Chapter 290: The Return?

Chapter 290: Chapter 290: The Return?

Down on the main stage, the chief auctioneer had barely taken a breath after concluding the historic sale of the Twin Islands when a sudden, sharp chime signaled through his ear monitor. He paused mid-sentence, tapping his earpiece as he raised a hand to hold the room.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen, remain in your seats," the auctioneer announced into his mic, halting the rustle of people starting to gather their coats and bags. "Tonight’s bidding isn’t over just yet."

Across the auditorium, instant chatter broke out across the rows.

"Wait, what’s going on? Did something go wrong with Box 1’s payment?"

"Don’t be ridiculous. When Jake Rivers bids five billion marks, the bank clears it before the gavel even hits the wood."

Up in Private Box 1, Alice had already finished relaying Jake’s unexpected directive directly to Melissa Cooper via secure comms. Down behind the stage, Melissa—the thirty-six-year-old General Manager of the Meridian Gallery—felt a massive weight lift off her shoulders the moment she heard the instruction.

Ending the entire night with a total, uncontested buyout by Jake Rivers was going to leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. It made the rest of high society feel like background extras in his showroom. But a surprise drop from the titan’s own private vault? That was going to turn the room upside down.

The side curtains parted, and Melissa stepped briskly onto the main stage. Dressed in a sharp dark tuxedo suit with platinum cuff links, her presence immediately pulled every eye in the room back to the podium.

The chief auctioneer adjusted his mic, a wide, excited grin breaking across his face as he stepped aside for her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, quiet down for a special announcement!"

The auditorium went dead silent.

"On behalf of Mr. Jake Rivers and Golden Investments," Melissa spoke directly into her lapel mic, her tone bright and confident, "as a gesture of thanks for your attendance tonight—and a polite token of apology for sweeping the Twin Islands—we are adding an uncatalogued surprise lot to wrap up the evening."

A loud wave of murmurs swept through the crowd.

"A surprise lot?!" a hedge fund manager in the fourth row gasped, sitting up straight. "Straight out of Golden Investments’ internal portfolio?!"

"Why else would Melissa Cooper step out on stage herself?" his partner whispered back, eyes wide. "Whatever it is, it’s huge."

"Presenting Lot Forty-Eight," Melissa declared as the central holographic display flared to life in bright emerald green. "A bundled equity package featuring two premier corporate stakes: first, a twenty-seven percent controlling position in retail giant SaveBack Inc., currently valued at one point five six billion marks..."

She paused for two seconds, letting the numbers register, before sweeping her hand toward the secondary display.

"...and second, a thirty-five percent equity stake in BoldMan Tech—better known as BMT!"

The entire room erupted.

"BMT?! Did she just say BoldMan Tech?!"

"That stock tripled over the last quarter alone! It shot up from barely a billion to almost three billion marks after their quantum processing breakthrough!"

What made BMT’s rise so famous in financial circles was the sheer power of Jake Rivers’ name. Ever since Jake inherited his thirty-nine percent majority stake, he hadn’t held a single board meeting or issued a single public directive. Yet, right after their tech breakthrough, BMT’s executive team publicly credited Jake’s silent backing as their lead shareholder. They rode his reputation straight into massive investor confidence, sending the stock through the roof.

Still, a few sharp institutional investors on the floor immediately caught the catch.

"Hold on a minute..." a venture capitalist muttered, leaning toward his associate. "If Rivers is dumping thirty-five percent of his BMT shares back into the open market, what happens to the stock price tomorrow morning?"

"Exactly," his associate agreed nervously. "Half of BMT’s valuation is riding on the fact that Jake Rivers sits on their cap table. If people think he’s cashing out, traders are going to panic."

Up in Box 1, Brandon was listening to the floor audio feed, watching the crowd’s reaction on the monitor. He looked over at Jake.

"They’re worried BMT’s stock is going to crater if you dump the shares, Mr. Rivers," Brandon said.

Jake swirled the mineral water gently in his glass, looking utterly relaxed. "If a company can’t hold its value without my name attached to it, then it’s a weak company. Besides, I’m keeping four percent. My name isn’t leaving their registry, so the market won’t freak out."

Down on the stage, Melissa cleared up that exact concern before opening the floor.

"To clarify for all prospective bidders," Melissa announced loudly, cutting through the noise, "Mr. Rivers is retaining a four percent equity buffer in BMT, keeping his position as an anchor shareholder. The thirty-five percent package on the floor tonight comes with full voting rights and two board seats."

