Emma let out a small audible gasp. Almost instantly, she realized her mistake and her face went pale as she thought about the possibility of getting caught.
She didn't want to give up this opportunity when she had come so far along and she might even never be able to get a similar one.
Horrified, she looked up at Asher who was calm despite her mishap.
Emma closed her eyes as she waited for the men outside to knock on the stall and ask her to step outside.
However, she slowly relaxed as she saw that the people outside failed to notice her gasp. Her tense nerves became tranquil as she let out a sigh of relief.
Asher struggled to hide his smile as he looked at this frightened chipmunk.
The men outside were immersed in their conversation and didn't pay any attention.
"Let's go and hand over these tickets lest the boss gets angry and threatens to deduct our paycheck." The first man ushered the other two out of the bathroom after a while.
Emma's face regained color after they left and she felt her knees going soft. If it hadn't been the bathroom, she would have sat on the floor.
After they were gone, Asher explained, "This auction is going to sell various ancient artifacts and coveted goods but the organizer doesn't want to pay the government for selling these things so he organized this silent auction where everyone can join. But since he had specific requirements about the participators, no one can say he has committed a crime."
"The people he wants to attend were given different passes and were told to keep their passes with them no matter what. As for those whom he doesn't want to attend, they can't raise a voice or complain since they were the ones who lost their tickets in the first place." Asher calmly continued.
"They had people standing at every step to loot passes from attendees and get rid of them. I didn't want to tell you as it would complicate things but now that I have told you, remain quiet and listen to me please." Asher pleaded.
Emma thought for a while, trying to digest this massive ball of info, and felt that it did make sense.
"It means that the organizer is selling these goods illegally and the government knows about it but can't do anything as this whole event is like a lottery win where anyone can participate and win. I guess that was why those gifted passes were given out as a sign of showing gratitude." Emma concluded.
"Yes"
"However, now the organizer is getting rid of all the common people who won the gift tickets by stealing and monopolizing them but not the socialites," Emma asked feeling unsure of the organizer's intentions and stopped for a while.
"Does any of this have to do with that Akoya pearl necklace?" Emma remembered the gossip she heard from those old ladies and asked.
"It is much more complicated than a single pearl necklace," Asher mumbled.
"You'll know when you attend. We'll be late if we don't go now," Asher diverted the question.
Emma didn't force him to answer and simply went with the flow. She'll reach the bottom of this. She had a strong intuition that she will be able to get a lead to find her aunt at this auction.
Then, all her queries and curiosities will be satisfied. For now, she would focus on the auction.
Emma was deep in her thoughts when she felt Asher's hand come near her face. She looked at him surprised.
Instead of answering, Asher smudged her lipstick and lightly tossed her hair to look unkempt.
Emma silently observed his action and it occurred to her that they had come to the men's toilet under the scrutiny of that officer.
Now, if they were to go out looking prim and proper, won't it raise suspicions? Thus, she let Asher do his work without any hindrance.
Swimming in the ocean of her thoughts, she failed to register the fact that Asher was still wearing his suit properly. She was the only one whose appearance looked sultry and seductive.
Asher didn't give her a chance to look in the mirror and held her hand to lead her to hall# 7.
Emma smiled at the officer who was still looking their way and lightly nodded as well.
The officer soon looked away and became busy with other people.
It was 8:47 pm when they arrived at the hall. Emma took out a tissue paper and wiped off the rest of her lipstick.
She didn't let go of Asher's hand as they made their way through the group of people.
They stopped near a raised podium which seemed to be a makeshift stage. Emma took a glass from the waiter and wore her confident persona.
Asher was impressed by how easily Emma was able to change her emotions and gave her a thumbs up in his mind.
He would never be able to tell that it was the same Emma who showed him a cluster of emotions just a few minutes before.
Emma scanned the crowd as she took a sip from her drink. The majority of people who were present were men in their 50s.
She also surveyed the women present but none of them stood out to her as someone who could know her aunt.
She knew very little about her aunt. But there was one thing she found in her grandfather's study which compelled her to go out of her way to look for this aunt of hers.
Emma's eyes flashed with pain as she recalled the contents of that finding.
Her emotional reverie was put on hold when a petite blonde wearing a bunny costume went up the stage.
As much as Emma dreaded having looked at this blonde girl, she didn't have much choice as she was standing right next to the stage and the girl was the MC.
Because of Max, she was scarred for life and would remember that hateful blonde girl from her engagement ball. She hated how many blondes she had to face today. Was it a requirement to be blonde if you wanted to work on the cruise?
Emma gritted her teeth and clenched the glass in her hand.
"Hello, Hello," The bunny blonde said in a cheering and high-pitched voice.
"My name is Ms. Bunny. You can call me however you like and I'm your host for the night." She said in a fake accentuated foreign accent.
Emma rubbed her ears as she tried to control her annoyance and irritation. Why do all blondes sound the same?
Emma wanted to retreat to the end of the hall so that the bunny girl's voice would not resonate in her mind.
"Well, well, Welcome to our extremely quiet, extremely mysterious silent auction. I hope the winners will walk out on their own tonight," She giggled as she said and hyped up the crowd.
"Thank you for your enthusiasm! I will go over the rules one by one. I'm sure most of you know by now but let me explain them in detail." The girl hopped down and started walking through the people.
After scanning the attendees, she went back and sat on the chair placed in the middle of the floor.
"Now, now, The auction will take place in two areas. One location is restricted for pass owners in Oana's Hall and the other is for their plus ones in Naelon Hall. Both auctions have things that are worth bidding for but the majority of ancient artifacts are auctioned off in Oana's Hall."
She stopped to take a long breath and cutely winked. Emma got goosebumps and felt nauseous at her behavior.
"The auction will take place for 3 days and at specific times. In Naelon Hall, you can bid normally by writing your name under the object you wish to purchase along with your bid before the timer goes out. You are allowed to use any means to ensure your name is the last one below that object." She showed her bunny teeth, got up, and twirled around.
"Now raise your hands for the true auction Whoooo," She screamed at the top of her lungs.
Some followed along and howled while others remained silent.
"The true auction in Oana's Hall will have three of the most precious and expensive items which are the King Edward's pipa brush whose market value is $380 million, Captain Klark Synis's "Map of Mongolia" valued at $429 million," She halted for a moment and said,
"And lastly, we have Emperor Kim Jung-Un's hand-crafted yellow dragon vase with two mouths and its market value is $998 million."
Emma was astonished at the list of items. These were the things that one couldn't buy even if they had money, yet they were getting sold at this auction. No wonder, they went through so much trouble to ensure the number of attendees.
But if the news of these artifacts getting auctioned off got out, it would no longer be a case of smuggling and selling illegal goods. Instead, it will be a case of breaching the National treasury regulations.
Emma knew this because she was interested in the "Map of Mongolia" which was painted by Captain Klark himself when he got lost in the ocean.
She learned then that it was declared the National Cultural Treasure and selling it was prohibited by the law. Hearing that it was present here raised Emma's artistic possessive nature.
However, she wasn't sure whether these items were legit or real. There could be a possibility that they were fakes.
Emma controlled her surging dopamine and assessed the situation at hand. She had two main goals for coming here tonight.
One was to get to know that lady who might know her aunt.
And the second one was to get a hold of that vase which could later be used as a bribe to know the whereabouts of her aunt.