Chapter 86

On the rooftop, Howard had already told Megan to stop bidding, which made him wonder if she'd mapped out everything that followed right then and there. After he pledged to take it no matter the price, she kept raising the bid to 500 thousand dollars and a million dollars. When Edward took the gavel, she bid at 1.5 million dollars and two million dollars, watching his every shift in mood before bowing out at the perfect moment. She had taken his measure perfectly. But Howard had to admit that even though she'd made him pay more for the tanzanite and challenged him in public, what he felt wasn't anger or annoyance, but admiration. She was unmatched in courage, strategy, and her grasp over his mind. He came out the winner, yet in another sense, he lost. She lost the lot, yet in another sense, she won. Who was she? On the mezzanine, the lights dimmed as Edward watched Megan disappear into the shadows. "She's really his daughter. If he were still alive..." As the lights went fully