Sold?

"Shoot me first." I said and father raised his brows at me.

"Shoot you first?"

"Yeah. I mean why not? I'm a good for nothing just like you."

He gritted his teeth at my words and moved his gun towards me, "Well, then let's do that."

"No!!" Mom shouted on the top of her lungs, "Leave him alone you scumbag!"

Father shot his head towards her and in that moment I jumped at him, with one big leap I grabbed the gun in his hands but of course he wasn't going to yield that easily. We both struggled to get the gun out of the other's hand. I kicked his leg to make him lose his balance but he brought me down to the floor along with him. In the struggle, the gun fired, piercing a hole through the wall. Our attempts still continued,he was on top of me trying to get the upper hand.

I had no intention of losing, no matter how it was in the past. I'm different now, a lot stronger, not that father isn't but if I had to win through second means, I will.

So I bit his wrist, piercing his skin with my canines, the saltish flavor of blood lingered in my mouth, and just as he screamed while letting his grip loosen, I pulled the gun and kicked his gut, pushing him off of me.

Breathing heavily I pointed the gun at him, I had no intention of shooting. None at all, but- then mom shouted.

"Shoot! Shoot him Lexus!"

I truly only wanted to scare him but as her words resonated in my ears. I pulled the trigger.

The bullet went straight to his head.

It felt like everything slowed down for a few moments. The image of the bullet penetrating his skin, his skull, his brain, it got burned in my memory.

Only when I noticed him fall to the floor I realized what I had done.

Wide eyed I stared at his body lying on the floor, a pool of dark blood forming around his head on the ground. As he stared at me with his eyes open, unblinking, it finally came to me.

He was dead.

My heart started pounding in fear.

I had killed him.

Mother scrambled on the floor and reached for his body to examine him. After she realized he had died she looked at me in fear.

I didn't know what that fear was of but I didn't want to know either.

I hesitated, turned around and ran.

"Lexus!!" I could hear my mother call me but I didn't want to accept the reality of what I had done.

The sun had begun to set as I mindlessly ran, ran until I was out of breath, so then I paused for a moment and dragged my feet along till I reached my only sanctuary.

Devastated, I looked at grandma's house as I stood outside. I wanted to go in but I was afraid. What will I say? What will I tell-

I paused. Something was wrong. In the little bit light left of the sun I saw that the door was already open yet I couldn't hear the voices of the kids playing around. I looked at the windows, none of the lights were on.

An uneasy feeling swirled inside my chest and I made my way in. The house was dark, somehow more messy than usual. As I walked through it, I noticed the light in grandma's room was on, the door, a bit cracked open.

With a light hand, I opened the door and stepped in, then stopped. For a few moments I stood at the door frame, preparing myself.

I wonder why I wasn't shocked, or perhaps I was too confused already?

I took a few steps in, towards the end of the room. Where grandma sat on her one seater couch next to the wall. She sat there with confidence. Her eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face.

"I'm home grandma." I smiled at her and waited, but she didn't answer.

I started trembling. What was I expecting?

I was getting the karma of what I had done.

With shaky breath I stared at the bullet hole in her head, just like the one I had given to my father, the blood splatter on the wall behind her and the line of trickling blood going to her forehead, splitting at the nose and trickling all the way down to her chin.

But despite her being dead, I broke down in her lap. I cried my lungs out as I slumped on the floor and buried my head in her lap. I had done something I never would have imagined and as my punishment someone so dear to me had died in the exact same way while I didn't even know why. And on top of everything else, I had no idea where my most precious treasure had gone. No sign of Rosalie, Alios or Lizzie…

But, it was the last time I ever let tears flow out my eyes like that.

***

It was dark when I reached home, the house was surrounded by police and an ambulance. My mother stood there talking to the officer. I stared at her from afar. When she noticed me, she came running towards me, the officer right behind her.

"Lexus! Where did you go!!"

"..."

"Son. We have to take you to the station."

I nodded at the officer's words and quietly followed him. Mother was dumb struck and confused. She didn't know what to do. But- I, I didn't really feel anything. I felt numb.

