I Dropped The Bidder To Keep My Empire Chapter 01
The gavel fell at Harbor Heights’ Rosewood Auction House.
My late mother’s emerald-and-pearl tiara had just been pushed to a billion dollars.
Bidding against me were my fiancé, Derek Channing, and the three family friends who’d sworn to protect me since childhood.
I stared at the tiara on the stage. It was the only proof of my legitimate bloodline to the Vance family.
Derek had his arm wrapped around Ashley Ashworth’s waist as he raised his paddle in front of everyone. “Ashley said her dress looks too plain tonight. She needs an accessory. One point one billion.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd. They were mocking me—the real daughter who’d just been brought back, who couldn’t even hold onto her own mother’s last belonging.
“Sierra, stop fighting. You can’t beat Ashley.”
The three of them took turns sneering at me from their seats.
The whole room was watching my humiliation. But my father, Harrison Vance, went dark.
They didn’t know the Vance family was watching this evaluation.
If I touched my trust fund for this tiara, or got on my knees and begged Derek for money, I’d lose the Vance Group inheritance forever.
I looked at the four men throwing money around for Ashley Ashworth.
Then I put down my bidding paddle.
***
That tiara represented the Vance family matriarch.
I’d grown up outside this world for twenty-two years. The Vances only brought me back three years ago.
Tonight was my first time formally representing the family at a charity auction. My grandfather had told me I had to bring back my mother’s heirloom.
Derek knew what that tiara meant to me.
But he still raised his paddle. His eyes never landed on me for a single second.
The auction hall was blindingly bright.
I sat where the bidders were and watched Derek take the tiara from the hostess. Watched him place it on Ashley’s head with his own hands. My nails dug into my palms until they hurt.
Cameras flashed like crazy around us.
The whispers drilled into my ears:
“Derek is making it clear he’s backing his future wife. Even if she’s the fake heiress, if he wants her, she’s the real queen.”
“That poor Vance daughter. She came back thinking she had the title, and now she’s lost both her man and her mother’s legacy.”
Derek tucked a strand of hair behind Ashley’s ear. His eyes were full of patience and tenderness.
I’d known him for three years. I’d only ever seen his cold, restrained side. Never this.
In his eyes, I was a calculating social climber who’d schemed her way into a wealthy family. My sadness, my tears—they were just bargaining chips.
Sloane Ashworth walked up to me with a glass of champagne.
She was my aunt. A flock of socialites trailed behind her.
“Sierra, since Derek doesn’t care about you anyway, why are you just sitting here?”
“Look. Some people need to accept their fate. A barn chicken doesn’t turn into a swan just because she sticks on some feathers.”
“Ashley grew up in this family. She’s the lucky one. You came back trying to push her out, and even God got sick of watching. That’s why He sent Derek running back to her.”
Every single word Sloane said landed like a punch to my dignity. My hand trembled around my wine glass.
Before the auction started, Derek had promised me in the lounge.
He said he’d win the tiara for me. A third engagement anniversary gift.
I bought every word of it.
I’d even turned down joint venture offers from other families to back him up.
But one minute before the tiara came on stage, Ashley cried in his ear.
And Derek changed his mind.
Not only did he not help me—he became the sharpest weapon in Ashley’s hand.
He knew about the Vance family evaluation.
If I lost my composure tonight, or failed to produce the heirloom, the Vance Group inheritance would shift toward Ashley.
He wasn’t clueless. He just thought I was strong enough not to need those shares.
And Ashley was fragile. She needed that tiara to secure her spot.