Three years after severing all ties with my parents, they sued me in court. They demanded I pay them alimony for the next thirty years. They weren't suing me because they needed the money. They just wanted to give their adopted daughter, who had just started at my mother's law firm, a high-profile case to make a name for herself. They knew I was in poor health. Because my father, a hospital director, had personally removed my right kidney and transplanted it into their adopted daughter. Shutterstock Khám phá They knew my reputation was ruined. Because my mother, a prominent lawyer, had set me up to take the fall for their adopted daughter and sent me to prison. But they still did it. Because one wanted to avoid the appearance of nepotism, and the other wanted to repay a life debt. In the end, the court ordered me to immediately pay three hundred thousand dollars. Exactly the amount I had managed to save up for my own life-saving surgery. Outside the courthouse, my parents lifted their chins and said: "Daughter, as long as you live in this world, don't even think about escaping your parents." I thought they were absolutely right. So, when the System appeared, told me I had terminal kidney cancer and no money for treatment, and asked if I wanted to transmigrate to another world... I agreed immediately. When the System first appeared, I was desperately working to save money for a kidney transplant. I hauled bricks at a construction site during the day, worked the assembly line at night, and delivered food on weekends. It was grueling, but the money added up fast. So, I refused to leave. I chose to stay in this world, because I still had hope, and I still had attachments. But right after I finally saved enough money and was preparing to travel out of state for the transplant, the police dragged me to court. Now, the kidney donor was gone, and the money was gone. My attachments had personally destroyed my hope. The freezing wind outside the courthouse hit me. I shivered and asked the System through chattering teeth: "Is your offer still valid? As long as my physical body dies, I can go to another world?" Upon receiving confirmation, I started looking around for an opportunity. Just then, a warm thermos brushed against my hand. "Drink some." I didn't answer. I tried to step around her and leave. My mother grabbed my wrist tightly. I looked down at her pale, gripping fingers. It was strange. The embrace I used to crave so deeply now just felt like a foreign object clinging to my skin. It made my skin crawl. "Let go," I said. She didn't let go. Instead, she took a step closer. "I said, let go." I used a little force and yanked my hand back. Then, I wiped the spot she had touched against her expensive cashmere coat. She froze, looking as if she couldn't believe I would do something so blatantly disrespectful. Just as I was about to leave, a burst of laughter came from a short distance away. I looked up. My father was smiling, holding his adopted daughter, Chloe's, hand as they got into a car. He didn't even glance in my direction. Chloe was holding the lid to the thermos. I looked down. Sure enough, the thermos had Chloe's name engraved on it. She was using someone else's leftover tea to offer me cheap charity. I slapped the thermos out of her hand, sending it clattering to the pavement. Actually, when the verdict was read, I had wanted to scream at them: "I have terminal kidney cancer! That three hundred thousand dollars is my life-saving surgery fund!" I wanted to see if they would show even a sliver of remorse. But before I could approach them, the wind carried their conversation to me. "...This three hundred thousand is perfect. Isn't this exactly the amount Liam asked for the dowry?" "Don't worry, Chloe. Mom and Dad will definitely make sure you have a grand, beautiful wedding with Liam." Liam. That name stabbed into my heart like a knife. He was my boyfriend. I had loved him for ten years. And my sister was using my life-saving surgery fund as a dowry to marry him. The words died in my throat, swallowed down along with the metallic taste of blood. Now, I was glad I hadn't asked. It was laughable. Why did I even have that impulse in the first place? Staring at the dented thermos on the ground, my mother's jaw tightened. "Are you done throwing your tantrum?" "Come home with me. You've run wild for three years, it's time to settle down." I looked at her. Once upon a time, that expression and that tone of voice would send chills down my spine and force me into immediate submission. Now, she just sounded like a villain delivering a cheesy line in a soap opera. I even let out a soft laugh: "Mom, aren't you afraid Chloe will get jealous if you show me so much concern?" "The last time you 'showed concern' about my bar exam, she got jealous, went drag racing, and killed someone. You two dragged me to the scene and made me take the fall." "What do you need me to