CHAPTER 1

(Angela's POV)

It was Saturday evening, and I was invited to Isabella's boyfriend, Richard Henshaw's, birthday party at the club. However, Richard kept staring at me instead of my elder sister, Isabella.

Isabella was 21, a partygoer, and we resembled each other in looks and stature, but she was my elder sister.

I caught the angry glares on Isabella's face, and I wasn't happy about it. She loved Richard Henshaw, who hailed from a wealthy mafia family. But she failed to understand that I could not betray her.

Isabella and I shared the same parents, but she was my elder sister. I never imagined that she would misinterpret Richard's glances.

Even when Richard bypassed Isabella and approached me for a toast, I knew that she would react.

I rejected Richard's offer for a drink with me. He was 24 years old and feared by many.

I wouldn't have attended his birthday party if not for my sister's insistence.

She dragged me to the club and ushered me into Richard's party.

I was a decent girl, and my parents rarely allowed me out of the house except to attend school. My elder sister and I were close, but I never dreamed that she would try to sell me off or grow so furious as to believe I wanted to steal Richard Henshaw. How could I do that?

After Isabella offered to take me home, she handed me a drink, and that was the last thing I remembered.

I am an 18-year-old girl, and I harbored big dreams of becoming a surgeon. My dreams and focus centered on studying my books; now my elder sister had shattered them.

After I drank the beverage Isabella gave me—even though my intuition screamed at me not to—I trusted my sister. I loved her. We conversed and laughed as she updated me on her college life.

Isabella was a second year student, and I was a new student.

However, after I drank that drink, the sharp alcoholic taste assaulted my throat, but to please my elder sister, I gulped it.

Later, I passed out, and when I awoke, I found myself trapped in a car—inside Isabella's car. My wrists and ankles were bound, and only God knew where she was taking me.

She sped past the city where my parents lived. Mom and Dad would worry sick about me.

"Please, Isabella, don't do this. Please…" I sobbed from the back seat of her car, but she ignored me.

Soon, her car tires screeched to a halt, and my racing heart finally slowed.

"Isabella," I called my sister's name as she sat in the driver's seat, dressed impeccably in a lovely red gown.

"Hello, Morgan. I have a special present for you," Isabella purred in her soft tone, and my heartbeat surged.

Who was Morgan? Who was my sister calling?

"I will be there. I hope the present is as lovely as you say?" the voice on the phone asked my sister.

Isabella glanced back at me sprawled on the rear seat and grinned wickedly.

"You will see for yourself. Hurry up. I heard the action starts tonight, and I don't want to miss out on selling her off before my parents discover it," Isabella said, tapping her steering wheel, and I yelled, "I am not for sale! Isabella, don't do this! Please, let me go! I am your sister—why?"

The call fell silent, and the man on the line replied, "I will be there. Hold up."

The call ended, and Isabella still refused to look back at me.

"Why are you doing this? You were the one who dragged me to Richard's birthday party. Why do you want to sell me off? What crime did I commit?" I demanded of my elder sister, and she scoffed.

"You have always stolen Mom and Dad's love more than me. The same with Top Hills University. I wanted to attend there, but Mom and Dad refused. But when you mentioned it, they eagerly agreed to everything. You snatch everything from me, even though I am the older sister. Men admire you. So, why shouldn't I sell you off? You are destined to become a sex slave to a mafia boss. That's what pretty bìtches like you are born to become—a whòre!"

I stared at my elder sister's face in disbelief.

"Isabella, what are you talking about? You didn't pass the admission exam for Top Hills University, and that's why they rejected you. This has nothing to do with Mom and Dad. Please, let me go. I don't want to become a prostitute. Please…" I pleaded, but Isabella didn't bother to glance at me.

She pulled out her lipstick and smeared her lips a bloody red.

"You don't even need makeup to look stunning. You have everything: big breasts, a sexy shape, and a pretty face. I cannot let you keep outshining me. So just relax. We have an auction tonight at 8 p.m. Let's see who buys you. Just pray it's not an old man who purchases you. Hahaha!" Isabella cackled, and I knew begging her was futile.

The sound of footsteps striding toward the car snapped my attention, and I spotted three men in black advancing on Isabella's car to haul me out.

"Here she is, Morgan. Although she is my younger sister, she causes me so much inconvenience," Isabella declared once she stepped out of the car.

The man named Morgan commanded his men, "Inject her to calm her down."

"No, don't do this! Someone, help!" I screamed, but my cries fell on deaf ears.

As I thrashed in the back seat of Isabella's car, the man lunged for the door and yanked it open.

I felt the sting of an injection, a substance that plunged me into unconsciousness.

When I awoke, I heard the thunderous cheers of a crowd, and then blinding white lights seared into my eyes.

I sat on a chair exposed in front of a crowd.

My hands were bound, my lips sealed with tape. My legs were tied, and I was displayed like merchandise primed for sale.

"Welcome everyone, this young woman is up for grabs tonight. A virgin with a beautiful body. Her starting price is 1 million dollars!" the host bellowed, and I reeled in shock.

I strained and twisted to break free. Darkness shrouded the crowd from view, but harsh spotlights bathed the stage in glaring brightness.

How could Isabella betray me like this?

"5 million dollars!" someone bid.

"10 million dollars!" three other voices shouted bids.

"20 million dollars!" another bidder called, and the hall plunged into tense silence.

"20 million dollars going?" the host queried.

"50 million dollars!" a new bidder countered, hoisting his paddle, and the hall sank into dead silence.

How could anyone bid 50 million dollars for me? I trembled uncontrollably on the stage.

"50 million going? 50 million, anyone else?" the host pressed, but no one dared to top it.

"Sold!" the host crowed, and I fainted at the horrifying realization that I had been sold against my will. I vowed to exact revenge on Isabella if I ever escaped this nightmare.