The Master Programmer-Chapter 161: Shadows in the Auction 3

All eyes turned to Isabella, who sat quietly, her face flushed as she fiddled with her glass. Her shy demeanour only added to her allure, and Jason felt a protective instinct kick in.

"Don’t bully her," he said, wrapping an arm around Isabella. "She’s a bit shy, but we had a great time today, didn’t we?"

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Isabella’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. "Jason," she mumbled, "you’re embarrassing me."

Jason kissed her forehead softly before turning to Veronica and Samantha, his tone gentle but firm. "I care about all of you. Let’s not play games or fight over this. Can we agree to just enjoy tonight? Anything else… and we’ll deal with it over time.

The women exchanged glances before nodding, their competitive edges softening. Samantha rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine," she said. "But only because you’re ridiculously good at diffusing tension."

Jason sighed. Why was Samantha so good at causing trouble? She was the tiniest out of them, but she was a real firecracker. And it was clear that she was doing it on purpose too.

Just as the room settled into a comfortable rhythm, the lights dimmed, and a hush fell over the venue. On stage, a woman in a sleek, figure-hugging dress appeared, her curves accentuated under the spotlight. Her full lips curled into a sultry smile as she spoke into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this month’s Millennium Auction," she purred her voice a siren call that commanded attention.

Well then. It had begun.

Jason leaned forward, his interest piqued. But as he glanced around the room, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something more was at play tonight. The tension in the air was palpable, and Jason knew he’d have to stay sharp. Especially after the message Troy sent him.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed James Carter in another private room, his expression dark and calculating as his eyes flitted towards their room every so often. Their eyes met briefly, and Jason’s smirk returned as he saw the man looking at Samantha who turned her head away.

Pfft! She’s mine, brother. You’re not getting her back anytime soon. You’re never getting her back.

Turning his eyes to Celine and then to Jack, who sat there, not even paying attention to the beautiful woman beside him, Jason narrowed his eyes. Before if he wanted to take her out of her arranged marriage then it was just for a mission, but now, he wanted to do it just to do it. He wanted to make sure she was happy.

Tonight would be a game of strategy, power, and seduction—and Jason Cross never lost.

As the first item was unveiled on stage, a rare artefact rumoured to hold secrets of immense value, Jason’s phone buzzed with a message. He glanced at the screen and froze.

"We need to talk. Room 3. Alone."

The sender’s name made his blood run cold: Jack Cross.

The auctioneer’s voice echoed through the room, but Jason barely heard it. His grip tightened on the phone as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Why now? Why here?

He slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned to the women, his expression unreadable. "Stay here," he said, his voice calm but firm. "I’ll be back."

Veronica’s brows knitted in concern. "Jason, is everything okay?"

Jason forced his way out, saying nothing as he left. The three women stared at his back for a long time. And then after he left Samantha turned to the women. Well, this was an opportunity for her.

"So Isabella... let’s get to know each other, why don’t we?"

Meanwhile, Jason headed over to Room 3 Where he found Jack Cross sitting with his aunt. Both turned their heads to him when he entered. This was the side room. It seemed the man James Carter was in another room. Funny.

Jason turned his attention to them, and then he smirked. "Good evening, Martha. How are you today?"

Martha frowned her expression bordering on disgust. "Jason. Where’s the respect?! I am your aunt. Or what? Did your father not teach you about that? Never mind... You did something to my son. To my Tim. You hurt him. Tell me what you did, and I might let you off!!"

Jason stared at this woman who looked like she was going crazy with fury, and he chuckled. So, she had no clue what really happened. Perfect. The only woman who might know... was Emily. Jason had better keep that under wraps.

"Martha. What do you want?"

Jack stepped forward at that moment his hands up in mock surrender as if trying to hold both sides back from the fight they were not about to have. "Now, now… Please calm yourselves." Turning to Jason the man continued speaking. "My aunt just wanted an explanation. You were the last person to talk to Tim… She wanted to know what you know. Or if you know anything."

Jason stared at this man, his expression utterly stupefied. "Why would you think I know something? I think you just want to drive me to the floor. I get that you hate me but for you to want to frame me, to give yourselves an excuse to make my life more difficult than it already was..."

Martha began laughing at that moment. "What?! How dare you. You’re still holding some resentment over how the will of your parents went, didn’t you? This was the reason we kicked you out. Because you were ruining the reputation of the Cross Family. And now you are not willing to tell us what you and Tim talked about when you met is the same again. Tell us and we will let you go."

Jason chuckled, shaking his head. "Tell you? I wanted to meet up with Tim, but he never showed up. Typical bastard. Never liked me. And he even wanted to fuck my woman. I wanted to tell him to back off so he doesn’t embarrass that Cross Family name you guys speak so highly of. I guess my actions went unneeded?"

Jack stepped in at that moment. "Never met up? I mean... there are many ways to confirm that. If we check your phone records we could see it all. What do you say?"

Jason turned to Jack who was incriminating him. "What do you think I would say to something like that? Giving you all the locations I have been at for the past few months just like that? Would that not ruin everything I am working on?"

Jack chuckled. "I understand. You’re a very private person. Very sentimental. Which is why It doesn’t make any sense. So, you are saying that Tim Cross comes back into your life, messing things up for your… woman, the same one he wanted to fuck as you said, and you just let him go?"

Seeing Jason look at him, his expression unreadable, Jack continued his demeanour calm. "Oh, come on Jason… They told me about you, you know… How vindictive you are. How violent you can get. You would never let something like this go. You would set up a meeting... and then you would terrorise him. And then you would leave afterwards knowing that he was going to go crazy, and this was going to hurt him, and the people behind him, the people you also want to hurt very much."

Jason narrowed his eyes turning his eyes to Jack. "Understand that you’re the new golden boy, but you had better please shut the fuck up. Don’t land any accusations you can’t stand for or make any speculations you can’t hold up."

"Jason!!" said Martha as Jack began laughing out loud after hearing Jason’s partial threat.

Jason merely smirked in interest. What the hell were these people even saying? One was accusing him with intent to make him angry, another was just trying to suppress him. They worked well together, trying to rile him up. But it was clear to Jason that there was more to this than met the eyes.

"Jason, look, I get that we’re all emotionally charged… The Cross Family would like to meet you. To talk. Nothing more. Pay a visit to the mansion with us tonight. The Uncles just want to see you."

"And if I say ’No’ to that?" Jason said with a cutting smirk. Jack then also smirked, his darker, as if moulded by the shadows.

"I don’t think you want to say no to that… Even if you say no… You will say yes."

Jason narrowed his eyes. His gut feeling was on point yet again. Something was going down tonight. Jason chuckled.

"We’ll see."