take the fall for this time?" Since I was a child, she had favored Chloe countless times. Simply because Chloe's parents died saving her life. But I never expected she would actually send me to prison to protect Chloe. She avoided my gaze, her lips moving slightly: "The past is in the past... don't bring it up." "You know her parents saved my life..." "Come home. I'll cook for you myself to make it up to you." My eyes turned entirely cold. I stared directly into hers: "I wouldn't dare eat your cooking." "The last time I did, I woke up missing my right kidney." She swayed slightly and instinctively reached out to grab me again. I stepped back rapidly. The day I was released from prison, I was still completely in the dark. I had no idea it was my own parents who got me drunk and dumped me at the scene of the accident to take the fall. She specifically cooked a huge meal, saying it was to welcome me home. Back then, I was so stupid and so desperate. I thought I was finally going to feel the warmth of my family again. I took the bowl of soup she handed me and drank it, moved to tears. When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed with agonizing pain in my abdomen. My right kidney was gone. Through the wall from the VIP suite next door, I heard them laughing. My father was constantly comforting Chloe: "Don't worry about the legality of the organ source. I already forged a voluntary donation consent form." "Outsiders will only be moved. They'll say I'm such a selfless hospital director that I'm willing to sacrifice my own biological daughter's kidney to save my adopted one." I wanted to rush over and confront them, but the pain was so severe I rolled off the bed and curled up on the floor. My mother came out of the adjacent room and saw me. Her footsteps paused for exactly one second. Then, with a complicated expression, she averted her eyes and walked away. So why, standing in front of me now, was she refusing to let me go? "Maya, Chloe was dying back then..." "Enough!" I was so sick of this excuse. Every time they sacrificed me, it was always the same logic: "We had no choice," "She's more pitiful." I stopped looking at her and asked the System in my mind: "System, if I go to another world, will I have parents who actually love me?" Receiving a positive confirmation, I walked quickly toward the busy road outside the courthouse. My mother took a step forward and grabbed my arm: "Maya! What are you acting out for now?!" I violently shook her off. And without hesitation, I lunged toward an oncoming delivery truck. "MAYA!!!" I ran with all my might, closing my eyes and anticipating my new life. Amidst the screeching of tires, a powerful force yanked me backward. I crashed into someone's chest. Then I was pinned hard against the asphalt. I opened my eyes. The truck had stopped exactly where I had been standing a second ago. I didn't die. Frustration surged in my chest. My mother's arms were locked around me, frantically patting me down: "Maya! Are you okay?! Did you get hurt?! Say something!" I lay limp on the ground, refusing to utter a single word. She suddenly grabbed me by the collar of my shirt: "Maya! What the hell were you trying to do?!" Her voice was shrill, a mix of terror and pure fury: "Using suicide to threaten your parents? Do you think this will chase Chloe away and get you what you want?" "Let me tell you right now, it's impossible!" Looking at her flushed, agitated face, I just felt exhausted. In her eyes, everything I did was a calculated move to compete with Chloe. I couldn't be bothered to explain. I reached up and pried her fingers off my collar. "Let go." "Look at me!" She shoved her bleeding elbow directly into my line of sight, her voice trembling. "I got hurt like this trying to save you! Do you feel absolutely nothing?!" "Maya, do you even have a heart?" Ah, emotional blackmail again. This used to be her favorite tactic. She would constantly remind me how hard she worked, how difficult it was to fight her way up in a male-dominated field. And I would always soften and obey. I would swallow all my grievances and silently accept their blatant favoritism toward Chloe. But now, looking at her bleeding elbow, my heart was a barren wasteland. I even swatted her hand away in disgust: "Your blood is getting on my clothes." She froze, looking at me with profound hurt. I couldn't help but scoff. What did she have to be hurt about? All those years, when she turned a blind eye to the agony she inflicted on me, where was her heart? Now that I was simply treating her the way she treated me, she suddenly couldn't handle it? I shook her off and stood up. I brushed off the collar she had grabbed. "Don't follow me. We have nothing to do with each other anymore." "Nothing to do with each other?!" She staggered to her feet: "Maya! I am your mother!" I stopped walking and smirked: "Didn't you publicly sever all ties with me a long time