Four Ballots. Four Names. My Family Chose To Trade Me Away Chapter 01

Four Ballots. Four Names. My Family Chose To Trade Me Away Chapter 01

When the whole family signed up for the live-swap reality show, the producers asked each of us to anonymously write down the name of the family member we most wanted to exchange away.

Four ballots, and four of them all wrote my name: Wren Holloway.

The biological daughter who’d been back for only three years, and already my family couldn’t wait to toss me out like garbage.

My celebrity mother, Celeste Montgomery, sighed into the camera. “Wren’s just too withdrawn. She’s honestly not half as likable as Seraphina.”

My entrepreneur father, Harrison Blake, nodded in agreement. “She insisted on majoring in some useless archaeology program. Can’t help the family business one bit.”

My younger sister, Seraphina Blake, the child star, pouted with fake grievance. “Wren always looks so miserable. It ruins my appetite just eating at the same table with her.”

My so-called genius brother, Dorian Blake, didn’t even sugarcoat it. “She’s dead weight. If it weren’t for her, I’d have launched my startup by now.”

They all took turns dragging me in front of the cameras.

What they didn’t know was that I’d received a swap card too.

A card that would let me disappear completely—just like they wanted.

All I had to do was agree to leave.

And every gift I’d brought to the Blake family would vanish along with me.

My father’s surging business fortune. My mother’s ageless beauty. My brother’s supernatural IQ. My sister’s perfect singing voice.

As the live countdown hit zero, the host turned to me and asked if I agreed to be exchanged.

I smiled, held up that golden card, and pressed it against my photo.

“Since you all want to trade me out so badly—”

I met their stunned faces. “—then I’ll grant your wish.”

—

The host displayed the five ballots with my name written across them, milking the moment for the cameras.

“Looks like Miss Holloway is the least popular member of this family!”

“Miss Holloway, you will be the exchanged contestant on Swap Lives.”

“You’ll be heading to Dust Hollow, a remote farming town in West Texas, for a period of heavy agricultural labor.”

“And in your place, lifestyle blogger Piper Langley will move into the Blake family and enjoy the life of a wealthy heiress!”

The big screen cut to footage of Dust Hollow.

Cracked adobe walls, drought-parched yellow soil, and the man of the exchange household—a local with a reputation for being rough and ill-tempered.

Laughter and whispers rippled through the studio audience.

“That place doesn’t even have a proper bathroom, right? The real heiress is about to go shovel manure.”

On the other screen, my photo now bore a giant “EXCHANGED” stamp.

I looked at my family, sitting front row in their designer outfits, and gripped the microphone.

“Dad. Mom.” My voice was soft. “Do you really want to trade me away?”

A wave of snickers from the audience.

“Tch. The real daughter’s showing her small-town roots. Can’t let go of the money, trying to guilt-trip them.”

Celeste was touching up her lipstick with a compact mirror. At my question, she snapped it shut with practiced nonchalance.

“Wren, sweetheart, it’s not that I’m heartless. I’ve done everything a mother could for you these past three years.”

“I took you to top-tier medispas. Bought you six-figure seasonal couture. Even swallowed my pride to introduce you to my circle.”

“But look at you. Dull hair, sallow skin, aging faster than I do. You don’t even try.”

“Honestly, walking next to you, people might think you’re my older sister.”

She laughed lightly, covering her mouth.

“Don’t blame me, honey. Think of this as a retreat. Fresh country air might put some color back in your cheeks.”

I watched her carefully painting her lips. She loved her looks so much.

But what if she wasn’t beautiful anymore?

I stayed quiet for a long moment, then lifted my head slowly.

“Mom, if you really trade me away, you—”

I stopped myself. The rest of that sentence was: you’ll lose your beauty.

But before I could finish, my father’s face twisted with disgust.

“Wren! Are you threatening your mother now?”

“We’re choosing a better daughter. So what if we trade you? What consequences could there possibly be?”

Murmurs from the audience, “Poor Wren, though. Her family is so quick to dump her.”

“Must be a reason the whole family hates her. She probably did something awful.”

The host looked awkward. “Mr. and Mrs. Blake, would you like to reconsider giving Wren another chance?”