# Chapter 55 Must Have It: The Battle for the Emerald Pipe
The auction hall erupted into chaos as every pair of eyes locked onto Nicole. She stood there, composed and confident, while tension rippled through the elegantly dressed crowd like a shockwave through still water.
Roman turned to her, confusion etched across his handsome features. "What do you want this for?" he asked, his voice carrying the weight of genuine bewilderment.
Nicole's lips curved into a mysterious smile. "It looks pretty nice, don't you think?"
"I don't think so," Roman replied honestly. To him, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary tobacco pipe—hardly worth the fortune it was about to command.
But Nicole felt Quinn and Ingrid's gazes burning into her like hot coals. She met their stare without flinching, a faint smile playing on her lips as she acknowledged their presence. The Ferguson mother-daughter pair visibly recoiled. They knew exactly why Nicole was here. They knew she recognized that emerald pipe.
The memory came flooding back—that night when Quinn had ordered Nicole to clean the memorial hall alone. It had been a trap, carefully laid. Quinn had deliberately removed the precious pipe from its secure safe and placed it on a high shelf, hoping Nicole would "accidentally" bump into it and shatter Old Master Ferguson's most treasured possession. If that had happened, the old patriarch would have surely cast Nicole out of the family without mercy. But Nicole had been too clever to fall for such a crude scheme. She hadn't touched it.
If not for the surveillance cameras watching every corner of that sacred hall, Quinn would have broken it herself and pinned the blame on Nicole. But her wicked plan had failed miserably. Old Master Ferguson valued that pipe more than his own life, and Quinn never found another opportunity to execute her malicious design.
Now, the Ferguson mother-daughter pair had stolen that same emerald pipe and put it up for auction. Ingrid's reputation had been shattered when Nicole exposed to the world that she had stolen the "Daydream" necklace to fuel her gambling addiction. After returning to the country, Ingrid had suffered humiliation after humiliation at Nicole's hands until she was nearly ostracized from high society altogether.
Ingrid needed to regain her footing among the elite ladies' circle. She needed to become the center of attention once more. As the Young Lady of the Ferguson family, she simply had to be the focus of every gathering. This charity auction was her golden opportunity to restore her tarnished image and maintain her carefully crafted persona as a "high-society lady."
So Ingrid had begged her mother to secretly remove her grandfather's emerald pipe and offer it as an auction item. Its immense value would surely place Ingrid back in the spotlight. The plan was perfect—those who knew about the family heirloom would never dare bid against the Ferguson name, fearing Old Master Ferguson's wrath. Those who didn't know about it wouldn't bid either. Ingrid would simply take it out, bid it back herself, and emerge as the generous heroine of the evening.
But Quinn and Ingrid had never anticipated Nicole's arrival.
Quinn's anxiety mounted with each passing second. Nicole was clearly not holding back. Their financial limit was only ten million dollars—they had no real power within the Ferguson family, surviving on monthly allowances with minimal personal savings. They simply could not continue bidding indefinitely.
Nicole's appearance had completely blindsided them. Quinn had assumed that even if someone bid on the pipe, it would never exceed ten million. And even if it did, no one would dare challenge the Ferguson family. But Nicole was different. She had come specifically for them.
"Ten million dollars going once!" The host's eyes lit up as his voice boomed across the hall.
Ingrid nervously tugged at her mother's dress, whispering frantically. Quinn pretended to remain calm, though her hands trembled slightly as she turned back to glare at Nicole—a desperate warning.
Nicole merely raised her eyebrows, smiled faintly, and fixed her gaze on the item displayed on stage. *I must have it,* she thought with steely determination.
"Ten million dollars going twice!"
The host scanned the audience. Silence. No one dared compete with Mrs. Ferguson for the spotlight, and no one wanted to waste money on a pipe they could never truly possess.
Then Quinn raised her bidding paddle.
"Eleven million dollars." Her voice was eerily calm.
*Interesting,* Nicole thought. *I thought they would cap it at ten million. I didn't expect Quinn to continue.*
"Twelve million dollars!" Nicole followed immediately, determined to test their resolve.
Her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and recognized the number instantly, even without a caller ID. Ingrid Ferguson. Nicole smiled coldly and rejected the call, then blocked the number without a second thought.
"Thirteen million," Quinn called out, though she was visibly trembling now, sitting on pins and needles.
The host sensed the escalating tension. This was no ordinary auction—it was a battlefield. He raised his voice dramatically: "Okay, thirteen million. Miss, would you like to bid again?"
Nicole remained silent. The host assumed she had given up. "Thirteen million going once!"
"Thirteen million going twice!"
Quinn and Ingrid breathed a collective sigh of relief. Victory was within reach.
"Fifteen million!" Nicole's voice cut through the air like a blade just before the final call.
*How does that feel?* she wondered, watching Quinn's eyes fill with panic.
Quinn lowered her head to confer with Ingrid. After a moment, Ingrid's face hardened with desperation as she made a major decision. "Twenty million!"
*Do they think my limit is twenty million?* Nicole laughed inwardly.
Even Roman grew nervous beside her. "Do you need help?" he whispered urgently.
Nicole smiled and raised an eyebrow confidently. "No, this is nothing to me."
She was done playing games. Done testing their limits bit by bit. She wanted them to stop bidding entirely.
The lights flickered, casting pale, ghostly shadows across Quinn and Ingrid's faces. They looked haggard and defeated.
"Okay, thirty million going once!"
"Thirty million going twice!"
The room fell deathly silent. No one dared to breathe.
Nicole knew she had won.
"Thirty million sold! Congratulations to this young lady. The proceeds will be donated to Elementary School of Hope..."
The crowd erupted into applause, finally breaking the suffocating tension that had gripped the hall. Nicole acknowledged them graciously, a genuine smile spreading across her face. It had been a magnificent victory.
After greeting everyone warmly, Nicole and Roman made their way backstage to collect her prize. As expected, Quinn and Ingrid were waiting there, their faces twisted with fury and desperation, refusing to accept defeat.
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## Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
This chapter was an absolute masterpiece of tension and triumph! Watching Nicole systematically dismantle Quinn and Ingrid's schemes was deeply satisfying. The way she toyed with them, raising the stakes inch by inch before delivering the killing blow at thirty million dollars, was pure genius. The flashback to Quinn's earlier attempt to frame Nicole added wonderful depth to their rivalry and made Nicole's victory feel like long-overdue justice. The atmosphere was electric throughout the entire auction scene—I could feel the tension in my chest as Nicole and Quinn battled with nothing but raised paddles and steely gazes. Roman's quiet support was a lovely touch, showing how far Nicole has come. This chapter perfectly captures the essence of revenge served cold, elegant, and absolutely devastating.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Rating: 5/5 Stars
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## Next Chapter Prediction
Now that Nicole has the emerald pipe in her possession, Quinn and Ingrid are backed into a corner. They will likely beg, threaten, or attempt to steal it back before Old Master Ferguson discovers it's missing. Nicole might use the pipe as leverage to expose the mother-daughter pair's treachery to the entire Ferguson family, or she could hold it as a bargaining chip to finally sever all ties with them. Either way, the Ferguson household is about to explode into chaos, and Nicole will be standing right at the center of it all, watching the flames consume her enemies.