Far from the busy streets and expensive neighborhoods of the city, there was a quiet suburban area where the houses were smaller and the roads were less crowded.
Most of the homes were old and close together with only a few cars parked along the narrow streets.
One of those houses belonged to the Drew family.
The front door slammed against the frame with a loud bang.
Mr.
Drew stumbled into the living room and collapsed onto the worn-out couch.
His face was tight with anger and the unpaid bills on the small table in front of him were still sitting exactly where he had left them.
“What happened?” Mrs.
Drew called from the kitchen doorway.
“I went to ask around again,” he snapped.
“Nobody knows where that stupid girl is, and I’m getting tired of wasting my time looking for her.”
Layla glanced up from her phone at the dining table, a smirk playing on her lips.
“She’s probably with some man right now.
Finally away from us, acting like she was too good for this family all along.”
Mrs.
Drew scoffed.
“Ungrateful brat.
We took her in after her parents died, and she acts like she did us a favor by staying here.”
Layla let out a cold laugh.
“Claire’s always been like that.
Get a few good grades, some praise from teachers, and suddenly she’s better than everyone.
I bet those professors weren’t just praising her mind, if you know what I mean.”
Mr.
Drew’s face darkened.
“That degree caused all this.
If she’d just done what she was told after finishing school, none of this would be happening.”
“Of course she ran,” Layla said, scrolling through her phone.
“She had probably heard about the arrangement and decided her precious future was more important than Dad’s debt.
Typical Claire – the moment something doesn’t benefit her, suddenly she remembers she has rights.”
Mrs.
Drew shook her head.
“She should be thanking us that someone wants to clear our debt just to have her.
Do you know how many girls would kill for that life?”
Layla smiled without warmth.
“Exactly.
She should be on her knees thanking us instead of running around pretending we’re the villains.”
Mr.
Drew looked at his daughter.
“She found out, didn’t she?”
“Must have,” Layla replied.
“Claire plays innocent but she’s not.
Probably overheard you and Mom talking and realized what was coming after graduation.”
Mr Drew’s face hardened.
“I still don’t get what her problem is.
She should have understood we were helping her.
She would’ve never worried about money again, a beautiful home, expensive clothes.
Instead, she chose to run away and leave us with this mess.”
“Nothing’s ever enough for her,” Mrs.
Drew said bitterly.
“Always wanted more than she deserves.”
Layla leaned back in her chair.
“That’s because everyone kept telling her how special she was.
Smart girl at school, hardworking at university.
Even when she came back here, she acted like she was destined for something better.
Couldn’t even see how lucky she was to have a family that kept her.”
Mrs.
Drew looked at her daughter.
“Don’t compare yourself to Claire.
You’re better than her.”
Layla glanced at her mother.
“Claire only knows how to make people feel sorry for her,” Mrs.
Drew continued.
“Who knows what she’s been doing behind our backs all these years?
I bet those scholarships weren’t just for her grades.”
Layla’s lips curled into a small smile.
“I always thought there was something off about how those male professors looked at her.
Acts all quiet and innocent, but she knows exactly how to make men notice her.”
Mr.
Drew stopped pacing.
“Whatever she did to get those opportunities doesn’t matter now.
What matters is she’s made a mess of everything.”
Layla nodded.
“And she doesn’t even care.
Probably thinks she’s finally free because she managed to leave this house.”
Mrs.
Drew’s expression hardened.
“Let her enjoy it while she can.
No money, no real family outside this house, nowhere permanent to go.
Once she realizes she can’t survive on her own, she’ll come crawling back.”
“And when she does, she won’t get any sympathy from me,” Layla said.
“I’m sick of her acting like she’s the only one who’s suffered.
She should be grateful we kept her around this long.”
Mr.
Drew picked up one of the unpaid bills from the table and crushed it in his hand.
“The agreement still stands.
His people made that clear.
If Claire comes back, the debt is settled completely.”
Layla’s eyes narrowed.
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then we have a big problem.
That man won’t wait forever.
He made it clear he wants her, and I already promised him it would be settled.”
Mrs.
Drew frowned.
“We should have watched her more carefully.
She never should’ve had the chance to disappear.”
Layla looked down at her phone.
“You should have told me what was happening.
I would have watched her myself.
I know Claire better than anyone.
She looks harmless when she’s planning something.”
Mr.
Drew gave a cold laugh.
“You give her too much credit.”
“I don’t,” Layla replied.
“She’s just more selfish than she looks.”
Mrs.
Drew nodded.
“Exactly.
Always cared about herself first.
Even when we had problems here, she was busy with school, her future, whatever stupid life she imagined outside this house.”
Layla’s expression darkened.
“And now that bitch thinks she can throw all this away because she doesn’t like what we’re asking her to do.”
“She can’t,” Mr.
Drew said firmly.
“The debt has to be paid, and she’s the only way to pay it.”
Layla gave a cold smile.
“Then she’ll come back.
She has nowhere else to go… And when she does, she needs to understand that running away changes nothing.” She looked toward the window, her expression calm.
“Moreover, I want to see how long that proud attitude lasts when she realizes nobody outside this family is going to rescue her.”
Mr.
Drew returned to his seat and picked up his phone.
“I’ll contact his people tomorrow.
Let them know we’re still looking for her.”
Layla leaned back in her chair.
“If Claire thinks she escaped… she’s going to learn she didn’t.”