ago?" "What, did the great lawyer forget?" It was at the banquet celebrating Chloe's successful kidney transplant. Chloe had had too much to drink. She walked over with her wine glass to "thank" me. In her drunken rambling, she let it slip that after the fatal car crash years ago, it was my mother who had gotten me drunk and dumped me at the scene to take the fall. I served five years in prison. An elite law student who graduated top of my class at Yale, reduced to a convicted felon. I had broken down and confronted my mother right then and there. Without batting an eye, she told the entire banquet hall that my time in prison had caused me to develop severe mental issues. In that moment, every ounce of suppressed grievance and rage I had carried my entire life detonated. I flipped the table and screamed at the top of my lungs about how she had favored Chloe since childhood, and how she had constantly sacrificed me. Humiliated in front of everyone, she pointed a shaking finger at me and said with absolute ice in her voice: "Fine! Since you hate me so much, I'll pretend I never gave birth to you!" "From this day forward, whether you live or die has absolutely nothing to do with this family!" She was the one who said those exact words. I looked at her angry face now and said, word by word: "Since you severed ties, what right do you have to care if I live or die?" With that, I turned to leave. After a long silence, her voice rang out again: "No matter what you say, you are my only biological daughter! You are the heiress of the Sterling family!" "Am I?" I sneered. She flinched. As if she suddenly remembered that the official, recognized heiress of the Sterling family was Chloe. She was the one who personally brought Chloe into her law firm and publicly cemented her status. While I, the biological daughter, was just a disgraced ex-con. My laughter grew louder, but tears rolled down my cheeks without warning. I used to not be able to understand it. How did the parents who used to hold me on their laps to teach me how to read, the parents who were so proud of me, turn into strangers who desperately favored an outsider? After countless sleepless nights, I finally figured it out: One was an obsessive fanatic, weaponizing the law to force the entire family to repay a life debt. The other was a hypocritical narcissist, willing to sacrifice anything to protect his reputation as a noble hospital director. In the face of "gratitude" and "reputation," I was always dead last. Without another word, she forcefully dragged me toward a taxi, keeping her head down: "Maya, stop causing a scene. Today is Chloe and Liam's wedding. Come with me." "Once Chloe is married, my debt is fully repaid. Then I'll make everything up to you." I had heard those words my entire life. "Once your sister's competition is over, Mom will take you to the amusement park." "Once Chloe gets into college, Mom will definitely make it up to you." Every promise was like a soap bubble—popping the second you touched it. I wanted to break free, but a sudden spike of cancer pain hit my kidney. I lost all my strength and was shoved into the back of the taxi. The car smelled like blood. Her arm was continuously bleeding, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead. But she maintained a death grip on my wrist, terrified I would run again. "Let go." My voice was entirely devoid of emotion. Instead of letting go, she gripped tighter, her nails practically digging into my flesh. "Maya, there's no need to compete with Chloe... Didn't you always want to be a lawyer? You can join my firm." I smirked, a completely humorless smile curling my lips: "What about Chloe? Didn't she already join your firm?" Her grip loosened for a fraction of a second: "Chloe... she's called me Mom for so many years... the firm... will definitely be handed over to her eventually." She paused, lowering her voice: "...You have a criminal record. You can't practice law independently." "You can work under Chloe as her paralegal. You'll still have access to all the firm's resources." "If you sisters work together, the family business will be secure. It's time for you to be mature about this." I leaned against the window, waves of agonizing pain radiating from my kidney. But even sharper than the pain was the sickening absurdity of it all. They used my kidney to save Chloe. They used my future to cover up her crimes. And now, they wanted to use the rest of my life as a stepping stone for her career. In her dreams! I reached forward and violently yanked the emergency handbrake! "Maya! Are you insane?!" The tires locked instantly. Like a wild horse, the taxi spun out of control, fishtailing across the lanes! With a deafening CRASH, we slammed into the concrete median. A violent shockwave ripped through my body, and the world spun. I had intentionally unbuckled my seatbelt, waiting for death. But the deploying airbags absorbed most of the