CHAPTER 13The Auction
Elysian Galleries was all soft lighting and softer lies. The wealthy and powerful mingled, sipping champagne while bidding on paintings that shouldn't exist, jewels that had vanished from museums, documents that could topple governments.
Zara moved through the crowd like a shark, smiling and exchanging air kisses while her eyes cataloged every detail. Luna stayed close, feeling like a child at a war council.
"See that man in the ugly tie?" Zara murmured, guiding Luna toward a display of Ming dynasty vases. "He's Xiānyǔ's liaison with the Singapore government. He's also embezzling. Leo has the receipts."
"Why hasn't he been exposed?"
"Because controlled corruption is more useful than eliminated corruption." Zara smiled at a passing couple. "We own him now."
Luna felt a cold trickle down her spine. This was her new world: a web of secrets, each thread a leash around someone's neck.
"Ah," Zara said, her gaze sharpening. "Look who's here."
Across the room, surrounded by a cluster of admirers, was a woman Luna recognized from society pages: Seraphine Montegreco. Flawless, radiant, and currently looking directly at them with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"The Montegrecos are... ambitious," Zara said quietly. "They want a seat at the big table. Seraphine in particular has been... persistent."
"Persistent how?"
"She's proposed a merger with our family three times in the past two years. My brother declined. Politely." Zara's lips twitched. "She didn't take it well."
As if summoned, Seraphine glided toward them. "Zara! And this must be the new Mrs. Wǎngshā." Her eyes swept over Luna, assessing and dismissing in one glance. "How... quaint."
"Seraphine," Zara said, her voice cool. "I heard you were in Milan."
"Business concluded early. I couldn't miss the excitement." Seraphine's gaze lingered on Luna. "I hope you're settling in, my dear. The Wǎngshā estate can be so... cold. If you ever need a friend, do call."
She drifted away, leaving the scent of expensive perfume and subtle threat.
"She wanted to marry Leo," Luna said quietly.
"She wanted the power that comes with the name," Zara corrected. "You, my dear sister-in-law, are living proof that she failed. Be careful of her. Wounded pride is a dangerous weapon."
The auction began. Luna watched as a stolen Van Gogh sketch went for millions, as classified documents changed hands in plain sight, as her own family's jade seal—lost for decades—appeared on the block.
"Don't," Zara said softly when Luna tensed. "It's a test."
"A test of what?"
"Of your loyalty. To your new family over your old."
The seal sold to a anonymous bidder. Luna forced herself to breathe evenly, to show nothing.
Later, as they were leaving, a man bumped into Luna, slipping a folded note into her hand. She palmed it, her heart racing.
In the car, she unfolded it.
Your mother sends her regards. And a reminder: the archives remember everything. Even what the Wǎngshās try to erase. — K
K. Kai. Her brother.