Chapter 828


    Katie had thought she would run into Brayden at this event, but he was nowhere to be seen. Wasn''t he


    always glued to Franklin? Why weren''t they together this time?


    Feeling disappointed, Katie overheard Mr. Mcguire continuing his small talk with Franklin. "Did Mr.


    Maskelyne receive an invitation as well?"


    "Mhm," Franklin replied coldly.


    "Miss Mcguire, it''s been a while." Sylvia smiled slightly at Katie, her eyes betraying a hint of aloofness.


    Seeing Sylvia''s stunning face made Katie''s expression contort and stiffen. She forced herself to be


    polite and said, "Miss Andrews, how have you been?"


    It was an unforgettable experience for her birthday party to be ruined by Sylvia like this - enough to


    make anyone angry and unable to smile properly.


    Sylvia continued speaking in a faint voice tinged with mockery. "I heard your older brother is still being


    detained. Ah... I feel sorry for him every time I think about how happy you were singing and dancing in


    Urgford."


    Mr. Mcguire''s face began twitching uncontrobly upon hearing these words; hisplexion alternating


    between pale white and greenish-blue.


    Katie felt embarrassed too - why did Sylvia always have to bring up her brother? Was it her fault that he


    got detained? It was those bad people who did it! She didn''t know how she could refute the usation


    when Mr. Mcguire suddenly interrupted. "Mr. Maskelyne, it''s gettingte now; let me take my daughter


    inside."


    He quickly led Katie along with his entourage away from the scene as if they were being chased by


    ghosts.


    Thest time their faces got pped so hard that Mr. Mcguire didn''t want to stay here any longer


    listening to Sylvia mock them again.


    The Mcguire Group had grown tremendously over the years duergely in part because of Lukas


    Mcguire''s contributions. Thepany had been developing advanced chips all along while Lukas


    mastered many of thetest chip technologies himself.


    Thinking about this made Mr. Mcguire feel somewhat pained but... He had pleaded with the President


    multiple times already but ultimately whether or not they released his son wasn''t up for him or even the


    President alone – there were other factors involved too!


    "Take care on your way out, don''t run into any ghosts," came Sylvia''s icy voice from behind them just


    as they left causing Mr. Mcguire almost tripped before being saved by Katie who caught him just in


    time!


    "Let''s go, we''re going inside," arge hand wrapped around the woman''s waist. Franklin looked down


    at Sylvia''s beautiful face, her eyes filled with sarcasm as she stared at Mr. Mcguire and Katie. His


    maic voice carried a hint of amusement and indulgence.


    The man held onto her waist as they walked forward side by side.


    Then they entered the elevator, which slowly rose to the lobby on the first floor.


    Jasper and his twopanions had just stepped out of the elevator when a cheerful voice suddenly


    rang out.


    "Miss Sylvia, Mr. Maskelyne, you really came."


    The three turned to look at where the voice wasing from and saw Mr. Mcguire striding towards


    them with an extraordinary aura.


    "Miss Andrews, you really came. Someone said they saw youe in earlier but I didn''t quite believe


    it!" Weston walked up to Sylvia and Franklin with an amazed expression on his face as he gazed at


    Sylvia''s pretty face.


    He thought that this time too she wouldn''te!


    "So tell me what good treasure did you get this time?" A cool eyebrow raised as she looked towards


    Weston. "Otherwise why would you send invitations to both Franklin and me?"


    Weston gave a half-smile before ncing back towards Franklin who had an elegant yet cold


    demeanor about him.


    He smiled again before stepping forward to shake hands with Franklin saying. "Mr. Maskelyne long


    time no see."


    "Weston, are you nning on chatting for ages here?" The sound of Sylvia''s voice echoed through the


    hall as she scanned it quickly.


    Weston curled his lips slightly before saying. "Miss Andrews, why do you always ruin my ns?"


    He helplessly nced over at her, then back towards Franklin before saying. "Come on, let''s go inside;


    I''ve saved seats for all three of us in front row."


    Franklin nodded in agreement, saying, "Thank You, Weston."


    Those invited into auction houses like these not only needed wealth but also power so everyone


    present were people who mattered greatly!


    However, these big shots weren''t worried about their personal information being leaked.


