''Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the most awaited section of tonight's event. You would want to hear this,'' the auctioneer's voice echoed through the quiet hall, his eyes sweeping through the dimly lit space. ''Up next is the virgin #27, the last item on sale for tonight.'' He paused, admiring the temporary hold he had on these powerful people that surrounded him, and cleared his throat before continuing, ''As we all know, the best is always saved for the last. What makes this one the best, you may be wondering. Now, let's—"
''Just get to the point, Reynold, will you?! We've not got all night to waste in this place,'' he was cut off by the sound of someone yelling from the crowd, making him adjust his posture.
"Aye, Aye," he began, "First of all, she fits the pre-ordered description many of you dropped before tonight. What do i mean? She's a redhead, soft hair you can yank back when you uh…'' he chuckled, and similar sounds accompanied his from around the hall. ''You know what i mean. She not only possesses beauty, the sexiest body, and an unscarred pair of long legs that could rival that of a first class model; but she's also unbranded at the moment. You can brand her however way you want after you get her into your possession.''
''Surely there is more, isn't there?'' a feminine voice asked, from the front row seats of the hall.
Reynolds nodded, his eyes sparkling in anusement.
''Apart from all I have said, she's also a fiery little bitch that whoever gets lucky enough to buy her would have fun taming. She has the accent of a high class lady gained from years of scamming people on the streets, so she can double as a handbag to public events. Last but not least, she's an orphan without friends, relatives, or guardians, so rest assured that no one would be coming to find or claim her from you.''
Lowering his voice for dramatic effects, he asked, ''Should I bring out the product so you can see by yourselves if she's worth the hype?''
''Do you still need to ask that?'' A drunken, masculine voice came from the rows nearing the back.
Reynolds shook his head, a smug smirk curling on his face as he turned to the dark curtains behind him.
''I present to you eighteen year old Genevieve Armani, fresh from our store,'' he announced.
~
On the other side of the curtains, Genevieve sucked in a puff of breath and wiped her sweaty palms against the skimpy red dress she was wearing.
''You have to do this, Eve,'' she murmured beneath her breath. ''For Mom, for Dad, and for Vince.''
With another deep inhale, she pulled the curtains aside and stepped out into the light. This was it. Her revenge started now. Whoever she ended up with at the end of tonight, she must make sure to make the best use of the resources she would be offered.
''What are you doing?''
The displeasure in the tone made Genevieve look up at the bald headed man, the host of today's auction, as his scathing voice filtered through her ears.
''Sir…?'' she said tentatively.
''Get over here, bitch! How do the VIP's see you from all over there?'' he hissed.
Blinking rapidly with the fear that curled at the base of her spine, Genevieve forced herself to remain on that spot. Not because she wanted to, but because it was part of the script. She had heard the auctioneer describe her as a stubborn bitch to the spectators earlier, so she had to act the part even though she didn't want to. She knew she did the right thing when he flashed her a somehow genuine smile before closing the distance between them and yanking her forward with her hair.
''Look at that,'' he laughed, ''Wouldn't it be fun to tame a girl like this? Bidding starts at two hundred thousand dollars…''
The words had barely left his lips when an excited voice yelled, ''Two hundred and ten thousand dollars.''
''Three hundred thousand dollars,'' another voice, this one much more authoritative than the first called.
''Four hundred,'' a feminine voice countered.
Several minutes later, the bid hadn't ended, with each increase causing the grin on Reynold's face to widen, to the extent that the corners of his lips were almost reaching his ears. On the other hand, Genevieve was now chanting a prayer within her mind for it to be over as soon as possible. She wasn't dumb.
This was the underworld. The more money a person has, the deeper his or her roots is in this place. And the deeper an individual is rooted in the underworld, the crueler and more dangerous they are. The amount of money these people were willing to spend on purchasing her reflected how much more they had in their possessions. And now that most of the starting bidders had dropped out, she knew she could only end up with the stinking rich one.
''Let me at least get someone good looking,'' she prayed, knowing within herself that a kind person was out of the question at this point.
''Stop dreaming, Pretty,'' Reynolds scoffed beside her, ''I knew I made a good decision when I decided to buy you for a meagre sum from that director.'' Lowering his voice into a whisper, he added, ''After we settle on a buyer for you, you'll be coming with me to have a good time in my office before your lucky owner whisks you away, alright?''
Genevieve met his greedy brown gaze with her own confused blue ones. ''Aren't you selling me as a virgin? If I… have a good time with you, won't that lower my sale value?''
''That's for you to worry about,'' Reynold replied, shrugging slightly to convey his indifference. ''I will extricate myself by saying you lied to me. They know there's no way I could have confirmed what you told me."
"But—"
"I've been in this business since I was in my thirties, and guess what? I have never once been tempted to claim a lady like I have been since you came, so I have our client's trust that I don't touch the goods..."
Suddenly, an icy cold voice pierced through the crowd silencing both Reynolds on the podium, the noisy bidders, and the murmuring audience, all at the same time.
''Ten million dollars.''
The silence stretched through the crowd, and no one dared to breathe. Not because they were shocked at the sudden hike in bidding price, but because each and every one of them knew who the owner of the voice was. Hell! Even if this man had lowered the bid back to a dollar, none of them would have dared to argue the price with him.
Adrian Viktor Visconti; underboss, second-in-command, and the psychotic only son of the notorious Don Roberto who led the Visconti Crime House. His reputation preceded his presence, making it such that even presidents of countries would never dare to cross him for fear of kissing the earth goodbye on the same day. The same man stepped out of the dim light onto the small flight of stairs that led up the podium, taking it one step at a time as he gradually revealed himself.
Genevieve took in as much of him as she could without drooling, her teeth digging into her lower lip. Raven black hair, perfectly symmetrical face, mysterious hazel eyes, and…
''Principessa?''
Genevieve blinked in shock, opening her mouth and closing them with no words forthcoming except, ''Uh?''
The ethereally handsome man in front of her didn't seem to mind though, as all he did was smirk mischievously and order, ''Close your eyes.''
Genevieve obeyed immediately. No questions asked. Not like she could find it in herself to form the words to create the question though; but her body instinctively reacted of their own accord to this man's words.
A second passed, followed by the thud sound of something… or someone, falling, prompting her eyelids to flutter open. And there, holding a gun that had an attached silencer, was Adrian. Genevieve followed the point of the muzzle to the body now lying on the ground. The body of the bald auctioneer.
''What…'' she gasped, the horror of the situation helping her find her voice. ''What did you do?''
''I killed him.''
"What?! Why?!"
"Uh... there's a lot I could say. But let's start with, he breathed the same air as the future Mrs Visconti."