Chapter 173

It was only after she had her fill of being the star of attention did Erica come to a sudden realization.

Fifteen million dollars.

The amount struck her dumb. The terrible truth that she didn’t have sufficient funds to cover such a

staggering price dawned on her like an awful tidal wave.

Horrified, Erica hurriedly turned to look at Asher for a solution.

A dark storm raged in Asher’s face. He was so furious at her that he couldn’t utter a single word.

“A-Asher, I…”

In a fit of nervousness, she grabbed his sleeve. To her chagrin, he shook her hand off and shoved her

away in anger.

“You absolute moron!” Asher howled, livid.

He couldn’t care less about his image anymore; at least, not under these circumstances. The Harrison

Group had just survived a crisis, but his wife was insane enough to purchase a stupid music box for the

astronomical price of fifteen million dollars!

“You bid for it yourself, so find the money to pay by yourself. I won’t clean up after your mess.”

So saying, Asher spun on his heels and left the place in a huff. Erica was left standing dumbly, all alone

and at a complete loss.

What should she do? What could she do?! How was she supposed to solve this problem? She couldn’t

think of anything!

Desolate, she slumped into the chair with her back drenched in cold sweat. Her head was spinning

from the pressure.

Right now, Eliana was no longer in her thoughts. She didn’t have the leisure to consider anything about

Eliana! All she wanted was to escape this terrifying hell as soon as she could.

With this in mind, Erica steeled herself and maintained her calm front. She carefully stood up from her

seat and attempted to sneak away while everyone was busy focusing on the auction, trying to be as

inconspicuous as possible.

Unfortunately, the auction staff weren’t as easy to fool as the audience. After they saw that Asher had

left before the auction’s end, they kept strict watch on Erica and observed her every movement in

silence.

“Pardon me, Mrs. Harrison. Where are you going?” The person in charge stepped forward and

immediately blocked her way right as Erica reached the door.

“This place is… Well, it feels a bit too depressing. So, I… I thought I’d go out for a quick stroll to get

some air,” Erica stammered, barely keeping her voice from shaking.

“I see. However, Mr. Harrison has just left. Are you going back on your bid?” the man asked, his face

disdainful. There was a hint of scorn in his gaze as he looked at the trembling Erica.

His accusation was a great blow to the proud Erica’s self-esteem. Refusing to back down, she gritted

her teeth and barked, “What a laugh! Who said I am?! It’s just a bit of money! I’ll sign the check myself,

alright?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Harrison, but I’m afraid you can’t sign the check.”

“H-Huh? Why not?” Erica stared at him in confusion, her jaw hanging.

“The Harrison Group was on the verge of bankruptcy quite recently. Although it has evaded the crisis,

its credit in the banks hasn’t been restored yet. Thus, all the checks under the Harrison Group name

could not be cashed,” the person in charge explained patiently.

“Oh dear! My, my, what should I do? Perhaps I can go back and have my husband to pay in my stead?”

Erica held fast to her pride, adamant on denying the deal.

“It doesn’t matter. We also accept payment with a credit card.”

The person in charge stretched out his hand with a sly smile, much like a shrewd fox.

The commotion caused by Erica soon attracted the attention of several auction participants. Now, many

people had their eyes on her.

At this point, Erica couldn’t hold in the shame filling her. She was completely embarrassed.

Left with no choice, she was forced to take out a credit card from her bag and hand it to the man with

great reluctance. The act itself, despite simple, was infinitely painful.

The person in charge then brought over a POS machine from his subordinate and quickly swiped the

credit card before Erica’s eyes.

Beep! Erica watched in dismay as the payment failed.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Harrison, but the balance in your account is not enough.”

“R-Really? Dear me…”

Red-faced with growing embarrassment, Erica fumbled with her bag and hurriedly took out another

card to give it to the man.

Very soon, another beep came through.

“Apologies, but this card is frozen.”

“T-That can’t be! Swipe it again!”

Erica’s eyes went as wide as saucers. She was thoroughly mortified.

“Mrs. Harrison. Can you pay the bill or not?” After so many failed transactions, the person in charge

had gradually lost his patience.

Despite being the wife of Harrison Group’s CEO, Erica couldn’t even afford to pay the bill for her bid.

The rich ladies within the audience threw her scornful looks, their lips curled into disdainful sneers.

Their stares were akin to painful daggers stabbing into Erica’s flesh. At this moment, Erica wished for

nothing more than to dig a hole and bury herself in it.

The auctioneer took the opportunity to give Erica a timely reminder. “Mrs. Harrison. Since you can’t

afford it, why don’t you ask that gentleman for help? Didn’t he initially want to buy this music box? If you

can make up the difference in prices, he might buy it in your stead.”

Having said that, he turned to look in Theo’s direction.

Erica was instantly enlightened. Yes, that was it! Didn’t the man want it just now? As long as she

asked, he’d definitely buy it with no questions.

Eric was confident in her assumption, and her embarrassment vanished. Then she walked smugly

towards Theo.

“Sir, I’m more than willing to give up this music box for you. What do you think?”

“Forgive me, but I have to ask my boss about it.”

Theo then rose to his seat, and then made his way to where Maurice and Eliana were.

Erica was stunned by the revelation. To think he actually worked for Maurice, of all people!

She stared dumbly at the calm Maurice, eyes twitching with disbelief.

Had he already known that this would happen?

Realization dawned on her. She had been taken for a fool! Seething with rage, she screamed at the top

of her lungs, “You…! You fooled me!”

“So what?”

Maurice cocked his head to look at Eliana who looked stunned too. He drawled lazily, “Just like how it

was with the pink diamonds, I’ll leave it to you to decide whether to buy the music box or not.”

His words startled Eliana. She began to ponder: would she buy the music box to help Erica?

Her answer was easy enough.

Of course not!