    Weston''s auction house''s confidentiality was extremely high, not to mention that the big shot behind it


    was rumored to be a core member of "Secretly, Greatly." As for who it is, they don''t know. Franklin had


    also heard about this, and he knew that Sylvia was the owner of this auction. But... does she have any


    connection with Secretly, Greatly? He couldn''t help but wonder.


    They were soon invited into the venue by Weston - a grand hall spanning nearly a thousand square


    meters with magnificent decorations and sparkling crystal chandeliers. There were simple yet tasteful


    booths arranged in rows from high to low. Franklin and Sylvia were led to the front row VIP seats where


    there was even a small table in front of them with drinks and snacks.


    As soon as Sylvia sat down, her gaze swept around and she noticed that almost every seat was taken.


    The auction still had an extremely high poprity as usual.


    Weston sat next to them and asked Sylvia excitedly. "Miss Andrews, guess what strange treasure we


    have this time?"


    Sylvia''s pupils flickered involuntarily at his words - what could be so strange that even Weston himself


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    would call it peculiar?


    "What is it?" she asked curiously.


    "It''s not really anything particrly valuable or priceless; I just find it unusual and umon so I


    wanted you to see it," Weston replied eagerly with shining eyes full of excitement.


    It was obvious that this treasure wasn''t as ordinary as he made it out to be.


    "What are you thinking?" Arge hand suddenly pulled Sylvia over towards him.


    "Nothing," she replied sweetly while snuggling into his embrace before turning her gaze back towards


    the auction stage in front of them where therey an odd scroll about thirty or forty centimeters long


    which appeared yellowed like parchment but didn''t quite look like sheepskin either. perhaps cowhide or


    some other type?


    She didn''t have time to think about it, because there was a picture above that was extremely beautiful.


    It depicted a sunset, and she vaguely felt like she had seen this picture before...


    Suddenly, she looked up and her eyes widened.


    This picture... her vision was excellent, and she carefully examined the signature on the painting!


    When she saw the familiar signature, it hit her like a bolt of lightning.


    "What is this picture?" Franklin furrowed his brow as he stared at the painting. It was strange - beautiful


    but somehow eerie.


    Especially with its texture that looked like...


    Weston spoke mysteriously as if presenting something precious. "This painting is said to be by


    Phoenix, a master painter from twenty years ago. Phoenix''s paintings are worth a lot of money;


    although she was a master painter in her lifetime, only five of her works exist today. However, after her


    death these works became ssic masterpieces in their own right."


    "Not to mention that this particr piece isn''t made on parchment or vellum but rather..."


    "Human skin," Sylvia''s voice came coldly.


    Her gaze remained fixed on the painting without any emotion as she continued speaking. "If none of


    Phoenix''s paintings have surfaced for so many years yet this one has appeared..."


    She didn''t say anything more.


    "This painting has problems?" Franklin looked at Sylvia suspiciously wondering how Sylvia knew it was


    made from human skin?


    The people sitting next to Sylvia all felt uneasy when they heard that it was made from human skin.


    It gave them chills!


    Especially Jasper who said with disgust. "Weston, how could you sell such an item?"


    At this moment, the auctioneer shouted loudly. "This piece is by Phoenix! Master Keturah only became


    famous in recent years while twenty years ago Phoenix''s work were most well-known! Her paintings


    are worth more than Master Keturah''s because they''re rarer. This is now considered to be one of six


    surviving pieces!"


    "The starting price is one million dors!"


    Phoenix''s fame had spread far and wide; while Master Keturah''s work also held value since he still


    lived and could create new pieces whenever he wanted.


    But these unique pieces were truly priceless treasures!


    Many people present were those who liked using famous artworks to decorate their empty hearts or


    show off their wealth.


    So for awhile everyone began bidding frantically.


    "One million one hundred thousand!"


    "One million two hundred thousand!"


    "Two million!"


    "Two hundred and fifty million!"


    The crowd was almost going crazy, continuously adding more and more to the price.


    Soon, the price of this human skin painting had skyrocketed to five million!


    When it broke through five million, the number of people bidding gradually decreased until only two


    were left. Mr. Mcguire and Simeon.


    Sylvia raised an eyebrow. Simeon was also interested in this painting? She looked at the painting as its


    price continued to soar higher and higher, her face filled with interest.


    But Phoenix... she narrowed her eyes and nced over at Simeon from afar.