Sold for nothing

Elena's POV

The noise in the house was deafening. Glass shattered somewhere outside, echoing across the parking lot, snapping me out of my exhausted stupor. I had barely made it through one of the hardest exams of my life, and all I wanted was quiet.

Instead, I opened the door to chaos.

Men in black suits were tearing the place apart—ripping pictures off the walls, knocking over furniture, smashing vases. My brain refused to process it at first. Stress, maybe? I could be hallucinating. But Evelyn’s desperate sobs brought me back to reality.

She was clutching Bella, the two of them huddled in the corner, shaking with fear as they watched everything unravel.

“Please, just one more month! I swear I’ll make it this time!” Dad's voice cracked with desperation. I turned to see him on his knees, pleading with a tall man who stood above him like a shadow.

The man didn’t flinch. His cold eyes swept over the room, taking in the wreckage like it was nothing. “Not a single thing should be spared,” he said, his voice low and commanding, like he’d been doing this all his life.

I stepped forward, my voice shaking. “Dad… what’s going on?”

He barely glanced at me, No words. Just a cold, distant look that twisted something in my chest.

Bella’s face was streaked with tears, her tiny body trembling against Evelyn’s.

Then the memories flashed through my mind—months ago, when Bella begged for a car. I remembered how it became all she ever talked about, throwing tantrums when Dad tried to explain we couldn’t afford it. In the end, he caved, like he always did for her. And now here we were.

The cost of that shiny little gift had led him to a man even the streets feared—Brentford, the loan shark boss.

One of Brentford’s men leaned down, whispering something into his ear.

Brentford’s laughed calmly, without humor. “If everything here doesn’t cover the debt...” His eyes turned to Dad, lips curling in a cruel smile. “He’ll pay another way.”

I took a shaky breath, stepping back. “Why am I even standing here?” I whispered under my breath. “Not like I matter in this house anyway.” I glanced at Bella. “I’m sure the favorite daughter should be the one standing by him.”

A bitter laugh escaped me. Just months ago, I’d also begged Dad for help with my tuition. He said he had no money, no way to help. But somehow, he had enough to buy Bella a brand-new car.

I’d worked part-time jobs since high school, scraping together whatever I could to stay in school. And now here I was, watching what I shouldn't be interested in.

I turned toward the hallway, ready to walk away from it all. But Dad’s voice cut through the chaos.

“Take my daughter with you,” he said.

Silence dropped like a weight, thick and suffocating.

Evelyn gasped, her grip on Bella tightening. Bella’s face went pale. Her eyes widened in confusion and terror. Evelyn’s gaze snapped to Dad, her expression burning with rage.

I blinked, sure I had misheard him. My heart stuttered.

Did he just—

Brentford raised an eyebrow, but there was no surprise in his face. He just smiled, as if he had been waiting for this. “Of course, David. Your daughter will do just fine.” He snapped his fingers, and his men moved instantly.

“Get her,” he ordered.

Bella screamed, thrashing in their grip. “No! Let me go!” She kicked and struggled, Evelyn fighting to pull her back.

I stood frozen, watching it all unfold like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. There’s no way my father was doing this to Bella. He couldn’t—could he?

“Stop,” Dad said suddenly.

Everything halted.

Brentford looked intrigued. “Hm?”

“Not her,” Dad added, his voice steady, chillingly cold.

Everyone turned to look at him.

My heart pounded in my chest as his hand lifted. His finger pointed at me.

“It’s the other one,” he said, like he was choosing between two identical objects.

The world tilted beneath me.

What?

I met his gaze for the first time in what felt like forever. There was no emotion in his eyes—just calm indifference. Like I was an afterthought, a thing to be discarded.

This… this was the first time he had really seen me. And it was to trade me away.

Evelyn’s face lit up with something close to victory.

Brentford chuckled. “Did you hear that? He said his other daughter.”

The men released Bella immediately. She bolted to Evelyn, who held her close, whispering softly to her.

I didn’t move.

For as long as I could remember, I’d been told I wasn’t wanted. That I was like my mother—selfish, cruel, undeserving. Even though I’d done everything to prove I wasn’t.

I took a step back. “Why me?” I whispered. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

Dad turned away without a word, not even a flinch.

A rough hand grabbed my wrist, jerking me forward. The pain shot through my shoulder, but I didn’t say anything.

This wasn’t just betrayal.

This was abandonment. Final and Complete.

I turned to look back one last time. Evelyn and Bella were smiling now. They didn’t even notice me anymore.

I felt a chuckle from beside me. “Oh, be gentle with the pretty thing. She’s not even putting up a fight.”

At Brentford’s gesture, the men loosened their grip. I walked forward on my own, my feet heavy, as if the ground had turned to cement.

The last thing I saw was Bella’s smug grin as I was shoved into the car.

“Honey, are you okay?” Evelyn cooed, checking Bella’s wrist as if she was the one who had been hurt.

“I’m fine, Mom. I’m okay now.”

Dad walked past, heading to his room without a word, without even glancing back.

I sat in the backseat, numb. The engine roared to life, pulling me away from everything I had ever known.

The man beside me, one of Brentford’s men—leaned toward him through the open window.

“What do you want us to do with her, sir?”

Brentford’s eyes locked onto mine, his smile slow and cruel.

“She’ll be a better pawn.”