As I sat in the station,my hands cuffed, regretting my decisions and how I couldn't even report grandma's death because I had just killed one person myself in the exact same way, mother came running in. The man she had been seeing behind her and his son besides him.

I had seen him a few times before but it was the first time I was officially meeting him and his son, I had seen the first time.

But the thing my mother didn't know till that day was that the man she was seeing was a dangerous man. The father and son who shared similar features with blonde hair and tall physique were people to be feared.

The man, Richard Alucard stayed by mother's side while his son, Arius Alucard came and sat next to me, on the spare seat.

"Your mother should have called us sooner." He said and I spared him a glance, "None of this would have happened." He pointed at my cuffs, "And you wouldn't have been here, the word wouldn't have gotten out." He sighed and looked a bit bored, "But oh well."

I didn't respond to any of his words and stared ahead at nothing in particular. He stood up and lightly patted my shoulder, "If you see my life you'll feel a lot better." He then walked away.

It was that day, my mother and I found out what the Alucard family was. Richard was the boss of the strongest Mafian family around.

But to make things look normal I went through a trial and my case was ruled out as self defense.

Mother wasn't comfortable about the whole Mafian thing but she liked Richard too much. So instead, he helped her build a company of her own. I mean how else could she do something so big with what we had? But Richard liked her enough to make it possible. The company, the hotel, it was also a facade, for the Alucard family to use, if ever they needed an Alibi. But of course they were so strong the need never arrived.

***

In school, the kids talked, the whisperings around me seemed sinister but I wasn't bothered, I didn't care. I felt nothing.

"Hey~" one of the delinquents approached me, hanging his arm loosely behind my neck, "Heard what happened man." His friends came and joined, "You know what makes a man feel better?" He looked at me and me and I spared him a glace with a blank face, "Getting laid~"

"And a smoke." Another one spoke.

"Let's not forget the drinks."

***

My only reason for staying with mom was the power that I would get. The power and authority I needed to find what I had lost.

I started working when I was 23 and took the position of the CEO after a few months.

I was 24 when I finally found her.

Shocked…

I was shocked and astonished. She had grown up. Of course she would. Time doesn't stop for anyone, but she had grown up more than what I had imagined. When I saw her after all these years, my original idea of protecting her and caring for her like I always had began to shatter. She was beautiful, too beautiful.

I wanted her all to myself.

But

I couldn't have her, for all these years I had become someone who probably can't give anyone the happiness they deserve.

So I had arranged it that way that she could learn and grow and I'll just support her from the shadows, because if I approach her. I won't be able to back down.

So I had arranged a place for her to stay and became her sponsor and in order to keep a low profile, I was an unknown sponsor.

In my mind I kept telling myself it was enough yet in my heart I knew it wasn't.

***

A few weeks after Rosalie turned 18. The orphanage faced a crisis. Some of the nuns had borrowed some money from someone that turned out to be a gangster. To get out of trouble they decided to sacrifice someone to get the money. Someone who had no one to back her up.

Their perfect option was the young adult redhead, beautiful but alone.

It happened when I was on a business trip overseas, attending the meeting with an underwear brand since we were going to do a collaboration with them. I don't know why, but I was especially asked to personally see through this and personally select out the best items as well.

After a long day I was about to go and rest in my room when I got a call from Arius.

Over the years we had developed a strange relationship, because, although it never happened, we were never too far from becoming brothers.

"Yes?" I answered the call and lazily slumped on the bed.

"Just calling to tell you, that the girl you sponsored at the orphanage, is getting sold at an auction."

I shot right up, "What did you say?"

Getting sold?

Just the thought made me angry, the thought that she'll belong to someone else other than me made my veins pop. Even I hadn't touched her, and now someone else will? It made my blood boil.

"What do you want to do?"

"I'm on my way."

"Good." He hung up and I called Nathan.

He picked up after a few rings, "What? Do you know what time it is?"

"Go and get ready. There is someone I have to buy at any cost."

"Buy someone? Why?"

"Because she belongs to me."