When their father was arrested for drug abuse and child neglect, the Shelby children are swept into a world they've only ever seen on TV ─ adopted by a wealthy, uptight couple determined to mold them into their vision of 'proper.' After spending the...
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"We all have our prisons. Some are metal, some are flesh, and some are forged with gold."
— Unknown
The streets of Manchesterhad always been unforgiving, but for the Shelby family, they were home. The narrow alleys echoed with screaming neighbors, broken glass crunched underfoot, and the air was thick with the scent of smoke and the bitter chill of damp concrete. Isla Shelby had grown up navigating the chaos, acting as mother and protector to her five younger siblings. She knew every crack in the pavement, every shortcut that led them away from trouble, and every look in her father's eyes when he was on the verge of making yet another bad decision.
When the police came that night, it wasn't a surprise. Isla had seen it coming long before. Her deadbeat dad, caught in another drug-related crime, was arrested for neglect. The children, huddled together in their cramped flat, didn't cry as they were pulled from the only life they knew. It wasn't the first time their world had been turned upside down. But this time, there was no going back.
The next morning, they stood before a grand house with tall iron gates, a mansion so far removed from the slums they'd grown up in that it felt so surreal to witness. Their new guardians, a wealthy couple with kind smiles but cold eyes, opened the doors to a life of luxury Isla had never imagined. Marbled floors, crystal chandeliers, spotless rooms that looked more like museums than homes. It was a world where silence was heavy, and everything had its place — except for them.
Isla felt the weight of it immediately. She wasn't just responsible for keeping her siblings safe anymore. Now, she had to make sure they also fit in. But how could they?
Their new parents, well-meaning as they might be, didn't understand them. To the rich couple, the Shelby's were like stray dogs, to be washed, fed, and trained into proper pets.
Outside, the neighbors watched with wary eyes. Some whispered behind hedges, others hurried their kids away, unwilling to associate with the newcomers. A few even openly protested — they claimed the Shelby children would bring nothing but trouble, demanding to know why the Sutherlands had burdened their perfect neighborhood with a family of misfits.
The message was clear: no matter how clean or sophisticated they became, the Shelby's would never belong here.
As the gates clanged shut behind them, Isla felt a chill run down her spine. This wasn't just a new beginning — it was a trap disguised in gold, a gilded prison. She couldn't shake the feeling that they had just stepped into something far more dangerous than the life they had left behind, a place where losing themselves might be the real price of escape.
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──── | INSPIRED BY 'shameless', 'the oc', and 'skins'
──── | SID'S NOTE i'm back from the dead ya'll !! i really really miss writing, so here i am with a new apply fic! this one's gonna have a HUGE cast since i'll be covering the shelby kids' lives until they turn adults, kinda like shameless and skins, so expect lots of drama and heartaches with various different OC's and storylines on this >:)
