Grandpa's Nursing Home Abused Him, Now The Negligence Settlement Is My Wedding Gift

The dinner with Julian had been perfect, but Elena had one more piece of business to settle. The county auction house was cold, filled with investors looking for bargains and vultures picking over the bones of the bankrupt. Elena stood in the back, wearing a new coat, blending in.

The auctioneer droned on about commercial equipment, but then the screen changed. An aerial photo of a sprawling country estate appeared. Thorne’s Manor. It was the house he had bragged about in depositions, the one built on the backs of neglected elderly patients.

"Opening bid is two million," the auctioneer called. "Do I hear two?"

Silence. It was a foreclosure dump. The maintenance costs alone scared away the casual flippers. Real estate auction tips usually suggested starting low, but Elena didn't care about the strategy. She cared about the symbolism.

She raised her paddle. Number 402.

"Two million to the lady in the back. Do I hear two-point-five?"

No one moved. The room smelled of stale coffee and opportunism. Thorne had sunk twelve million into the place, and now, nobody wanted his cursed monument.

"Going once... Going twice... Sold to Number 402 for two million dollars."

The gavel cracked like a pistol shot. Elena lowered her paddle. She had just bought the Antagonist’s castle for pennies on the dollar. She didn't buy it to live in. She bought it to transform it. The irony tasted sweeter than champagne.