Chapter 68
Valerie wasn’t one to hesitate. Once the rules were set, she moved immediately.
The pen’s tip landed first on a rough boulder, priced at 380 thousand dollars. It was a black- skinned piece of rough emerald. The kind miner half–jokingly called it the “immortal pit” stone. There was no telling what lay inside until it was cut.
Noah marked it with a quick stroke of his pen.
The second spin settled on another stone, this one at 400 thousand dollars. Its pale surface revealed nothing. It was another rough emerald from a well–known pit, impossible to judge
from the outside.
The third and final spin landed on a darker riverbed boulder priced at 350 thousand dollars, as
unremarkable as the others.
With the three chosen, Valerie stepped aside and let Noah and Jonah pick first.
Noah studied the stones briefly before settling on the black–skinned rough.
“They say stones from this mine are fine–grained and tight. I’ll take this one.” His tone was
light, almost careless. In truth, he expected nothing. None of Valerie’s picks showed even the
faintest hint of color.
Compared with the million–dollar stones already gleaming with emerald flesh, these were scrapes. Spending a few hundred thousand dollars on them was just for the thrill.
Meanwhile, Jonah chose the pale–surfaced rough. Like Noah, he didn’t take it seriously.
Initially, the stone that had caught his eye was the 650 thousand dollars tri–colored rough emerald, polished just enough to reveal rich red, green, and purple veins inside. It was a near-
certain treasure.
If today didn’t pan out, he could always return tomorrow and buy it for Charlie Gray, his grandfather.
That left the last piece for Valerie.
All three were decisive. They paid at once and handed the stones to the cutter.
While they waited, Noah leaned toward Valerie and asked, “So, is Kieran your boyfriend?”
Jonah, nearby, angled an ear to listen.
Valerie twirled her pen lazily. “He’s too flashy–not my type.”
Noah smirked. Flashy was exactly right. Kieran was the kind of peacock who thrived on chaos.
Chapter 68
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At that moment, the cutter suddenly cried out, “A rare, high–grade translucent golden emerald! Look at that color–it’s dazzling.”
Noah blinked, confused. He turned, and there it was. The stone he’d picked now shone with a translucent golden hue, bright as sunlight and alive with fire. It was dazzling, indeed.
By the time the cutting was finished, Noah was speechless. He’d expected nothing, yet his gamble had turned into a fortune. A 380–thousand–dollar stone had just multiplied in value hundreds of times over.
Jonah’s eyes flicked toward Valerie. Something about this wasn’t adding up. Could it really just be luck?
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