Chapter 170 - 169: Don’t You Have a Family?

Hearing this, Yvonne Lowell’s lips curled into a sarcastic smirk.

’I’ve seen stupid, but never this stupid. Daring to announce his family name in an underground auction, of all places.’

’She knew of the Sterling Family of Marisburg. The previous Family Head had married six wives, and just recently, some forty or fifty of his descendants had been fighting over the inheritance and power—*that* Sterling Family.’

’The Sterling Family had made its fortune in medical equipment and hospitals. They certainly had some wealth, but they were hardly a top-tier elite family.’

’Hilarious. Has the bar for being an "elite family" gotten this low? Now any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to throw their weight around under the banner of a great house?’

Alan Knight cheekily wiggled his eyebrows at Yvonne Lowell. "Master, they’ve started playing the family card down there. Aren’t you going to lend a hand?"

Yvonne Lowell gave him a look that was not quite a smile. "What? You feel sorry for my man? Why don’t you go down and help him?"

"N-No, I’m good. President Grant can probably handle this himself, heh heh." Alan Knight obediently zipped his lips.

"Don’t worry, he’s not that weak." Yvonne Lowell remained seated, perfectly composed, as if she were merely listening to an impromptu comedy routine.

...

Seeing Leo Grant remain silent, Aaron Keller assumed he hadn’t heard clearly and repeated his words, much louder this time.

"The Sterling Family of Marisburg?" The man’s voice was flat, his tone unreadable.

Aaron Keller thought he was getting somewhere and nodded eagerly.

"Yes! I am Aaron Keller, the Second Young Master of the Sterling Family’s main branch. The current Family Head is my biological older brother, Evan Keller!"

’He knew it. His family’s name was always useful. So what if he wasn’t the heir? He’d used his family’s power to crush people plenty of times before.’

’Now that the Sterling Family of Marisburg had been invoked, even if the other party had an astronomical background, they would surely choose to back down. They wouldn’t dare to cause a public scene and lose face in front of everyone.’

’No one was taking this Purple Diamond home today but him!’

But the man’s next words choked the insincere "thank you" that was about to leave his lips.

A contemptuous sneer echoed from the floor above. "The former Family Head of the Sterling Family—your own grandfather—wouldn’t dare ask me to do him a favor. Who the hell do you think you are?"

The people around them couldn’t help but laugh, their gazes toward Aaron Keller filled with contempt and disdain.

Forget the people in the front rows of the hall; even the occupants of the two private boxes before Box 3 wouldn’t dare say something as foolish as asking that man to "do them a favor."

’A rich fop is a rich fop. Utterly brainless.’

Aaron Keller’s face went purple with rage. He let out a laugh born of fury. "So you’re dead set on fighting me for it today?"

"An auction is all about who has more money. If you want it, throw more cash at it. Oh, don’t tell me you’ve run out?" Nolan Crawford said in an exaggerated tone.

Aaron Keller had completely lost his cool. He could no longer process any talk of grandfathers or brothers; all he knew was that the people in that box were humiliating him.

"If you have the guts, then announce your own family!"

"Why should I tell you? Don’t you have your own family to worry about? Stop asking about mine," Nolan Crawford jeered contemptuously.

’Pathetic. All he does is bring up his dad or his grandpa. Can’t even argue properly. It’s always the same few lines. So boring.’

’Unlike him. When it came to leaning on his brother from another mother, he was dead serious.’

Having seen enough of the commotion, Yvonne Lowell yawned languidly. "Carefree, it’s too noisy."

Alan Knight’s eyes lit up. "You got it! I’ll take care of it right away!"

’Oh my god, I was about to burst! Finally, I get to stir things up!’

The auctioneer glanced at the now-silent Aaron Keller as if nothing had happened, then raised his gavel.

"36 million. Are there any more bids?"

"36 million, going once!"

"36 million, going twice!"

"36 million, going three times!"

"Sold! Congratulations to Box 3 for winning this ’Eternal’ Purple Diamond for 36 million M Yuan!"

The moment the words fell, two men in black came forward, seized Aaron Keller and his female companion, and started dragging them out.

"AHHH!!!"

"What are you doing?! Do you know who I am?!"

While struggling, Aaron Keller’s eyes met the auctioneer’s on the stage.

"Isn’t your auction house going to do something?! If I’m taken away, you’ll be held responsible!"

The auctioneer’s mouth curved into a perfect smile, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes.

"Rest assured, no outsiders can take you away from our premises. We are merely escorting out unauthorized personnel who have disrupted the order of the auction."

"How dare you?! Do you have any idea who I am?!"

The auctioneer’s expression was unchanged. "Of course, we know. You’re Aaron Keller, the Second Young Master of the Sterling Family of Marisburg’s main branch. And the current Family Head is your biological older brother, Evan Keller."

"But this is Continent N, not Marisburg, Aurelia. The Sterling Family of Marisburg’s reputation isn’t great enough to halt one of our auctions. If our master hadn’t wanted to watch the show, you would have been thrown out the moment you stood up."

After speaking, he waved his hand.

This time, the men in black ignored their struggles and simply threw them out.

The auctioneer withdrew his gaze from the two beaten dogs. "The auction will now continue. Our next item is..."

The farce was over. Everyone else fell silent and focused on the items below. He was just an idiot, after all—good for a quick laugh and nothing more.

Nolan Crawford burst out laughing without any regard for his image. "Hahahaha! This auction house is fantastic! That guy is so badass, I love it! Why does it feel like Continent N is full of fascinating people? I have to come back and play again."

A faint smile touched Leo Grant’s eyes as well. The owner of this auction house had an interesting style. In some ways, it was quite similar to his own.

’And was this... an attempt to help him?’

...

After being beaten, Aaron Keller and his companion were thrown directly onto the main road.

The great doors slammed shut, and no one cared if they lived or died.

Aaron Keller spat a curse. "What a shithole! I didn’t even want to come here in the first place!"

His companion lowered her eyes, hiding the flash of contempt and disdain in them.

’You broke-ass bastard! If you can’t afford it, stop putting on a fucking act!’

Then she looked up, her bewitching and flirtatious expression returning. She looped her arm through Aaron Keller’s.

"Young Master Cole, please don’t be angry. It’s just a shady, unlicensed auction house. We can just not come back in the future. We’ll go play somewhere else."

Hearing her flattery, Aaron Keller’s mood improved slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, the phone in his pocket rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Aaron Keller’s pupils shrank. It was his big brother!

’Could Big Brother already know? No, that guy mentioned his grandfather. This call has to be a coincidence.’

Thinking this, Aaron Keller relaxed and answered the call. "Yo, boss man, what’s up...?"

[Big Brother, what business do you have with me?]

The person on the other end immediately launched into a tirade of curses. Even standing beside him, his companion could hear the entire conversation clearly.

The gist of it was: How could you, you useless piece of trash, go and offend someone like that? Do you have any idea who that was? Now the Sterling Family will be ruined, if not destroyed! Blah blah blah! Get your ass back here now!

Aaron Keller stood frozen, his eyes vacant, as the call was disconnected.

Now there were only two words in his mind: It’s over!

His companion still wanted to go and console him; after all, she still wanted to hitch a ride back to Marisburg on his private jet. She could even take some photos on the way back to show off.

She was thrown aside by Aaron Keller, who also gave her two hard slaps across the face. "Damn it, you bitch! It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you, this never would have happened! It’s all because you’re a jinx!"

After saying his piece, Aaron Keller didn’t even glance at the companion he had knocked to the ground. He just got in his car and drove away.