Chapter 230: Well It Somehow My Fault

"Business calls," I said smoothly to Benita, giving her a nod. "Keep creating those masterpieces."

I took Chloe’s hand, giving her a gentle squeeze as we said our goodbyes to Benita and stepped out of the atelier, following Sarah down the polished glass corridor toward Mia’s established horology shop.

As we walked, Sarah let out a deep, heavy breath, visibly trying to keep her cool and not sound like she was complaining about her talented artisan.

"Alright, boss... here’s the full breakdown," Sarah sighed, adjusting her grip on her tablet. "Mia is brilliant—a genuine horological genius—but she can be incredibly clumsy when it comes to the business side of things. She made a massive mistake a while back by showing off her complex Met Gala watch schematics before officially locking down the patent registry."

"Let me guess," Chloe chimed in, her sharp eyes narrowing slightly. "A competitor swiped the blueprints?"

"Exactly," Sarah confirmed. "Her rival stole the design outright. But the funny thing is, the thief realized pretty quickly that the schematics are practically useless to them. Mia’s craftsmanship is on such a god-tier level that even with the blueprints, no ordinary watchmaker can replicate the internal tourbillon mechanics. It’s a true masterpiece."

I frowned, looking at Sarah. "If they can’t build it, then what’s the actual problem?"

Sarah paused right outside the frosted double doors of Mia’s workshop, turning to face me with a deadly serious look.

"The problem, boss... is that the actual prototype watch Mia made for you is currently sitting on a private auction block."

A sudden jolt of memory hit me like a brick.

My mind flashed back to the night I ran away from the Met Gala with Ruby. When we wanted to drop off the grid and disappear into the peaceful countryside without all our high-end luxury clutter dragging us down, we had traded off our high-value pieces to that old man for quick cash and anonymity.

Damn it, I thought, rubbing the back of my neck with a wry smirk. It’s literally my fault.

"And it gets worse," Sarah added, bringing up a company dossier on her screen. "Sterling Co. got wind of the auction. They’re bidding heavily on it right now. Their plan is to buy your custom piece, tear it down in a laboratory to reverse-engineer Mia’s hidden mechanisms, and since they held onto the stolen registry, they want to mass-produce her life’s work under the Sterling brand name!"

Chloe’s eyes flashed with instant corporate hostility at the mention of Sterling Co. "They want to destroy her original piece just to steal her legacy..."

"Not on my watch," I said calmly, a dangerous smirk playing on my lips as I leaned toward the door. "Sterling. is about to find out what happens when they try to outbid me."

"Where is this auction taking place?" I asked, looking down at Sarah.

"It’s being hosted over at the Bellevue Auction House downtown," Sarah replied immediately, tapping her screen. "Bidding starts in less than two hours."

"Good," I nodded, resting a hand on the handle of the workshop door. "But before we head down there and blow Sterling Co. out of the water, I want to see Mia first."

I pushed open the double glass doors, stepping into Mia’s horology shop with Chloe and Sarah right behind me.

To my surprise, the place looked remarkably put-together. The display cases were gleaming, delicate gears and watch movements were neatly arranged under soft warm lights, and there was even a neat little ’Special Collection’ sales display set up near the front counter.

I turned my head toward Sarah, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn’t look like a disaster zone to me."

Sarah let out a tired, quiet sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "That’s only because I came in early this morning and spent two hours cleaning up her tools, organizing the display cases, and hiding her burned coffee mugs before you arrived, boss."

Just then, a door at the back of the studio swung open.

Mia stepped out carrying a brass watch housing, a pair of magnifying jeweler’s loupes pushed up onto her forehead, and a random assortment of tiny screwdrivers balanced precariously in her apron pocket.

The second her loupe slipped down off her forehead and knocked sideways over one eye, she stumbled slightly over her own rug, catching herself against the counter.

"Oh! Uh—hi!" Mia gasped, blinking through her lopsided loupe as she recognized me. She frantically adjusted the magnifying lens, dropping a tiny precision tweed tweezers onto the floor in the process.

I leaned down, picked up the tweezers, and handed them back to her.

"Oh! Wow, thanks," she said, slowing down her pace just a bit as a blush rushed to her cheeks. "Didn’t even realize it fell out. My brain is kinda everywhere right now. Like... gears, you know? Just floating around. I was actually just trying to recalibrate this escapement wheel, or—wait, no, I was setting up the sales table first because Sarah said—oh, hi Chloe! Hi Sarah!"

Chloe chuckled softly under her breath, crossing her arms with an affectionate, amused expression. "Deep breaths, Mia."

"Right, right! Breaths. Oxygen to the brain," Mia rattled on, setting the brass housing down on the counter—where it immediately started rolling toward the edge before Sarah casually caught it with one finger. Mia winced, shooting Sarah an apologetic smile. "Sorry! My hands are just... super jittery today because... well, you know. The Met Gala watch. My watch. Your watch! It’s—um—it’s at the auction..."

"I know," I said gently, offering her a calm, reassuring smile. "Sarah filled me in on the whole situation."

Mia slumped her shoulders, her hands fluttering anxiously as she tried to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I’m so, so sorry, Ethan! I totally blew it with the blueprints, and then the piece ended up out there, and now Sterling Co. wants to... buy it and disassemble it into tiny sad little metal pieces! I feel like such an idiot..."