Chapter 145

Milana could barely keep herself from snapping at Lydia. The nerve of this girl, saying a pair of antlers worth a hundred thousand was only worth two thousand. That was ridiculous. Milana was determined to see Lydia embarrass herself.
“Alright then,” Milana said, her voice sharp. “If these antlers turn out to be worth more than two thousand, I want you to kneel down and apologize. Then you’ll slap yourself fifty times.” Just imagining Lydia’s face all red and swollen gave her a thrill. Mrs. Smith’s patience snapped. “Enough! Take your things and leave, both of you.”
Milana shot her a smug look. “Mom, Lydia’s the one making a scene. She’s calling these expensive antlers cheap. Isn’t that just throwing away all our effort to show you respect?”
She honestly thought Mrs. Smith was just siding with Lydia so the girl wouldn’t end up humiliating herself.
“Mom, maybe we shouldn’t do this,” Sandy said gently, tugging at Milana’s sleeve. “If we keep fighting, Grandma’s going to be upset.”
Sandy tried her best to smooth things over. She’d only paid five thousand for the antlers, but she’d told her parents she’d spent a hundred thousand on the black market to make herself look good.
Milana was having none of it. “We have to do this. I want to see how she’s going to prove the price of these antlers.” She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. Lydia barely knew anything.
“Fine,” Lydia said. “Just don’t go back on your word if you lose.”
Milana snorted. “I won’t. And I hope you won’t too.”
Lydia just smiled and picked up one of the antlers. “This is a pretty normal antler. It’s rough, big, nothing special. Golden antlers, though, are supposed to be perfectly shaped, smooth, smaller, and way more valuable. Plus, regular antlers are dull and don’t shine, but golden ones have this bright color and glossy look. They’re like pieces of art.”
Milana scoffed, crossing her arms. “Please. Like you’ve ever seen a real golden antler.”
Without another word, Lydia unzipped her backpack and pulled out a small, fancy box. She opened it right there for everyone to see.
Inside was a pair of small antlers, so clear and shiny they seemed to glow.
“These are the real golden antlers,” Lydia said quietly.
Sandy froze. She stared at the
antlers in Lydia’s hands, her mind racing low was this possible? They looked exactly like the pair
seen at the black market. Even the
box was the same.
Was Lydia really the one who’d bought them for sixty million that night? But that didn’t make sense. Lydia was supposed to be broke Where would she get that kind of money? unless some rich guy bought them for her?
Milana’s face twisted with disbelief. “How do you know yours are real golden deer antlers?” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ.net
Lydia didn’t hesitate. “There’s a Black Market Number Seven seal and a certificate
in the box. I even have the payment record.”
Sandy felt like the ground had disappeared beneath her feet. She’d never imagined Lydia was the mystery buyer from that night.
Milana could tell just by looking that the antlers Lydia had were the rear deal, but she wasn’t about to admit it. So what? That doesn’t mean ours aren’t good.”
Lydia just smiled. “You can check the quality of yours online.” She snapped a quick photo with her phone and ran a search.
Within seconds, the internet was full of pictures of antlers exactly like Sandy’s, some going for as little as seven or eight hundred dollars each.