My Family Raised Me to Harvest My Kidney

My sister Rebecca's engagement party was coming up.

My mother Linda smiled warmly as she helped me try on my bridesmaid dress, telling me I was the most beautiful girl in the world.

But the next second, I heard her vicious calculations from the depths of her mind:

The waistline of this dress is perfectit'll cover the incision nicely. Next week, after we harvest her kidney for Rebecca, Rebecca can marry into the Harrison family in style. As for whether this one survives the operating table... well, that'll be up to fate.

In that moment, I felt like I'd plunged into an icy abyss.

So I was never the beloved younger daughter. I was just a spare blood bag they'd carefully raised for eighteen years to use for Rebecca!

Since you showed no humanity, don't blame me for tearing down this facade of a family.

Spotlights shone on the enormous floor-length mirror.

I stood on a raised platform wearing a pure white bridesmaid dress.

Linda knelt at my feet, several pins clenched between her lips, her hands deftly adjusting the fabric at my waist.

She looked up at me, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes filled with love and tenderness.

"Our Cassie is so beautiful. When your sister gets married, you'll definitely be the prettiest bridesmaid there."

She reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, her fingertips warm against my skin.

I looked at our reflection in the mirrorat the face that resembled hersand started to form a happy smile.

But then, abruptly, a cold, sharp voice echoed in my mind.

*[This waistline is perfect. Next week after the surgery, we'll slap some gauze on the wound, and this dress will hide everything.]*

*[As long as she doesn't die on the operating table, Rebecca's illness will be cured. The wedding money and villa from the Harrisons will be secured.]*

*[Even if this worthless girl does have an accident, trading one cheap life for our family's prosperity for the rest of our livestotally worth it.]*

My smile froze instantly on my face.

All the blood in my body seemed to drain away in that instant. My hands and feet turned ice-cold, like dead flesh.

I stared hard at Linda in front of me.

Her lips hadn't moved at all. She still wore that motherly smile.

But that voiceit was unmistakably hers, with a chilling calculation that made my skin crawl.

"Linda..." I heard my own voice trembling.

Linda immediately stood up, gripping my hands with a face full of concern. "What's wrong? Is the dress too tight? Why is your face so pale?"

*[Did this girl figure something out? No way. I need to watch her closely these next few days. Can't let anything go wrong now.]*

I bit down hard on my tongue until I tasted blood, barely suppressing the fear rising in my chest.

"I'm fine. Maybe I didn't sleep well last night. Just a little low blood sugar." I forced out a weak smile.

Linda breathed a sigh of relief and patted the back of my hand.

"That's good. The SATs are coming up soonyou need to take care of yourself. Your sister is counting on you to be there when she gets married."

I lowered my eyelids, hiding the coldness in my eyes.

Be there when she gets married?

More like hand over my kidney. Maybe even my life.

This was my last day as their obedient daughter.

On the drive home, Richard was behind the wheel.

He'd always been a man of few words, but today he kept glancing at me through the rearview mirror.

"Cassie, take tomorrow off from school and go to the hospital for a full physical. You're about to start collegeneed to make sure you're healthy."

His tone was casual, like he was discussing something trivial.

I leaned against the car window, watching the scenery fly past, saying nothing.

Linda immediately chimed in. "That's right. Your sister coughed up blood again today. She's getting an IV at the hospital. If you were half as precious as your sister, I'd feel so much better."

*[Tomorrow once the compatibility results come back, we'll schedule the surgery immediately. Richard's already bought the drugs off the black market. She won't have a choice.]*

I suddenly gripped the seatbelt tighter, my knuckles turning white.

Eighteen years.

I'd finally seen this so-called family for what it really was.

The living room walls were covered with Rebecca's glamour shots from childhood to now.

She wore princess dresses and tiarasthe treasured jewel held in the palm of the entire family.

As for me? I didn't have a single solo photo. The only picture I appeared in was a group shot from middle school graduation, pressed under the glass of the coffee table at the very bottom.

All my life, if Rebecca coughed once, Linda would be frantic with worry. If Rebecca had a fever, Richard would drive across half the city in the middle of the night to buy her the strawberries she wanted.

And me?

When I had a 103-degree fever and was barely conscious, Linda just tossed two fever reducers on my nightstand.

"Be good, Cassie. I have to go to the hospital to be with Rebecca. Take your medicine and sleep it off."

