Mom and Dad exchanged me for benefits
Chapter 1
My biological parents swept me away to the Hamptons and threw this massive “Welcome Home” party.
“We’re gonna make it up to you, honey,” they kept saying, plastered with these fake smiles.
That very night, they drugged me. I woke up on some mega-yacht, the kind only billionaires own, smack-dab in the middle of some depraved party. It was like a nightmare, a total free-for-all with these gross, entitled old guys.
They wanted access to these Wall Street big-shots, see? But they couldn’t bring themselves to offer up Tiffany, the daughter they raised, as a plaything. So here I was, the “real” daughter, a sacrifice.
I was struggling, trying to fight off this sweaty dude who reeked of cigars and old money, when I saw the name of the yacht emblazoned on the side: The Moonlight Sonata.
My blood ran cold. This was supposed to be our boat. Ethan had given it to me, as a… gesture.
He’d proposed to me on this boat, gotten down on one knee right there on the deck. I’d turned him down, because of my stupid past and bolted, gone off searching for my “real” family.
I’d heard he’d been looking for me ever since. And now, my own flesh and blood had handed me to him, like a gift?
The drug was kicking in hard, blurring the edges of reality. But seeing “The Moonlight Sonata” jolted me awake like a shot of espresso. Ethan! If I could just get to him, I might have a chance.
As I bit down on the face of the guy trying to pin me, he howled and backhanded me across the jaw. The world spun. Next thing I knew, his goons were tossing me into the pool, which reeked of stale booze and desperation.
“Give her a little dip! See if she still wants to be a tough girl!”
I clawed at the edge of the pool, desperate to get out.
Then I heard the swish of a baseball bat cutting through the air. A searing pain exploded in my fingers as the bat connected. I slipped back under the water.
The frigid water flooded my mouth, choking me. I was drowning, and everything was fading fast.
Ashley, my so-called sister, stood on the deck, a sneer twisting her features. “Have fun with her, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Sterling,” she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “I’ll leave you to it.”
My parents watched Ashley walk away, relief flickering across their faces. “Mr. Henderson,” my dad was saying, “about that deal…”
Henderson chuckled, a sound that made my skin crawl. “Your daughter proves entertaining, the deal is as good as done. And if she manages to get the attention of Ethan Blackwood? That could mean even bigger things for us.”
Mom gave me a little pat on the shoulder, her voice saccharine. “Just be a good girl, sweetie. Take care of these gentlemen, and you can come home and be spoiled.”
That was it. The last shred of hope I clung to just evaporated. My hands went limp, and the whole situation felt like some twisted joke. I stared at my mother, a chilling emptiness spreading through me.
Shoving her hand away, I stumbled toward the bow of the yacht. Ethan’s private suite was up there. If I could just reach it, I could use the satellite phone, call him, and get out of this hellhole.
“Think you can run, huh?” Henderson’s voice dripped venom behind me. “Not gonna happen tonight, sweetheart.”
He raised the baseball bat, aiming a blow at my legs. I flinched, panic clawing at me. If he broke my legs, I might as well give up.
I twisted and dodged, but they were on me, a pack of wolves closing in for the kill.
“No! Please! No!” I screamed, the sound swallowed by the wind and the throbbing music.
I squeezed my eyes shut as Henderson raised the bat again, filled with regret, I should have stay with Ethan, I never should have leave him for my “real” parents.
Suddenly, a voice cut through the chaos. “Quick, hide the girls! Blackwood’s here!”
The whole atmosphere shifted, freezing in place. A tall, imposing figure appeared, backlit by the lights of the city. His presence alone seemed to suck the air from the room.
Ethan. He’d come.
His eyes scanned the deck, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. “I thought this was a business dinner? What’s all the commotion?”
Relief flooded me. Tears blurred my vision. Ethan was here.
“Mr. Blackwood!”
The chorus of greetings was a frantic mix of fear and subservience, the sound cracking the air with tension.
“Ethan!” I almost shouted the name without thinking. But my so-called mother shoved me hard, sending me sprawling back into the icy water.
He was getting closer, each footstep pounding like a hammer against my ribs.
He stopped just ten feet away. I could feel the sheer force of his personality, the aura of power that surrounded him.
I looked up, my vision swimming. His face was sharp, sculpted, impossibly handsome, his expression cold, detached. He seemed completely indifferent to everything around him. Even surrounded by people, he radiated an intensity that made everyone else shrink back.
But I wasn’t afraid. I remembered when he took me from the group home. Even though I was just some nobody orphan, he treated me like something precious. Told everyone I was his princess, the rose he had carefully nurtured.
On the day of the proposal, he’d held out the glass slipper, gently put it on my foot, and kissed it, whispering, “I’m finally going to have the chance to marry you.” I was so happy then, like the whole world was encompassed in his arms.
But now, everything had changed. Here I was, dumped in the pool at his feet, barely able to speak.
“Mr. Blackwood,” Henderson stammered, a pathetic smile plastered on his face, “we hired a few…entertainers for the evening. Just swimsuit models, you know.”
Ethan’s brow furrowed, his eyes glacial. “If you want to play with women, do it somewhere else. Who gave you the idea you could do this on my yacht?”
The air went rigid. The faces of the men around him went pale.
I struggled to stay afloat, the burning in my lungs excruciating. I could barely move.
The cold seeped into my bones, slowing me down even further.
“Ethan!” I croaked, but Henderson’s thug shoved me back under again.
“Who’s in the pool?” Ethan’s voice cut through the noise, low and laced with steel.
He started to move forward, the tap of his shoes on the deck like a countdown. A flicker of hope sparked within me.