impact. After the initial dizziness faded, I was still fully conscious. I immediately reached for the door handle. Outside was a stream of speeding cars. I still had a chance! "Maya!!" My mother lunged across the backseat and locked her arms around me. "Do you hate me that much?!" Her eyes were bloodshot, her voice hoarse. "Hate me enough... to drag me down to hell with you?!" I offered a dismissive half-smile: "Hate? Not worth the energy." "I just want to take a different path." "If you insist on following me, you bear the consequences." In an instant, the last remaining color drained from her face. But she still held onto me with a death grip, half-dragging, half-carrying me out of the wrecked car and into another passing taxi. We arrived at the wedding venue. My mother took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. Under the crystal chandeliers, my father was patting Chloe on the shoulder, smiling with immense pride. It was a look I had never, ever received from him. Chloe bowed slightly, the picture of humility. Liam stood beside her in a sharp tuxedo, looking at her tenderly, reaching down to adjust the train of her dress. The three of them stood together—a picture of absolute harmony and success. With Liam's adoration, my parents' unwavering backing, and me acting as her stepping stone, Chloe truly was the ultimate winner in life. Before anyone could see, I hastily wiped away my tears. Chloe was the first to notice us. Seeing the injuries on my mother's face and arm, she rushed over: "Mom! What happened?!" She supported my mother, carefully avoiding the wounds, before shooting me an icy glare: "Did Maya do something to you again?! Did she—" "Chloe!" my mother interrupted sharply. "It has nothing to do with her! I fell." She caught her breath: "You're a lawyer. You need evidence before you speak. You can't just falsely accuse people." A flash of embarrassment crossed Chloe's face. I also gave my mother a surprised look. The woman who spearheaded fabricating evidence to frame me was actually lecturing someone about false accusations. Liam walked over and linked arms with Chloe, his voice gentle: "Chloe was just worried about you, Mom. Please don't blame her." He looked at me. His tone remained light, but every word was a calculated stab: "Some people are miserable in their own lives, so they can't stand seeing others happy. They always want to cause chaos in the family." "Compared to Chloe... some people are just trash in the gutter." His handsome features were exactly the same as they were ten years ago. Back then, he was huddled under a bridge, like a pathetic stray cat, his eyes the only thing burning bright. I brought him home, enduring months of my mother screaming at me: "You bring every dirty, smelly stray into this house!" To pay for his schooling, I skipped breakfast and snuck off to haul bricks at construction sites. I didn't even dare tell anyone when my arm was slashed open by rebar. I saved up for months to buy a pair of plain silver rings. I slipped the smaller one onto his finger and told him I would marry him when I made something of myself. He nodded emphatically, his eyes shining like stars. During my two years in prison, he came to visit me rain or shine, telling me he would wait for me. He was the only light left in my world. But the day my mother publicly severed ties with me, I received a text from him: "We're breaking up. The baby is gone." And just like that, he took his place beside Chloe. Using the most contemptuous words imaginable to grind me into the dirt. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. Smack! The surrounding area instantly went quiet. Liam covered his cheek, his eyes wide in disbelief: "You dare hit me?" I shook out my stinging hand: "You had a filthy mouth. You deserved to be hit." He had never seen me act like this. Stunned, he covered his face and looked at Chloe, not daring to say another word. "Maya!" Chloe stepped forward, pointing her finger in my face. "Are you done?! Do you know where you are? How dare you hit someone here?! Apologize!" I saw it then. On the hand she was pointing at me was the plain silver ring that was supposed to be mine. Years of suppressed rage obliterated my remaining reason. I drove my fist directly into her face. I was going to smash her hypocritical mask! Caught completely off guard, Chloe stumbled backward, crashing into the champagne tower. Glass shattered everywhere. Before I could even process the satisfaction of revenge, blinding pain exploded across the side of my face. My father had punched me to the floor. Spittle flew from his mouth as he roared: "You ungrateful wretch! Look at yourself! You're an absolute disgrace! Is fighting the only thing you know how to do?!" He pointed down at me, his face twisted in utter disgust: "Look at you, looking like you're half-dead! You're a walking curse!"
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