every single cent on that black card in my purse right now that it’s a complete lie. In fact, if you want the absolute truth, Jake is practically terrified of asking girls out."

Fancy’s jaw dropped slightly. "What? He’s Jake Rivers! There are many lining up to be his girlfriend."

"I am dead serious," Aliya insisted with a sly grin, crossing her arms. "If it wasn’t for Catharine constantly being on his case, hovering around him, and basically dragging him into a relationship by force, my brother would still be single. He’d probably die single, surrounded by financial charts and trading monitors."

"You are definitely exaggerating," Fancy said, shaking her head in disbelief. "The man commands entire rooms! Did you see how everyone froze on the plane when he spoke?"

"That’s ’business’ Jake," Aliya countered smoothly, poking Fancy’s forehead playfully. "Romantic Jake is a completely different creature. Trust me, the idea of him running a ’high-society harem’ is the funniest thing I’ve heard all year. Some jealous corporate loser definitely paid for that hit-piece."

"Well, whoever paid for it certainly picked a bad time," Fancy murmured, looking down at the sleek black card sitting securely in Aliya’s designer handbag. "Because we are about to cause some financial damage of our own."

"Now you’re speaking my language," Aliya smirked as the Maybach pulled up to Geneva’s elite shopping district. "Let’s go dress like royalty."

---

By 1900 sharp, the main lobby of the Grand Hotel Kempinski was transformed into a runway of pure, unadulterated opulence.

The heavy glass doors slid open as the elevator arrived, and the group congregated near the central marble fountain after getting freshened up for the evening’s main event.

Aliya held up her sleek, gimbal-mounted vlog camera, capturing the entire scene in high definition. "Alright, guys! Welcome back to the main channel. We are officially in Geneva, and the crew is fully geared up for the Grace Heritage private auction."

She spun the camera toward Noah and Leon first. Noah looked razor-sharp in a tailored double-breasted Tom Ford tuxedo in midnight navy, complete with silk peak lapels and a vintage Patek Philippe on his wrist. Leon stood beside him, exuding effortless arrogance in a bespoke dark emerald velvet dinner jacket that contrasted sharply with his slicked-back hair.

"Noah is looking like he’s about to buy this entire hotel chain," Aliya narrated into the mic, before turning the lens toward Adrian and Marcus. Adrian wore a classic charcoal three-piece suit crafted from vicuña wool, cold and imposing, while Marcus kept it impeccably sharp in a classic black-tie tuxedo.

"And now, for the real stars of the night," Aliya giggled, panning the camera toward herself and Fancy.

Fancy looked stunning, though her body posture was still slightly stiff with unfamiliarity. She wore an off-the-shoulder gown of pale blush chiffon that draped gracefully to the floor, paired with delicate diamond drop earrings Aliya had picked out during their lightning-fast boutique sweep. Aliya herself wore an icy silver sequined gown with a daring slit, looking every bit the heiress of a growing empire.

Finally, the camera settled on Jake, who stepped out of the private lift flanked by Elias and Miller.

Jake wore a custom-tailored, single-breasted black tuxedo made from structured Italian silk-wool, paired with a crisp white dress shirt, an onyx bowtie, and polished patent leather shoes. He wore no flashy jewelry—save for his Patek Philippe Grand Complications Sky Moon Tourbillon in black enamel and white gold on his left wrist—yet his presence alone commanded the entire lobby. The cold focus in his eyes from earlier on the plane had settled into a calm, unreadable composure.

"Looking sharp, big bro," Aliya said, flashing him a smile behind the camera lens.

"Save the commentary for after we arrive, Aliya," Jake said smoothly, though a subtle smirk touched his lips. "The fleet is here."

Outside the hotel entrance, a coordinated line of seven blacked-out Maybachs and Range Rover Sentinel armored escorts stood idling, sent by the organizers of the ZaDD Heritage auction to transfer their guests.

---

The drive to the private docks took less than fifteen minutes, but the moment the convoy ground to a halt, every single person in the vehicle stared out the tinted windows in surprise.

"Wait..." Noah leaned forward, squinting through the glass. "Are we at the marina?"

"I thought the auction was being hosted at a private estate or at least an auction house." Leon muttered, stepping out onto the cobblestone dock as a crisp evening breeze swept off Lake Geneva.

