บท 19: Chapter 19
The Auction resumed after lunch, and straightaway, a Financial War broke out between the Major Families of Sylvor City.
Jenning's Group had a lot of lucrative commercial Real Estate, worth nearly 10 Billion Draks, all of which was up for grabs today.
Maria chose to listen to her son and only participated in the bidding to keep up appearances and to raise the price for their competitors. Her targets were already set, and she did not want what the other Major Families wanted the most.
There were two Shopping Malls, two Supercenters, one Hospital, three Office Buildings, four Residential Buildings, two Mansions, five Apartments, an entire Company of Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Beverages, which included twelve Breweries, 3 factories, six Warehouses, and four signature Retail Stores. Then there was a Club, which was one of the best in the city with a golf course, a Firing Range and Training School, an Archery Range and Training School, and an Equestrian Estate and Riding School. Lastly, there was a beautiful Ranch outside the city, which was the least lucrative piece in the pot, but still worth 25 Million because it was also a Stud Farm and a Cattle Farm where fine horses and cattle were bred.
Where everyone else was focused on the other assets, Maria successfully acquired the state-of-the-art Hospital, worth 676 Million, the Ranch worth 25 Million, the Club worth 88 Million, the four Signature Stores worth a total of 32 Million, and a mansion worth 29 Million.
She won these assets worth 850 Million Draks in slightly under 787 Million Draks, and seemed content with her wins, much to everyone's confusion.
Were the Zarayne not going after the Beverage Company? After all, it was the most valuable piece in this pot of gold.
And they soon received an answer as to why Maria did not go after the Beverage Company.
In the end, the Beverage Company was acquired by a Multinational Company, Hasley, which had secretly sent their agents, not letting anyone know anything about it.
Those, who were waiting to splash money on the Beverage Company and all its assets, were left hanging. Every single asset associated with the Beverage Company was acquired by Hasley at a price way clear of the market value, leaving no room for others to compete.
By the time they realised that they should have gone after the Hospital, it was too late.
Maria had the last laugh.
As soon as the Auction ended, the Lady of the Zarayne Family happily hugged her son, who laughed at seeing her so excited.
After they cleared their accounts and paid for everything, they accepted the invitation letters that the City Lord sent them, inviting them to tonight's party, where he planned on congratulating them and to thank them for their service to society.
It also happened that today was Jose Romanio's 78th Birthday, and Jose was the maternal uncle of the City Lord, Luis Fletcher. So, tonight's party was also a birthday party.
Mikael debated if he should attend the event or not.
Aaron Stone had won a couple of random properties, so, he was going to be present at the party as well.
He was positive that the Son of Luck would target him, especially if Raeya and Klara went with him.
Besides, he wanted to get started with the Task of Ginny Harper as soon as possible.
However, once Raeya expressed her desire to attend it, as it was going to be a business gathering, he could not make any excuse.
Klara already planned on attending it, and there was no way he was going to let his wives go to an event without him if Aaron was going to attend it. Considering the hatred the Son of Destiny held in his heart for them, their safety was at risk.
He just hoped that Robert Sterling had already started making plans to deal with Aaron.
Though Mikael was confident that the Son of Destiny would destroy the Sterling Family. He was just hoping that they would be able to earn him enough time and harm Aaron in the process.
With his hands full, the man would not be able to pay much attention to the Zaraynes, especially if his life was at stake.
Knowing Robert, and how decisive and resourceful the man was, the young Zarayne was confident that he must have already arranged something.
[Ding! New Tasks have been issued]
[Task #3: Prevent Aaron Stone from becoming the star of tonight's party and impressing the former Governor, Jose Ramanio. Task Reward: Random]
[Task #4: Stop Aaron Stone from publicly humiliating you and your wives at the party. Task Reward: Random]
[Task #5: Humiliate the Son of Luck, Aaron Stone, at tonight's party. Task Reward: Random]
[Task #6: Catch the eye of the Former Governor of Schweston Province, Jose Ramanio, and leave a lasting impression on him. Task Reward: Random]
Now he had an even better reason to go to the party, and his mind started running as he made plans for the evening.
Maria, Raeya, and Anaiah noticed that he was lost in some thoughts, and none of them disturbed him.