“Mr. Blackwood, it’s just some idiot trying to get your attention,” Henderson blurted, his voice strained with panic. “We’ll get rid of her right away. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Ethan stopped, his voice dismissive. “I don’t want to hear about this nonsense again.”
My heart sank, drowning in despair. But then, he lifted his gaze, his voice a command. “Have my secretary stay behind and keep an eye on you all. No more of this garbage.”
“Wang Zhian, If it weren’t for you telling me that you have news on my Moonlight, I would not have land you my yacht. You better found her in one week”
He turned and walked away, but a spark of hope flickered in my chest. Ethan’s secretary, Fang Zhi, knew me!
If he saw me, I could be saved!
They finally released me just as I was about to lose consciousness.
My parents seemed relieved, but there was also anger on their faces. “You idiot! Do you have any idea who that was?! Ethan Blackwood! You could have ruined everything for us! I wish we’d never brought you back! You’re nothing but trouble!”
Gasping for air, I pushed myself to the edge of the pool, choking and coughing up water.
Henderson sneered, walking closer. “What a dumb bitch. Thinking you could get Blackwood to help you? He’s got one woman in his heart, and nobody else is getting in there. He wouldn’t spit on you if you were on fire.”
The others laughed, a chorus of cruel, mocking sounds that felt like knives twisting in my gut.
Taking a shaky breath, I forced myself to look up, meeting Henderson’s gaze. “Ethan told you to find his fiancée, and it seems like you have no clue where she is?”
Henderson’s face darkened, his eyes blazing with anger. “What are you talking about?!”
I gave a bitter laugh. “It’s true. I am Ethan Blackwood’s fiancée. If you don’t want him to come down on you like a ton of bricks, you’d better get Fang Zhi to help me!”
The men around us erupted in laughter, their voices dripping with mockery. “Ha! Did you hear that? She thinks she’s Ethan Blackwood’s fiancée!” One of them pointed at me, his face twisted with scorn. “Some backwoods hick dreaming she’s going to marry a billionaire!”
My anger flared, eclipsing the pain. I struggled to stand, my legs shaking, and stared them down. “I’m telling the truth. You just have to compare the pictures! Ethan had to have shown you my pictures!”
Mom stood in front of me, her face contorted with rage. “Shut up! Everyone knows Ethan’s been hiding his fiancée for her own safety. All he’s released are a few blurry pictures with vague features! You’re just some nobody trying to make a name for herself!”
“Yeah, everyone knows that Blackwood’s Fiancee has a visible scar”
I sneered, and with a quick swipe, removed the concealer from my face, revealing the mark I’d gotten years ago. “You mean this scar?”
The color drained from Henderson’s face, replaced by a mask of shock.
That scar…I’d gotten it protecting Ethan when we were kids. I even went out of the way to hide it, so that my parents will not be scared by it. I didn’t expect not showing it would almost caused my death
“Go get Fang Zhi!” Henderson’s tone was now filled with fear, not arrogance. “Ms. Ming, this is all their fault! They lied to us”
I gave a cold laugh. Tears streamed down my face, carrying shame and anger. “You are not even worth calling my parents. I thought I had found my parents, I never thought that I am falling into wolves!”
I stare them with cold voice “Since you guys treat me like this, I would not let you go!”
Henderson quickly turned his eye, and found a “solution” : Bring the fake Liu daughter here!”
Not long, Liu Mei being dragged in, when she saw my position on the deck, where my parents are kneel beside me, her face turns white, then scream with anger: you bitch! Who let you show off here?! Mom! Dad! I told you she is not a good person, All she do in these years is to seduce man! Now she found a man! Turn back to bully us!”
“That’s Enough!” My father roar with rage, and pale face, “Apologize to your sister!”
“I will not! AHH!” Liu Mei Scream loud, and dad kick her to ground.
Dad lost his anger and calm, he lies on ground “Daughter. no, no Ming miss, we are wrong.. It’s all mistake…. We should not do these things, We should not let her… let you”
Mom lower her head, and started crying “Miss Ming, please forgive us. When Fang secretary comes, please help us..”
The high and noble Wang general, kneeling down on me, filled with tears “Miss Ming, you are so merciful, please forgive us!”
“Mr Fang Is Here” The assistant came in
A Familiar silhouette came in. My heart starts bumping. Finally he is here! “Mr. Fang! It’s me! It’s Ming Yue!”
Fang Zhi step in and stop for a second, and turn his face with cold voice, looking at me cold. “Who dares impersonate Ms. Ming?!
He waves his hands and said “Get her out now!”
I stand still in place, like the lightening strike on me, pale as a ghost, feel the heart tighting. “No… No way! It’s me Ming Yue”
Fang Zhi face without any expression “No you are not. Ming Yue passed away, and we will get her corpse from sea now”
With cold sharp knife piercing on my heart, my face is white as paper, I know what he meant “You want me dead?!”
Fang Zhi face with cold smile with deadly voice “Because Mr. Song need a with with better background. And the shorting of you will destroy him!”
My heart raise with anger and said out loud “You can’t do these on me! I will not allow you to do these!”
Two bodyguard took me down on spot, I can’t moving at all.
Fang Zhi face with cold blood voice. “Get her in the ocean!”
I was struggling like crazy, try to escape from their trap. By one second I came out from them, I start running toward the front.
Running to the boat head, pressed the satelite button, and got a sooth voice “Ming Yue?! Is that you? Where are you? I am coming now! “
“Mr. Song” in the second, I am pressed by cold hands, can’t talk anymore, and I was falling down to the ocean.
