A few days later, Sunday reported that the Yellowstone base had been completely cleared and was ready for use at any time. However, there was one issue that William needed to decide on personally.
When William saw the video Sunday had sent him, he felt a headache coming on. The person shown in the video was Tilde, secretly imprisoned by Valentine in the Yellowstone base.
Tilde, the eldest daughter of Andrew, Charles' brother, was nothing short of a troublemaker, and in fact, her entire family was problematic. Her father didn't have a great reputation, but Tilde's attitude wasn't too bad. She seemed to have a knack for staying calm, and despite being locked up for nearly 20 days, she showed no signs of breaking down or losing her sanity.
Valentine likely had some plans for Tilde as well, so aside from not allowing her to communicate with the outside world, he fulfilled all her other requests. Tilde spent her days reading magazines, watching sports and TV shows, doing beauty treatments, and exercising. Her life, surprisingly, seemed rather pleasant.
Watching the video of Tilde doing a workout routine, William thought for a moment and pulled out his phone to call Wilson. As soon as the call connected, William asked directly, "Is your uncle still looking for his daughter?"
"Of course," Wilson replied quickly upon hearing the question. "Do you know where Tilde is? Was it Valentine?"
"How did you know?" William asked, surprised. "Have you suspected Valentine all along? If so, why did you let him return to the U.S.?"
"Damn it, I knew it was that lunatic Valentine who kidnapped Tilde. If it hadn't been for that bastard James vouching for Valentine, and the fact that Tilde left with her bodyguards, we would have found an excuse to detain him long ago. God, it's such a relief to hear you found her," Wilson sighed, then continued complaining, "You have no idea—my uncle's been going crazy these past few days. If he's not making calls trying to pull strings, he's aimlessly searching with his men. At night, after drinking, he forces my grandfather and father to keep calling people for help. They've already made the rounds twice, and just the private investigators alone have cost us £3 million, not to mention all the favors we owe."
"Haha, now I know—even the worst people have love for their kids," William chuckled. "She's at my place. But there's one condition: while I found Tilde, I don't want to deal with your uncle. Got it?"
"My uncle's actually a good guy."
"Stop, that has nothing to do with me. I don't want to get too close to your uncle and end up dragged into his mess. Some things can't be washed off even after a lifetime," William shrugged. "Make sure you bring a large enough car so the paparazzi don't spot Tilde at my house."
"Okay, I'll handle it. See you soon."
After hanging up, William went down to his basement, opened a portal to the Yellowstone base, and carried the unconscious Tilde, who had been knocked out by Sunday, back to his London estate, placing her on a couch.
Within minutes, Wilson arrived at the estate. Seeing Tilde sprawled unceremoniously on the sofa, Wilson shot William a look. "Couldn't you be more polite? She's a princess, you know."
"She's your princess, not mine," William said as he walked to the liquor cabinet. "What'll you have?"
"No thanks, I'd better take Tilde back first before the family worries," Wilson replied. He wrapped Tilde in a blanket, scooped her up, and headed for the door. Just before leaving, he turned to William and said, "I heard there's a Christie's auction tonight featuring antiques from the Celestial Empire. Interested?"
"A Celestial Empire auction?" William's interest piqued immediately. "Sounds like they've got something good?"
"Yeah," Wilson nodded. "I've heard there are three bronze animal heads up for auction. My advisor says people from the Celestial Empire hold these in high regard, and some are protesting the auction."
Hearing this, William immediately understood what they were: the bronze zodiac heads. The rat, ox, and tiger heads were likely the ones going up for auction this year. But hadn't these three pieces already been set for auction in Hong Kong?
Before William could ask, Wilson explained, "These items were supposed to be auctioned back in April, but the owner managed to resolve a bank loan issue at the time, so the auction was postponed. Now that the financial situation seems to be unstable again, they're back on the block."
"Perfect, it's better when things go wrong," William said with a sly smile. "I'll see you at the auction tonight."
Wilson hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. "See you tonight."
He was actually reluctant to go, knowing there would likely be protests outside the auction. Attending might not be a good look for him. But then he reconsidered, figuring that with William there, he could just watch and not bid, avoiding any trouble.
If things got messy, Wilson planned to pin the blame on William.
At 7 p.m., after dinner, Lena grew concerned when she heard William was going to the auction, and she insisted that Antonov's four-man team accompany him.
William, who was used to going out alone, initially wanted to refuse. But when the towering Ivan, who stood over two meters tall and was built like a bear, walked in, William changed his mind.
Given that there would be a lot of people at the event, and he couldn't always show up alone in public, it was better to have protection in case some minor thugs got the wrong idea about him.
So William nodded and then turned to his mother and the eager Abigail. "Mom, would you like to come with me to the auction?"
"No, after a busy day, I'm not interested in any auctions. But if you see any nice jewelry, buy it for me," Lena said, then added with a smile toward Abigail, "And pick something up for Abby as well."
"Let's go, Abby. Let's check out the new shipment of Latour wine."
"Okay, Mrs. Lena," Abigail replied, casting a resentful glance at William. Seeing him only smile without saying anything, she glared at him before mouthing, "You're sleeping alone tonight."
William shrugged. After Lena and Abigail left, he got up and, with the four members of Antonov's team, headed to the garage.
He let the team drive ahead in a large Mercedes SUV, and a few minutes later, William sped out of the estate's back gate in an Aston Martin DB9. Before the paparazzi could react, he accelerated and left them behind, arriving at the auction venue.
As soon as his car stopped, the four men from Antonov's team surrounded him, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
After about ten seconds of observation to ensure everything was safe, Antonov opened the car door for William.
The moment he stepped out, William saw dozens of young people standing in two neat rows outside the venue, holding signs with protest slogans, loudly chanting against the buying and selling of cultural relics.
William smirked. Shouting slogans wouldn't change anything. Tossing his car keys to a valet, he walked up the red carpet.
As William made his way up, the journalists and onlookers around the venue gasped in surprise. "It's William Devonshire! God, what's he doing here?"
"Are you an idiot?" one of the nearby reporters scoffed. "Haven't you heard the rumors?"
"What rumors?"
"God, you're a rookie. There's been talk in our circles for a while now that William Devonshire bought over ten thousand antiques from the Celestial Empire, worth over a billion dollars.
The pieces are supposedly stored in the vaults of the Bank of England. They say there are so many that the entire first floor of the vault is nearly full, and the bank had to clear out a second floor just for him."
"Stop talking, William Devonshire's coming this way!"
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