Chapter 2 Auction Event
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. The auction will begin shortly. Please enjoy this evening's dinner."
A woman's voice echoed through the speakers, blending with the soft strains of classical music drifting through the lavish hall.
Crystal glasses clinked as elegantly dressed guests chatted and laughed, as though they were attending an exclusive gala instead of an auction where human lives were being sold.
"Has Number Seven regained consciousness yet?"
"Not yet. The sedative should wear off any minute."
"Good. I want to see her reaction."
On the stage, Lena's fingers twitched.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
"My head..."
She pressed a trembling hand against her throbbing temple.
Her vision remained blurred for several seconds before the room slowly came into focus.
The first thing she saw was dozens of strangers staring at her.
Her pulse spiked.
"Where... am I?"
No one answered.
She instinctively stepped backward.
Thud.
Her back struck something solid.
She spun around.
Glass.
She pressed a hand against it.
Cold.
Thick.
She turned to the other side. There is glass on the right and left sides
She was trapped inside a transparent box.
"No..."
Panic surged through her.
She slammed both palms against the glass with all her strength.
It didn't move.
"Help!"
"Someone, please!"
"Let me out!"
Bang!
Bang!
Her desperate blows echoed through the hall, but the glass barely made a sound.
Several guests smiled.
"She's starting to panic," a blonde woman said with an amused laugh.
"Good. Fear always drives the price higher," the woman beside her replied calmly.
Lena stared at them, breathing hard.
Then she looked down.
Her face drained of color.
Her office dress was gone.
Instead, she wore a crimson gown that clung to every curve of her body. Her bare shoulders and low neckline made her instinctively cover herself with both arms.
"No..."
Her voice trembled.
"Who changed my clothes?"
Tears blurred her vision.
A masked woman smiled.
"It suits you."
"Of course," the host added casually. "She'll sell for a fortune."
The words struck harder than any slap.
"I'm not an object!" Lena shouted. "I'm a human being!"
No one reacted.
Across the stage, more glass enclosures caught her attention.
Inside one, a woman with long black hair sobbed as she pounded helplessly against the glass.
"Please... I have a child..."
Another box held a young girl curled into a corner, hugging her knees.
"Dad..."
"Please come get me..."
Lena's chest tightened.
Every one of them was a victim.
"Oh God..."
Her knees nearly gave out.
The words she had heard before losing consciousness echoed through her mind.
"Send her to the auction tonight."
It hadn't been a nightmare.
She really had been brought to an auction.
Gathering the last of her strength, Lena struck the glass again.
"Help!"
"I've been kidnapped!"
"Please, somebody help me!"
This time, a guard approached.
A flicker of hope lit her eyes.
"Sir, please..."
"Let me go."
"I don't know what's happening. I just want to go home."
The guard looked at her without a trace of emotion.
"Take your hands off the glass."
"What?"
"I won't repeat myself."
His voice turned icy.
"Take your hands off the glass."
Lena shook her head.
"I won't."
The guard sighed, reached into his pocket, and pressed a small button.
An instant later, electricity surged across the glass.
"Ahhh!"
Pain exploded through her body.
She was thrown backward, collapsing onto the floor.
Both hands trembled uncontrollably as the lingering shock coursed through her muscles.
The guests watched in silence.
"Much better."
"She'll behave now."
The lights gradually dimmed.
The music faded.
Every eye in the room shifted toward the stage.
For the first time that night, Lena truly understood.
She wasn't a guest.
She was the next lot to be sold.
Silence settled over the hall.
The spotlight remained fixed on the glass enclosure, leaving Lena exposed beneath its harsh glow.
She was still on her knees, struggling to steady her breathing. Her palms tingled from the electric shock.
"Get up."
The guard's cold voice echoed through the speakers.
Lena slowly lifted her head.
"I... don't want to."
"Stand up."
"Please..." Tears streamed down her face. "I'm not something you can sell."
No one showed the slightest sympathy.
The guards stood motionless.
Realizing she had no choice, Lena forced herself to her feet. Her legs trembled, but she refused to bow her head.
A moment later, a middle-aged man in a black tuxedo stepped onto the stage.
His smile was polished.
His eyes were not.
He bowed politely to the audience.
"Good evening, distinguished guests."
"I'm sure you've all been looking forward to tonight's collection."
Soft applause rippled across the hall.
A guest lifted his wine glass.
"Don't keep us waiting."
The auctioneer smiled.
"Of course."
He tapped the tablet in his hand.
"Our first lot of the evening."
"Lot Number Seven."
The spotlight narrowed onto Lena.
She instinctively stepped back until her shoulders touched the glass.
The auctioneer glanced at the screen.
"Lena Hart. Twenty-four years old. A professional translator fluent in English, French, and German."
He continued in the same detached tone.
"No criminal record. No surviving immediate family."
Every word drained more color from Lena's face.
"Please..."
She pressed both hands against the glass.
"Please... don't do this."
"I beg you..."
No one listened.
A masked woman smiled.
"She's even prettier when she cries."
The man beside her nodded.
"I agree."
The auctioneer went on.
"Lot Number Seven is in excellent physical condition."
"Highly educated."
"All medical screenings have been completed."
Guests flipped through their catalogs while others activated their electronic bidding devices.
Lena's heartbeat pounded in her ears.
They...
Were really going to buy her.
"No!"
She struck the glass again.
"Please! I'm a human being!"
Her sobs were drowned out by quiet conversations.
"I'm interested."
"She's beautiful."
"She won't come cheap."
The auctioneer raised his wooden gavel.
"In that case..."
"Let's begin the bidding."
Lena froze.
"No... please..."
"The opening bid is-"
"I'll take her."
The deep voice cut through the hall before the auctioneer could finish.
Every head turned toward the second-floor balcony.
The auctioneer swallowed.
Even the whispers disappeared.
Slowly, Lena looked up.
A tall man stood in the shadows, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit.
His face remained hidden, but his presence alone silenced the room.
The auctioneer immediately lowered his head.
"Sir... are you certain you want Lot Number Seven?"
The man said nothing at first.
He stepped forward until the light caught part of his face.
His eyes settled on Lena.
Calm.
Cold.
Impossible to read.
Unlike the greedy eyes that had been watching her all night.
Lena couldn't look away.
The guests began whispering among themselves.
"Is that really him?"
"He hasn't attended an auction in years."
"If he's chosen her..."
"No one else has a chance."
The man finally spoke.
"I don't like repeating myself."
He looked directly at Lena.
"Number Seven."
"I'll take her."
No one dared object.
The auctioneer nodded at once.
"With pleasure, sir."
The gavel struck the podium.
Thud.
"Sold."
"Lot Number Seven is sold."
Lena's world seemed to stop. From that moment on...
Her life belonged to a complete stranger.