I used to think they favored Rebecca more because she wasn't healthy.

I tried so hard to be good, studied so hard, did all the houseworkall just to earn even a single look of approval from them.

Now I understood.

I was never their daughter at all.

I was just a "spare blood bag" they'd carefully raised and were ready to slaughter at any timeall for Rebecca.

At dinnertime, the table was laden with lavish dishes.

Linda brought over a steaming bowl of beef stew and personally placed it in front of me.

"Cassie, eat up. It'll be good for you."

She smiled so kindly, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothing out.

*[I put half a sleeping pill in this soup. Once she's out cold, we'll take her straight to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning to draw blood. Saves us the trouble of dealing with a fuss.]*

I looked at the bowl with its oily sheen, my stomach churning.

"Thanks, Linda."

I picked up the bowl and stirred it gently with my spoon.

Linda sat across from me, eyes fixed on my every movement without blinking.

"Hurry up and eat. It'll get fishy if it gets cold," she urged.

I scooped up a spoonful and brought it to my lips, then pretended to be burned and started coughing violently.

"Burned! So hot!"

I bent over, spitting all the soup into a tissue I'd prepared earlier, then quickly stuffed it into my sleeve.

"You careless child." Linda frowned, a flash of impatience in her tone.

*[What a useless thing. Can't even drink soup without choking. Hurry up and finish so she can sleep. Can't delay tomorrow.]*

I looked up, my eyes red from coughing.

"Linda, I really can't drink any more. I'm going to bed."

Linda looked at the bowl still more than half full, her expression darkening.

"No way. You have to finish it! I spent all afternoon making this!"

She suddenly stood up, grabbed the bowl, and tried to force it down my throat.

I dodged to the side. The soup splashed onto the tablecloth.

"Linda! I really can't drink any more!" I raised my voice.

Richard slammed his fork down hard on the table with a dull thud.

"What kind of way is that to talk to your mother? She told you to drink, so drink!"

I looked at their faces as they gradually shed their masks, the coldness in my heart growing deeper.

I couldn't confront them head-on right now.

I took a deep breath, putting on a look of surrender, picked up the bowl, and drank it down in big gulps.

Except each time, I cleverly held the liquid in my mouth, then spit it into the sponge hidden in my sleeve while pretending to wipe my mouth.

After the last swallow, I set the empty bowl heavily on the table.

"I'm done. Can I go to bed now?"

Linda's expression finally softened, revealing a satisfied smile.

"That's more like it. Go on, get some good sleep."

*[The drug takes effect in half an hour. Tonight's in the bag.]*

Back in my room, I immediately locked the door.

I rushed to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, stuck my fingers down my throat, and forced myself to vomit.

I didn't stop until I'd thrown up everything in my stomach, even the acid. I collapsed weakly against the sink.

In the mirror, my face was deathly pale, my eyes bloodshotlike a ghost crawling out of hell.

I didn't cry.

My tears had dried up the moment I saw the truth.

I dug deep in my backpack and pulled out a small glass vial, carefully collecting the residual soup squeezed from the sponge in my sleeve.

This was evidence of their crime.

I pulled out an old, obsolete phone, connected it to a power bank, hid it in the pile of clutter under my bed, and activated the long-term recording function.

After finishing all this, I lay in bed, closed my eyes, and waited quietly.

Midnight.

Light footsteps came from outside the door.

Clickthe lock was opened from the outside with a spare key.

I slowed my breathing and lay completely still.

Linda and Richard tiptoed to my bedside.

"Is she asleep?" Richard whispered.

Linda waved her hand in front of my eyes, then pushed my shoulder.

"Out cold. This drug is strongcouldn't wake a pig."

She laughed coldly, her tone devoid of any pity for her daughteronly the satisfaction of a successful scheme.

"Alright, quit talking. Hurry up and get the consent form," Richard urged.

The sound of rustling papers filled the air.

"Here, hold her thumb and press it right here." Linda directed.

I felt a rough hand grab my right thumb and press it toward something coldan ink pad.

*[Once she's stamped her thumbprint, this girl won't be able to fly away even with wings. Even if she wakes up later, it'll be in black and white. She won't be able to deny it.]*

Just as my fingertip was about to touch that so-called "voluntary organ donation consent form," I suddenly opened my eyes.

In the darkness, my eyes shone brightly.

"Linda, Richardwhat are you doing?"