The staff brought over a bunch of chairs so the guests could sit comfortably.
Then the standard charity auction began, with items being presented one by one.
Roy had originally planned to casually bid on one or two cheap items just to show support, but the guests were surprisingly enthusiastic, constantly raising the bids. He quickly gave up on the idea.
Spending a fortune on useless stuff? Unless he'd had his brain slammed in a door, no thanks.
As each item was auctioned off, they finally reached the grand finale.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our final item tonight is a very famous artifact in history. It has had countless owners, and legend has it that if you can unlock it, your every wish will come true! Presenting—the Box of Sorrow!"
The auctioneer did his best to create a mysterious atmosphere before revealing the item.
Roy had just been about to yawn, but the name snapped him awake.
What the heck?
He looked up at the item and saw a square box with strange patterns carved into it.
It really was the Box of Sorrow from Hellraiser!
(Note: This version uses the rebooted lore.)
Hellraiser was a famous horror film, with the iconic Cenobite designs earning it cult status—right up there with Jason and Freddy.
Roy had seen several of the movies, but none of them took place on a luxury cruise ship… Had it been mashed up with another movie?
As he pondered this, Serena spoke up.
"That's weird. Why would Dad auction off that thing?"
Her words caught Roy's attention. Serena seemed to know something, so he asked her directly.
"You know what that is?"
Serena nodded.
"Of course. I've even seen it at home before! It originally belonged to Roland Gordon, that big-shot occultist in California. One day he just vanished. After that, the Gordon family started fighting over his estate, and somehow this ended up in my dad's hands. They say it's seriously cursed. Almost every owner has mysteriously disappeared!"
That did sound cursed. Roy also noticed that several guests seemed intrigued. There are always people drawn to dangerous or taboo collectibles.
But Serena's story triggered something in Roy's memory. He'd heard Roland Gordon's name before—from Sultana, during the Mirror Ghost incident. And later, in that bizarre midnight talk show with demonic elements.
Putting it together, Roy suspected this was a rebooted version of Hellraiser's universe.
In the reboot, Roland Gordon was actually still alive. He had successfully solved the Box of Sorrow and made a wish to the Cenobites. Like everyone who made deals with demons, he got the opposite of what he wanted.
He'd wished for eternal pleasure.
The Cenobites, who equated pleasure with pain, implanted a strange metal device in his body that kept him alive while causing endless agony.
Who could endure that?
So, in the movie, Roland had set up an elaborate plan to sacrifice six people in order to convince the Cenobites to remove the device.
That was the movie plot.
But now the Box of Sorrow had ended up in Charles' hands and was being auctioned off. Something must have changed. Maybe Roland was dead?
Whatever the case, the Cenobites were likely still out there. Roy figured it might be worth bidding for the box.
"…Starting bid for the Box of Sorrow is one million USD. Minimum bid increment is ten thousand USD! Let the bidding begin!"
As soon as the auctioneer finished, Roy raised his paddle.
"One million and ten thousand."
Serena looked at him in surprise.
"Roy, are you really interested in something so cursed?"
"Yup! I'm curious to see if it actually grants wishes."
No sooner had Roy placed his bid than someone else jumped in.
"One million fifty!"
"One million seventy!"
"One million eleven!"
The bids kept climbing, and before long the price hit 3.27 million—more than triple the starting bid.
It was a steep price for a collectible. After that, the bidding started slowing down.
So Roy decided to go all in.
"Three million, seven hundred seventy thousand."
A jump of half a million stunned the entire room.
There were billionaires in the room, sure, but no one liked throwing money away. If the price exceeded the perceived value too much, even the rich would hesitate.
"Three-point-seven-seven million going once… going twice… any final bids? Going th—"
"Three-point-seven-eight million!"
Another bid? At this stage?
Roy and Serena turned to see who it was—and spotted Nate lowering his paddle.
That brat came back?
Howard, Nate's father, was nowhere in sight. Seemed the Navy Admiral still had some pride left.
Nate gave Roy a smug look. Clearly, he was only here to cause trouble.
The auctioneer, unaware of any grudges between Nate and the host, continued.
"Any more bids?"
Serena, clearly upset, looked like she wanted to bid again, but Roy stopped her.
There's no convincing someone destined to dig their own grave. If Nate wanted to play with fire, let him.
"Three-point-seven-eight million, going once… going twice… sold! Congratulations, young man!"
