Chapter 34

Envy crept through Khloe as she stared at the numbers climbing on Elissa's screen.

Streaming had been her world since she left middle school, and despite years of effort, just a little over a million followers was the best she could claim-a respectable count, but nothing like Elissa's overnight rise.

Effortlessly, Elissa seemed to charm the Internet, winning attention without breaking a sweat.

Fingers absently tracing the spot where so much hair had been torn away, Elissa winced at the loss. But with every nasty word thrown at Arabella online, her lips curled in satisfaction."No need to fight her openly. The crueler she acts, the more everyone takes my side."

Meagan's voice held a note of encouragement."You've got a good head on your shoulders,Elissa. Who knows, maybe the Dance Association will let you back into the dance troupe after all."

Bennie, cheerful one moment, suddenly frowned. "You don't really think Arabella would go through with selling the house, do you?"

Dismissively, Meagan waved the concern away."It's not an issue. We're living here, so she can't do anything about it. After all the years I've spent caring for her and Daisy, this place ought to have belonged to me from the start."

Khloe chimed in, scorn in her voice, "Exactly.Arabella's dreaming if she thinks she can take it back. Both those sisters would have been better off gone with their parents!"

Childhood memories lingered-Khloe remembered envying her uncle's family, their wealth and refinement impossible to ignore.

Arabella and Daisy had once looked every bit the privileged girls, while she and her sister had been like country girls. Now, fortunes had flipped, and those sisters were at the bottom.

A smug look crossed Bennie's face. "It's funny how things turn out. Makes you wonder if Arabella's dad would regret everything, seeing how low she's fallen. If only he'd treated me right back then, maybe things would have been different."

A chuckle escaped Meagan. "He brought it on himself-selfish to the core. That's what cost him his life so soon."

Out of nowhere, the dining table exploded,splinters flying in every direction. Panic seized the room as everyone scrambled for cover,though several still ended up with cuts from the shards.

A chilling female voice echoed through the chaos. Arabella appeared in the doorway,framed by harsh light, her gaze cold and

unyielding.

"Back when I was young, none of you had a cent to your name. You couldn't even buy a scrap of meat. My father pulled strings and found you jobs, helping you scrape by until you could finally call yourselves average. But laziness never left you. You couldn't handle real work and tried to imitate my father's business,setting up your own company behind his back.All you managed was to squander everything,and once again, my parents had to clean up your pathetic disaster."

The mention of their failures sucked all color from their faces. Bennie's features twisted into a stormy glare.

Cold eyes swept over the group. Arabella saw only greed and bitterness beneath their designer clothes, no hint of conscience to be found.

She continued, voice like ice, "Those projects vou relied on? Mv narents handed them to vou.

Without their help, you would have starved.Everything you have is because of them. And this is how you repay us-taking our home and tormenting my sister!"

A brittle laugh burst from Bennie. "So what if that's all true? Now you've come back to throw us out? Let's see you try. Your parents aren't here to save you."

Defiance flashed in Khloe's posture as she folded her arms. "Go ahead and call your buyer,Arabella. I'll camp right here in the living room.lf anyone tries to move me, it'll be over my dead body!"

Gritting her teeth against the pain in her hand,Elissa shot Arabella a look filled with nothing but ridicule.

To Elissa, Arabella's hopefulness seemed almost laughable.

Years of living under this roof had convinced them the house was theirs by right.

No one, they believed, could possibly take it from them now.

Without warning, a gruff voice rang out. "What are you people doing in my home?"

A towering man stomped inside, a handful of tough-looking companions in tow.

A scowl twisted the man's face. "Get out! This place belongs to me now!"

Their arrival blotted out the sunlight, shadows stretching menacingly across the room.

Eyes grew wide with shock as Meagan and her family struggled to process the intrusion.

Trying to keep calm, Bennie raised his hands."Hold on, buddy. There's a mistake. This house actually belongs to us-"

"Fuck you!" the man yelled, rage flaring in his voice. With surprising agility for his size, he closed the distance, sending Bennie sprawling with a brutal kick. Out came the property deed,

which he waved in front of their faces. "Read it!My name's on the title. Still think you can steal my house? Get real. Boys, toss them out!"

Bennie barely managed to spit blood before he and his family landed hard on the front steps,tossed out without a shred of ceremony.