Asher's voice went down an octave as he asked. His face turned cold and serious.
Bella was surprised by the sudden drop in the atmosphere. Just a moment ago, Asher was smiling and jesting with them but now he was behaving as if they were some criminals.
She looked at Emma who wasn't flustered at all. She was still behaving nonchalantly as if Asher's question didn't concern her at all.
The room was completely silent. The sound of crashing waves intensified in the still air as nobody took the lead to answer Asher.
Eventually, Emma put down the soda can on the table. She pursed her lips as she looked at Asher who was observing her.
"Why does it concern you that we know about the auction?"
"I'm just curious about how you came to know about the auction considering how tight-lipped the people involved in the auction are. It is indeed concerning and troubling." Asher replied grimly.
He had been worried ever since he overheard their discussion in the restaurant.
It would have been a huge issue if someone else was to witness their exchange which was why Asher asked them to talk in their cabin.
He didn't want these kids to get in trouble over something they weren't even aware of.
"It's just a small auction. What's so troubling about it?" Emma scowled as she was nonplussed by Asher's grim tone.
She thought that Asher was making a huge deal out of a small event. How dangerous can an auction be?
She even doubted that Asher was playing with them and would laugh when they believed his words.
"It is not a normal auction." Asher exhaled as he tried to explain, "Didn't you feel that something was off when no one on board is aware that an auction is going to take place on this cruise?"
Emma felt puzzled by his question. She indeed thought about why this auction was taking place in such secrecy?
Wouldn't the auctioneer gain more profit if more people were to attend and bid on the items in turn raising the price of the objects?
Asher saw the quizzical look on Emma's face and noticed Kale and Bella sitting there not understanding a word he had said.
It finally dawned on him that tlly knew nothing about the auction and breathed a sigh of relief.
Emma was still hesitant to fully believe Asher until he further explicated. She scanned his gestures discreetly from the corner of her eye but did not make any move to interrupt him.
"This auction is not for everyone. As Bella said, only a few selected people are allowed to go and bid on the items being sold. And they were chosen by a lottery draw based on some purchases they made in the last year."
"That does not make any sense. Why would anybody do that?" Emma became confused the more she listened to Asher.
What was the point of the auction if they had such a thorough screening process to select the attendees?
"Make a wild guess keeping in mind that the tickets to this auction are being sold at sky-high prices." Asher allowed her to think about what was so special about this auction. He didn't want to give her all the information on a silver platter.
Emma thought for a while before it clicked. "It is a silent auction," She whispered with a pale face.
Asher was able to make out her words despite Emma's almost inaudible voice and nodded.
"Yes, it is a silent auction. Means you can get a million-dollar artifact for a few hundred dollars." Asher smirked. "That is if you are lucky enough." He further added.
"What do you mean? I don't think I'm catching up on your conversation." Bella's bewildered voice sounded in the cabin.
"Let me explain," Asher crossed his legs and swallowed a mouthful of water.
"A silent auction is of two types. One where the participants are not allowed to talk to each other but they can bid on the objects being auctioned like in a normal auction."
"However, there is a less common and almost rare second type, which is hosted seldomly." Asher looked over at Emma who was immersed in her thoughts and continued.
"In this auction, you are allowed to write down your bid directly under the product with a price you think is appropriate for that object. If you are the last one to write your name with the price before the time runs out, the object belongs to you."
Asher put his face over the palm of his hand as he saw Kale who had not once spoken since he came in and was expressionless. He was intrigued by Kale's persona.
Bella was flabbergasted as she had never heard of an auction taking place in such an absurd manner.
"But what if the person writes an amount lower than the appraised value of the artifact?" Bella spoke her mind.
"The winner is the last person who has written his name. Even if the price he has written is $1.00, he'll get the product." It was Emma who answered Bella. She had known about this type of auction taking place but had never attended it before.
"But how would the auction house benefit in this situation?" Although Bella was reluctant to let these people know that she didn't quite grasp the concept, but her curiosity gained the upper hand.
"They don't. This is why this type of auction is known as the Donation auction as well." Asher calmly told.
"Why is it dangerous?" Kale who had been listening quietly, said monotonously. Emma was taken aback by the sudden interruption. She had completely forgotten about Kale. She didn't know that Kale had come inside Asher's cabin.
"Its danger lies in the fact that it is a silent auction. Seeing people hitting each other in the middle of the auction, fighting over who is going to write their name last on the auctioned object isn't uncommon. Moreover, if the person who wins a certain object isn't careful with his security, then he might never be found." Asher grimly said.
He didn't want to scare them but it was the truth. Countless people were found dead when they had won something expensive and were later looted by others.
It was similar to having won the lottery. If you were lucky to win something, you needed to take special care of your security to escort you back until you have taken the won item to a safe place.
Bella was astonished at Asher's words. She looked at Emma to see that she also looked pale.
Bella swallowed her saliva and thanked God that she didn't impulsively buy the tickets to flatter Emma.
Otherwise, her soul would never rest in peace knowing that she wasn't able to exact her revenge.
Emma clenched her shaking hand and tried to calm herself down.
Unlike Bella who didn't know about the dreadful reality of such an auction, Emma was fully aware of how deadly the consequences can be.
Her grandfather had sent one of his employees to such an auction when she was young and since he didn't know about the auction, his tattered body was found after several days.
Emma had witnessed the horror herself as she had wanted to surprise her Grandpa but instead ended up witnessing her grandfather conversing with the butler. And at the same time, the body of that person was placed on an operating table in their hospital.
Emma controlled her irregular breathing as she didn't want anyone to know about the shadows in her heart and pretended to be calm.
As she pondered, she recalled her purpose of attending the auction and felt hesitant to not go.
"When is the auction?" Emma spoke after a long time, stunning everyone in the room as they had expected her to back down when she listened to the horrors of the auction. Even Asher was a bit taken aback as he had seen the horror in Emma's eyes, albeit only for a second.
But no one knew better than Emma how reluctant she was but she had another objective which was greater than any fear she had and became more resolute in her stance.
Asher sighed as he saw the determination on Emma's face and replied, "This evening at 6 pm."
Emma glanced at the clock which displayed noon. It meant that she was left with less than 6 hours to secure a ticket before the auction officially began.
She decided to buy the pass from one of the people and attend it no matter what. However, her thoughts were interrupted by Asher.
"Do you want to attend?" Asher's warm gaze collided with Emma's chilly one.
Emma was surprised by his words and her eyes turned back to normal. She looked at him for a while and then slightly nodded.
"I'm attending the auction, if you want you can be my plus one." Asher proposed.
"Why are you being so good to me suddenly?" Emma didn't want to be scammed once again by this man. She had learned from her past mistakes to never trust this man.
Asher chuckled at her response. Shaking his head, he replied. "Maybe I'm trying to atone for my past mistakes."
"Do you think you can be forgiven just by pretending to be a hero and saving a damsel in distress and I'll forgive you? Is it that easy to earn my forgiveness?" Emma didn't want to reject his kind hand but she had been swindled more than once by this same man so she was cautious.
"This time I'm telling the truth," Asher said truthfully. However, the glint of his eyes went unnoticed by Emma.
It was safe to say that the fish had been caught in the net. Asher smirked at his thoughts.