Roy didn't bid again, letting Nate win the box.
But Nate looked just as miserable. He never actually wanted the damn thing—he only meant to mess with Roy.
Now he was stuck with a creepy box that cost nearly four million dollars.
Unlike Roy, Nate wasn't exactly financially independent.
Roy watched as Nate reluctantly accepted the Box of Sorrow and muttered something about paying later.
Charles probably didn't care if Nate paid or not. If he didn't, Charles would have every reason to publicly shame Howard in high society.
Howard's reputation was worth far more than the box.
The charity auction wrapped up. It was getting late, and the event was winding down.
As host, Charles gave the usual round of thank-yous and made a speech about charity before formally closing the event.
"Roy, do you have plans for tonight?" Serena asked, cheeks flushed from the wine. Roy was pretty sure the alcohol wasn't the only reason.
"Of course I do! I didn't get to finish eating earlier, so I was thinking of grabbing some late-night snacks."
Nate and Howard had interrupted him during the meal, so he was still half-hungry. He wouldn't be able to sleep like that.
"Still hungry? Roy, do you always eat this much?" Serena asked, surprised.
"What can I say? I'm an athlete. Big workouts, big meals."
The explanation satisfied her curiosity.
"How about you come to my room? I can have the chef prepare something just for you!"
Of course, food wasn't the only thing Serena had in mind—but Roy didn't mind. He was a grown man. What could possibly happen?
Wait—if it were Andy, then he might be in trouble…
"Let's go!"
Meanwhile, Nate stood fuming, watching Serena cling to Roy as they left. He wanted to hurl the metal cube onto the floor.
But then he remembered it had cost \$3.78 million.
If he broke it, rendering it worthless, his strict father would definitely give him a beating.
Clenching his jaw, Nate took the box back to his room, heart aching at the thought of the girl he loved being in another man's arms.
What hurt even more was that he couldn't explain to his family why he'd spent nearly \$4 million on a stupid box.
So, naturally, he went to drown his sorrows in the ship's bar.
Roy and Serena were also drinking—but they were having a great time.
Well, Serena was drinking. Roy was mostly eating.
Serena, tipsy and flushed, watched Roy with an increasingly dazed look. The more she drank, the more intoxicated she became—by his face.
Emboldened by alcohol, she slipped off her shoe and started teasing Roy's leg with her foot.
Roy didn't like being interrupted while eating. He caught her foot and held it in place.
"Ah!"
Serena yelped, biting her lip and looking at Roy playfully.
"Roy, aren't you full yet?"
"Almost. Just a little more."
"But I want to do something else!"
Roy glanced at her sultry expression and decided to cool her off. He reached under the table and tickled her foot.
"Hahaha! Stop it! I can't take it!"
Serena shrieked with laughter, squirming under the table.
"You learn your lesson now? Don't mess with a man when he's eating!"
Roy finally let go of her foot. Eating while tickling someone was just weird—and he didn't want to catch any funky foot germs in his mouth.
Serena, gasping from laughter, suddenly asked,
"Roy, have you and Madison done it?"
Huh? Where did that come from?
Roy gave her a curious look but didn't bother lying.
"Yup. You think someone like Madison would let a guy like me slip away?"
Serena had suspected as much, but still frowned at the confirmation.
"I knew it. That b\tch."
Roy was curious now. "You and Madison got beef or something? Maybe I can help you two patch things up."
Serena scoffed and didn't answer.
"What, afraid of her?"
Roy raised a brow at her teasingly.
The mention of Madison clearly pushed a button. And with the wine talking…
"Afraid? The Wieland family doesn't know the meaning of fear!"
"Good girl, Serena. That's what's best for both of us."
Far away from the San Diego, a speedboat cut across the ocean under a stormy sky.
Onboard were several heavily armed men, along with one woman in a business suit.
She entered the control room and asked the captain,
"Captain Finnegan, how long until we reach our destination?"
Finnegan replied,
"You keep changing the coordinates. At this pace, we'll need about four more hours. Are you following a ship or something?"
"That's none of your business, Captain. Sometimes it's better not to know."
With that, the woman left and entered a pitch-black room.
"Boss, the captain says it'll take four more hours to reach the San Diego."
A raspy, agonized voice replied,
"Four hours? Tell him to go faster! Move!"
"Yes, boss. Right away!"
Out at sea, the speedboat surged through the waves.
Above it, the sky grew darker as lightning flickered in the distance.
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