Docked along the private pier was not merely a vessel, but a towering maritime structure—the ’M/Y Grace Horizon’. Spanning over one hundred and forty meters, the mega-yacht was built like a floating luxury estate. Its sleek, silver-and-black aluminum hull glowed under ambient LED deck lights, featuring multi-tiered glass balconies, two helipads, a visible indoor infinity pool on the upper deck, and zero-emission hybrid engines humming softly beneath the waterline.

Aliya immediately pointed her vlog camera at the massive ship, her eyes wide. "Okay, guys, plot twist! The auction isn’t in a building... it’s on a massive mega-yacht!"

Fancy stepped off the running board of the Maybach and froze, her breath catching in her throat. She looked like a village girl who had suddenly been dropped into the center of a futuristic metropolis, her eyes darting from the glowing deck walkways to the uniformed crew lined up in crisp white dress uniforms along the gangway.

A polished French hostess in a tailored dress suit stepped forward, bowing politely to the group. "Good evening, guests. Welcome to the Grace Heritage Preview Night aboard the ’Grace Horizon’. If you will please follow me up the main boarding bridge, we will take you to the grand ballroom."

As they began walking along the teak-wood deck, Leon turned to the hostess, adjusting his velvet cuffs. "Is this ship scheduled to leave the docks tonight, or are we staying anchored here?"

The hostess offered a warm, professional smile. "We remain securely anchored at the private pier for the entire evening, sir."

Jake, who was walking alongside Adrian with his hands casually resting in his trouser pockets, looked up at the towering multi-deck structure of the ship.

"Is the vessel itself listed as one of the lot items in tonight’s auction?" Jake asked, his tone completely flat and genuine.

The hostess paused for a second, visibly caught off guard by the question. She blinked, looking closely at Jake’s young, impassive face and the group around him. A yacht of this scale was valued at well over four hundred million dollars—not something people casually inquired about buying on a whim.

"Ah... no, sir," the hostess replied, a drop of polite hesitation in her voice. "The Grace Horizon is the flagship vessel of our host company. It isn’t for sale."

Jake gave a slight, dismissive shrug. "Too bad. It would have made a nice escape once in a while."

Noah choked back a sudden snort of laughter, while Leon burst out laughing on the spot.

"Listen to this guy!" Leon chuckled, clapping Jake on the shoulder. "The auction haven’t even started and he’s already trying to buy the venue! Save some money for the cars, Jake, leave something for the rest of us!"

Fancy, walking right behind them, felt her head spinning. ’Does he mean an escape room?! He wants to buy a four-hundred-million-dollar mega-yacht just to use it as an escape room?!’ She clutched her small evening purse tighter, feeling like she was living through a completely different reality.

Aliya, meanwhile, was grinning ear to ear, ensuring her camera had caught the entire interaction. "Did you guys hear that?! ’It would have made a nice escape room.’ That is officially going in the thumbnail!"

The French hostess cleared her throat, trying her best to maintain her composed demeanor, though her mind was internally reeling. ’An escape room... There really are levels to wealth that normal people cannot fathom.’

---

The hostess led the group through double-reinforced glass sliding doors into the main interior of the ship. The interior design of the Grace Horizon was a blend of modern design and classic elegance—floors crafted from polished white marble with inlaid brass patterns, walls paneled in dark smoked oak, and grand floor-to-ceiling glass walls offering views of Lake Geneva’s moonlit waters.

They descended a sweeping spiral staircase anchored by a massive chandelier made of hand-blown Czech crystal that spanned three deck levels.

At the base of the stairs lay the entrance to the ship’s main salon, which had been transformed into an exclusive bidding hall.

Two tuxedo-clad security guards stationed beside heavy double doors bowed as the party approached, pulling the reinforced doors open to reveal the grand auction floor.

The air inside was thick with the subtle scents of rare vintage champagne, expensive leather, and high-end niche perfumes. The room was already filled with global guests—European aristocrats, Middle Eastern tycoons, Silicon Valley tech executives, and private collectors sitting in plush leather armchairs facing an elevated stage where the night’s multi-million-dollar lots were set to be unveiled.

As Jake Rivers stepped through the threshold, flanked by the heirs of Veyra, a subtle shift rippled through the front half of the room. Heads turned, whispered conversations died down, and the eyes of global high society locked onto the young billionaire who had dominated the evening’s international headlines.

Jake didn’t blink. He casually adjusted his cuffs, his gaze sweeping over the crowd as he prepared to take his seat.

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