Even after they arrived at the villa, he went straight to his room, and exactly at 7:30 pm, he came downstairs, wearing a royal blue tuxedo with a pearl grey vest, and a beautiful blue and silver cravat instead of a bow tie.
"Mom, can you help me style my hair?"
As soon as the ladies heard his voice, they turned around and immediately fell into a trance.
"Oh, my son is extra handsome today!" Maria managed to compose herself and immediately stood up to help him style his hair with her fingers.
He never liked keeping neat hair and always kept a neatly rough look, and this really was something all girls loved about him.
Raeya and Klara just could not keep their eyes off their husband, and the former even started undressing him in her mind and her cheeks bloomed in a blush.
However, the one who was blushing the most was Anaiah, and she lowered her head and bit her lip to compose herself.
"You look beautiful. All of you." He complimented them when he saw how they had dressed for the night.
They were dressed modestly, and this added to their charm as it gave an impression of something that could not be obtained. Something you could only fancy from afar.
Klara and Raeya were aware that he disliked them wearing any dresses that exposed even a little bit of skin, and luckily for them, they did not like having fiery gazes on them either, so they were more than happy to dress modestly.
Anaiah and Maria were the same, but it was mostly because the women in their family were raised with noble standards. After all, the Zaraynes were a noble house, and Mikael's grandfather held the title of a Viscount and was the former City Lord of Sylvor City, the former Minister of Law of Schweston Province, and a Knight as well.
Even Mikael's Father held the title of a Knight, and if things stayed stable, he was likely going to be made a future City Lord of a Metropolitan City in the Schweston Province. It was only a matter of a couple of years now.
The girls thanked him for his compliments, and then they left the home together in a white Limousine, protected by a squad of SUVs and Motorcycles.
At exactly 8:15 pm, they arrived at their destination.
The Fletcher Manor, the new City Lord Manor, was not as big as the Old Manor of the Zarayne Family, but it had a modern touch to it, which made it unique and a very beautiful home.
As soon as the Chauffeur opened the door for Mikael, and the Young Zarayne helped four beautiful ladies out of the Limousine, the flash of cameras was blinding.
They did not speak to any reporters and entered the venue with a smile. They were soon received by the attendants, who escorted them to the Great Hall.
There were no announcements for guests' arrivals, but tables were reserved for the Major Families close to the centre of the Hall, right at the end of the dance floor.
A few people immediately came over to greet them, and before they could all ask the question that they wanted to ask, why the daughters of the Albonn Family were with them, the City Lord and his Wife walked over with bright smiles.
"Welcome to our humble home, Lady Maria, Honourable Mikael, Lady Anaiah, Honourable Misses Raeya and Klara Zarayne..." Luis Fletcher respectfully greeted them, and his address shocked the guests around them.
Misses Raeya and Klara Zarayne?
When did Mikael marry both the daughters of the Albonn Family?
"I hope you plan on holding a Wedding Banquet. We would love to attend it." Luis' wife, who was an aged lady in her early fifties, four years her husband's senior, gently said.
"We will hold a Wedding Banquet one day, and we would love to have you join us for the evening."
It was Raeya who answered with a smile, and their brief exchange set the hall buzzing with whispers.
Soon, more and more people came over to greet them, congratulating them on their marriage, and also chatted with them about their new businesses.
They were very curious about the RavenStreet Real Estates and also wanted to know if Maria was aware of the presence of the Agents of Hasley International at the Auction.
Maria did not hide it and admitted that she was aware of their presence, but refused to give them any clues about where she got the news. No one really pestered her either. Everyone was very respectful and congratulated them on their harvest today.
Soon another group entered the Hall, and it was the Albonn Family and the mysterious Young man by their side.
As soon as they entered, Mikael, who had been waiting for this moment, took out his phone, pretended to check for any messages, and quickly pressed the "send" button on messages that had hundreds of recipients, set to be delivered in batches at different times tonight.
Consequences be damned, he forwarded the surveillance footage of John's death and their conversation to everyone inside the hall, as well as those who had yet to arrive. He also forwarded them the information about Aaron Stone and John Harper. This message was also forwarded to the National Security Forces and all the Law Enforcement Departments and Media in the country.
He also sent this message to Ginny Harper's number, which he had received back at the Villa.
Now, the Young Zarayne waited to see the ugly expressions of the Son of Destiny when he would get exposed in front of everyone.
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