He grimaces as he takes in my outfit, his disgust obvious. I tense, bracing myself against the pain I know he’s about to inflict. My eyes drop to the woman next to him, and unease settles in the pit of my stomach.
“Is that your sister?” Jennifer asks. She and I have never met in person, but I’ve seen plenty of photos of her, most of them from when she used to date Alexander . A wave of possessiveness that I’m not even remotely entitled to washes over me as I think back to the way he always used to look at her, as though she rendered everyone else invisible to him. I don’t understand how she could ever leave Alexander for an asshole like my brother, and I’m thankful I haven’t been around to watch it happen. Based on the rumors going around, I’m certain it would’ve eradicated the last shreds of respect I feel for my brother.
“No,” Matthew says. “Can’t you see she doesn’t belong here?” he adds, turning up his nose.
I’m rendered speechless, tensing as I try my best not to take his words to heart. Back when Mom got into that car crash, Matthew and I fell apart too. He’s convinced that I’m making Mom suffer by selfishly keeping her alive, and he’s made sure I know it. Over and over again, Dad and Matthew have tried to convince me to let Mom go, until I could take no more. Yet here I am again, years later, at their mercy.
“I won’t stay long,” I say, my voice soft. “It’s about Mom.”
Matthew raises his brow and crosses his arm. “Did she die?” he asks, as though he couldn’t care less about his own mother .
I grit my teeth as I shake my head.
“Then I don’t need to know,” he says, grabbing Jennifer’s hand. She shoots me an apologetic look, but I don’t miss the amusement in her eyes.
“What is all this commotion?”
I turn to find Dad standing in the hallway with Jade by his side. Hatred rolls over my skin, raising every hair on my arms. She looks irritated to see me, her eyes trailing over me in dismay.
“Dad,” I murmur.
He sighs and shakes his head. “Look at you. What an embarrassment. Can’t you at least dress normally, Elena?”
I bite down on my lip, desperation clawing up my throat. “I’m sorry, Dad,” I say, wanting to take it back immediately.
Dad looks away. “Your mother left you a trust fund worth millions, but look at you. She’d be embarrassed to call you her daughter.”
Jade tenses at the mention of my mother. It’s subtle, but I see it. I see the hatred in her eyes, the defensive stance.
“Dad, could I speak to you, please?”
Jade raises her brows. “We don’t have secrets in this family,” she says. “Anything you say to your father, you can say to me.”
Dad nods and wraps his arm around her waist. She leans her head against his shoulder, the two of them picture perfect. One year. It took Dad one year to have Mom declared brain dead and marry Jade. Did he ever even love Mom at all? Did he ever even love me ? He’s cast me aside with such ease that I can’t help but wonder.
“It’s about Mom.”
Dad tenses, and for a second I could’ve sworn I saw a glimpse of worry for her in his eyes, but it’s gone before I can even blink.
“I… Dad, I can’t… I can’t keep her alive any longer. I’ve run through my entire trust fund paying for her medical bills. I don’t think I can pay the bills this month, and if I can’t, they’ll take her off life support. Please, Dad,” I say, my voice breaking. “Please, help me. Help me save Mom, please .”
Dad’s eyes widen and he swallows hard, but then Jade tightens her grip on him and looks up at him. “Darling, that isn’t a matter related to our family,” she says. Then she looks at me and smiles. “And as far as I recall, you aren’t part of this family either. You left all by yourself, swearing you’d never return, yet here you are, asking for money. It was my birthday last week, and you didn’t even call. Yet now you expect us to give you money to waste on a lost cause?”
Dad tenses and nods. “Jade is right. Elena, it’s time to let your mother go. What you’re doing to her, it’s unnatural, and I want no part of it. Besides, Jade was right to say you left this family yourself. You’re no longer part of this family, and you cannot come back begging for money. I thought I raised you better than that.”
An angry tear drops down my cheek and I swipe it away. It’s at the tip of my tongue to tell him that he didn’t raise me—my mom did. But I can’t say that.
“Please, Dad. I’ll do anything. I’ll come back to live here, and I’ll work for you. Anything you want. Just help me save Mom, and I swear I’ll be the perfect daughter.”
Elise’s shrill laughter sounds from behind me, and hopelessness overwhelms me. She walks up to Dad and her mother, and Jade wraps her arm around her.
“He already has the perfect daughter,” Elise says, “and it isn’t you.”
Panic grips me and I drop to my knees as I try my best to remain in control of my breathing, but my desperation is suffocating me. I look up at Dad with tears in my eyes. “Dad, she’ll die if you don’t help me,” I force myself to say, my voice labored. “I promise I won’t ever ask anything of you again. Please, help me keep her alive. That’s all I ask. I’m begging you.”
Dad looks at me with fresh dismay. “You’re making a fool of yourself, Elena. Get up, for God’s sake. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I won’t spend another cent on your mother—she’s been declared dead, and it’s time you accept that and let her go.”
Jade nods at him in satisfaction and pulls him away as I burst into tears on the floor. She looks back at me with a smile on her face and my eyes fall closed, my heart completely shattered.
I’ve exhausted every option to keep my mother alive. Every option but one. I think back to the card my mother’s nurse gave me, my stomach recoiling at the thought even as I pick myself up off the floor.
I’d sell my soul to keep my mother alive—so if I have to, I can and will sell my body, too.
Chapter 7
E lena
I look up at the beautiful building in front of me and double check the address on the card in my hand. This place is not quite what I expected. It doesn’t look seedy at all. I was expecting an underground strip club or something similar. Instead, I take in the sprawling mansion with its perfectly manicured lawns, a huge gate separating me from what is sure to be the worst decision I will ever make.
I timidly walk up to the two security officers guarding the gate. Their rigid posture reminds me of soldiers guarding a palace, and the hostility on their faces does nothing to ease my nerves. Their cold eyes are on me as I approach, and for a second I wonder if they might pull out the guns strapped to their belts. I exhale in relief when they smile, or at least attempt to.
“Madam?” the guard on the right says, nodding at me. I fumble with the black business card in my hand, unsure of what to say. I can’t tell them I’m here to sell myself to the highest bidder, can I? The guard’s eyes fall to the card in my fingers, and he nods, pressing a button on the device in his hands. The gate swings open before I have a chance to say anything.
“Thanks,” I mumble. There’s no condemnation in their eyes, so I wonder if anyone with a card can walk in, and not just those intending to whore themselves out. Or maybe they’re just used to this. I can’t be the first woman who has found herself in this situation.
I walk toward the building, refusing to overthink why I’m doing this. I can’t afford to have second thoughts. I focus on breathing in and out steadily, keeping my steps even.
The door to the mansion swings open before I reach it, and my heart drops. I freeze, and I’m pretty sure my heart actually stops beating for a second. I can’t believe this is happening to me.
This is the last place I’d expect to run into my former childhood friend, Lucian. I blanch, and suddenly a wave of nausea hits me. Lucian walks toward me, and every step he takes sends bursts of pure panic through my veins.
At any other time, I would’ve been delighted to run into Lucian. I would’ve taken the time to apologize for walking out of his life like I did. I would’ve explained to him I had no choice, that they were going to forbid me from seeing my mother again. But not now. Now isn’t the time.
Lucian pauses in front of me, and if he gets any closer, I’m sure he’ll hear my heart pounding. I swallow and straighten, my spine rigid. “Lucian,” I say, pleased to find that my voice comes out even, and not as shaky as I expected it to be.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, surprise written all over his face. I hesitate, unsure of what plausible reason I could possibly have to be here. I’m not sure what he’s doing here either, but it’s becoming clear that the building in front of me is not simply a brothel.