A collective sigh of relief washed over the hall, instantly replaced by pure greed.

"The anchor stays! The stock won’t drop!"

"This isn’t just a tech stock—you get massive retail cash flow from SaveBack and high-growth equity in BMT!"

"Bidding for Lot Forty-Eight opens at two billion marks!" Melissa shouted, her voice ringing over the speakers.

Crack!

"Two point two billion!" Private Box 2 flashed red instantly.

"Two point five billion!" a group of private equity reps on the floor yelled out.

"Two point eight billion!"

"Three billion marks!" the chairman of an international banking group roared, standing straight up from his chair in the fourth row with his paddle raised high.

The main floor turned into an absolute madhouse of rapid-fire calls and flashing lights. Unlike the Twin Islands—where trying to beat Jake Rivers was just throwing money into an abyss—this was a real chance to grab high-tier assets backed by the man himself.

Inside Box 1, Luke watched the board leap from three billion to three point eight billion marks in under a minute.

"They’re going crazy down there," Luke said, shaking his head in disbelief. "They’re fighting to throw billions at shares he decided to toss away on a whim."

"Four billion marks!" Melissa called out as Box 4 jumped in. "Four billion marks for the package! Do I hear four point two?"

"Four point two billion!" the banking chairman yelled back, clenching his teeth as he raised his paddle again.

For a second, the room held its breath. Four point two billion was already a heavy markup, but owning controlling stakes in two giant corporations at once was too big of a trophy to pass up.

"Four point five billion marks!" Private Box 2 slammed down a counter-offer.

The floor went quiet. The banking chairman let out a frustrated sigh and sank back into his seat, waving his hand in defeat.

"Four point five billion marks going once..." Melissa shouted, raising her gavel. "Going twice..."

Just before the wood hit the block, a sharp red light flashed near the center aisle.

"Five billion marks!" a calm, heavy voice echoed across the quiet room.

A wave of shock ran through the entire auditorium. Everyone turned around in their seats, staring at the middle row to see who had just dropped an extra five hundred million at the last second.

Sitting there in a dark suit was Julian Sterling.

The noise in the room blew up instantly. Nobody had seen or heard anything from Sterling since he took a massive loss, losing his Meridian Group shares and his flagship construction company to Aurelia Capitals.

"Isn’t that Julian Sterling?! What the hell is he doing here?!"

"Is he trying to make a comeback? Or is he trying to pick a fight with Jake Rivers after what happened?"

"Honestly, the old man should just stay home. Getting crushed by a kid and then coming to an auction to flex what’s left of his money is just embarrassing..."

Sterling completely ignored the noise and the stares. His eyes were locked straight onto the holographic numbers for BoldMan Tech. He didn’t care about some revenge; he needed BMT’s quantum tech for his tech company. He has intended to just enjoy the show bur even he couldn’t resist something like this.

Up in Box 1, Jake looked down at the monitor, his gaze lingering on Sterling for a quick second before he gave a slight, indifferent shrug. He didn’t care who bought it. It was an open auction, and if Sterling had cash to burn, letting him empty his bank account on market shares was totally fine by him.

Down on the floor, the guy in Private Box 2 bit back with a fresh bid. "Five point one billion!"

Sterling didn’t even blink. He raised his hand instantly. "Five point five billion."

That shut the room down completely. Five point five billion marks for a secondary equity package was an insane amount of money. Over in Box 2, the bidder hesitated, looked at his numbers, and slowly put his digital controller down.

Nobody else said a word.

Melissa Cooper took a deep breath and raised the wooden gavel high. "Five billion five hundred million marks... going once... going twice..."

Crack!

"Sold! To Mr. Julian Sterling for five billion five hundred million marks!"

The room erupted into loud, thunderous applause as the final sale closed out the night.

Inside Box 1, Aliya turned around to look at her brother, bursting into a laugh. "Wait, let me get this straight. You spent five point two billion to buy an island, turned around, dropped two companies you weren’t even using, and made five point five billion marks back in ten minutes?"

Fancy shook her head, laughing quietly into her hand. "He bought a whole sovereign island and somehow walked away with three hundred million marks profit. That’s not even fair."

Jake set his glass back down on the table, a small smirk on his face as he looked out over the crowded hall below. "That’s just efficient business."

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