Five Million

"Going once, going twice, sold to Mr. Montgomery!"

Amelia slumped in her seat, defeated. She had never even seen so much money before. If she worked at her old part-time jobs for the rest of her life, she would've never even earned five million even if she worked until the day she died. She could have sold every organ in her body and not made that sum of money. 

Yet, Matteo Montgomery didn't even bat an eyelid when he bought that flute― the very same one she sold for a mere fraction of the price. Amelia didn't know whether she should laugh or cry at the incredulity of events.

The rest of the auction moved on without the same fanfare, closing with the auctioneer noting that the proceeds would all be donated to charity after deducting the costs.

Amelia followed Matteo down the hallway to collect their new purchase, her footsteps sluggish as though she had been through a war. She had, after all, experienced some insane mental gymnastics.

"Thank you for your donation, as usual, Mr. Montgomery." The auctioneer had a face full of smiles as he handed Matteo the box holding the flute. He took one look at Amelia, who stood listlessly beside Matteo. "And who is this lovely lady that's accompanying you?"

Matteo didn't respond to his question. He simply nodded before taking the box, holding it out to Amelia immediately.

Amelia blinked and took it. After all, she was his secretary. Holding onto his things wasn't too out of the norm of her list of duties. 

"We'll be leaving now," he said, disregarding the auctioneer's questions. 

As someone who has been in the field for a long time, the auctioneer said nothing as well. He had seen his fair share of rich men with beautiful women on their arms― women who usually would not show up for a second time.

Amelia's hands were shaky as she held onto the box. She had sold it back then without this wooden box, but now with it, it seemed a thousand times more important of an object than she remembered. Unable to hold her curiosity, her fingers traced the engravings on the wood.

Noting her actions, Matteo nodded towards the box. "Open it," he said.

"Can I?" she asked. 

Matteo thought that her eyes were filled with stars at the moment, and when she gazed upon him as though he was the one who hung the moon and stars in her night sky, he felt his heart lurch.

He said nothing and simply nodded, to which Amelia eagerly wasted no time. She unclasped the box and opened it. However, the sight caused her to nearly drop the box. Her fingers were trembling, suddenly losing their strength as she gaped at the box's contents.

Or rather, the lack of it.

"Is there something wrong?" The auctioneer took a step closer, craning his neck in curiosity when he noted how the lady's face had blanched white.

"The flute…" Amelia said, "It's missing."

That quickly caught the auctioneer and Matteo's attention. They hurried over and peered into the box, and true enough, where the flute should've been, there was nothing but an empty dent in the silk that lined the inside of the casing.

"T-This―!" Now it was the auctioneer's turn to turn as pale as a sheet of paper. He looked over at Matteo, whose face was quickly turning as dark as charcoal. Thunderstorms seemed to flash in those irises of his, and the auctioneer briefly saw the end of his career.

Five million! They just sold an empty box to Matteo Montgomery for five million! Even if he had to fork out his life, along with the lives of every single staff member present today at the charity auction, they had to find the flute.

"We will amend this at once, Mr. Montgomery!" the auctioneer quickly said before Matteo could say anything. He bowed deeply, creating a ninety-degree angle. "Please, give us a moment to check!"

"Make it quick," Matteo snapped. He took the box from Amelia's trembling hands before all but shoving it back into the auctioneer's grasp. "I want an explanation for this within the next three hours."

"Three hours?" the auctioneer squeaked. This was it. He might as well sign his death warrant right now. He had no clue where the flute might be, much less be able to accurately locate it within three hours. 

"If I don't see the flute by the end of the charity gala, I will be involving the police," Matteo warned. Without another word, Matteo reached down and grabbed Amelia's hand, gently tugging her behind him, leaving the auctioneer wordlessly gaping in their wake.

His plans had been ruined. Matteo had wanted to head home early so that he could show Amelia the new gift he prepared for her, but now that the flute was missing, he needed to focus on it before he could present her with anything else. Now, he was forced to stay until the end of the gala, socializing with a bunch of two-faced social climbers.

Just the thought of it caused his expression to darken further.

Amelia, on the other hand, was a bunch of nerves. She wasn't sure if she even had the right to be panicked about the flute― it wasn't hers exactly, but rather, something Matteo had just purchased for five million dollars. But it was also something she badly wanted to see more than any other material object.

She couldn't ignore the frown that hung on Matteo's face either― surely he wasn't too pleased about losing an item worth that much money. Amelia was about to offer him some words of comfort when two familiar faces stopped in front of them. 

"Congratulations on the successful bid, Mr. Montgomery," Caleb said, reaching his hand out for Matteo to shake. 

Matteo, however, didn't even bother stopping for them. When Amelia's step faltered, he lightly squeezed her hand to encourage her to follow. Her eyes remained glued onto Caleb's hand. His expression quickly turned sour.

Right as they were about to pass them completely, a loud rip tore through the hall, followed by Kelsie Friescent's gasp of horror.

"My dress!"