Echoes of the Forgotten Sister: A Seven-Year Lie

Seven years after I disappeared, my brother found my name on an organ donor list. He stared at the paperwork in the nurse’s hand, his brow furrowing deeply as he looked at my photo and my former name. "Where is this person?" "In the hospice wing on the 12th floor. Today is likely her last lucid day. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow." His face was dark as he took the elevator up. When he pushed the door open, he caught me in the middle of writing my will. "Chloe." I looked up at him and offered a calm smile. "You must have the wrong person, Mr. Sterling. My name is Mia, not Chloe." He approached the hospital bed, his tone rigid. "Come home with me. Apologize to Lily. I'll find you the best doctors..." "There's no need. I haven't done anything wrong, so I have no one to apologize to." Without looking up again, I signed my name at the bottom of the organ donation agreement. ...... After a long pause, he let out a cold scoff. "Nice act. Seven years later, and you're still playing the innocent victim." "You're sick? What is it? Why do you need surgery?" I chuckled softly. "Terminal glioblastoma. I don't have much time left." "Rather than rotting in the ground, I might as well donate my organs and save a few lives." Alexander’s expression shifted slightly, but he quickly masked it with coldness. "Save it. You think playing the pity card will make me go soft?" He glanced around the sparsely furnished hospital room, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Things haven't been going well for you out here, have they? If you hadn't done those things back then, it wouldn't have come to this." I stared down at my emaciated hands, remaining silent. "Chloe..." he called out suddenly, a trace of conflict in his voice. "Are you really that sick?" I looked up at him, my eyes terrifyingly calm. "What does it matter to you, Mr. Sterling?" "I am your brother!" "Your sister died seven years ago." His face turned a sickly pale, and he glared at me. "You hate me that much? Weren't the things that happened back then your own..." "Enough," I cut him off. "Mr. Sterling, you didn't come here to rehash the past, did you? What do you want? Spit it out." He opened his mouth, but found he couldn't form the words. "Let me guess," I said slowly. "Does she... need a liver again?" Alexander didn't answer. But his evasive gaze told me everything I needed to know. I leaned back against the headboard and laughed aloud. "I see." "After seven years, she finally remembered she has a sister." "So you're here today to demand my liver for her?" "Not demand," he corrected. "It's what you should do. You volunteered to donate back then. Now Lily needs it again. You are still her sister; this is your responsibility." Leaning against the headboard, I found the whole situation utterly absurd. "Alexander, seven years ago when you kicked me out of the house, why didn't you mention that I was her sister?" "You brought that upon yourself!" his voice suddenly spiked. "If you hadn't done all those vicious things and framed Lily, why would I have kicked you out?" "You're still lying, still pretending to be innocent." "Did you think hiding for seven years would make me forget what you did?" I closed my eyes, my heart turning to ash. So, he never doubted it. He always believed I was the one at fault. "Get out," I said exhaustedly. "I need to rest." "Chloe!" He suddenly grabbed my shoulders. "Listen to me clearly! Lily needs your liver!" I opened my eyes and looked at him calmly. "Then let her wait on the transplant list. My organs have already been promised to strangers." "You—" He was trembling with anger. "How can you be so heartless?! Lily saved my life back then! Without her, there would be no Sterling family today! And you, you ungrateful wretch!" I said nothing, merely turning my head to look out the window. "Chloe, let me make this perfectly clear today," he released me, his tone turning glacial. "If you don't save Lily, I will absolutely not let you die this easily." "I will use every resource the Sterling family has to treat your illness. I will keep you alive. I will make your life a living hell." Listening to his threats, I felt absolutely nothing. "Do whatever you want." He gave me one last, deep look, then turned and left. The door slammed shut behind him. Lying in the hospital bed, tears silently rolled down my cheeks. 2 My thoughts drifted back to fourteen years ago. That year, I was thirteen, and Alexander was twenty-one. Our parents died in a car accident, leaving behind the massive Sterling family fortune and countless relatives drooling over it. Back then, Alexander was like a wolf protecting its cub. He shielded me tightly behind him and carried the weight of everything on his own shoulders. At the funeral, a drunken relative pointed a finger at me and cursed. "You worthless little jinx! If it weren't for you, your parents wouldn't be dead!" Alexander threw a punch, leaving the man's face covered in blood. "Anyone who dares touch a single hair on my sister's head, I'll make them wish they were dead." That night, holding me as I cried my eyes out, he repeated over and over: "Don't be scared, Chloe. Your brother is here." "I will protect you for the rest of my life." I believed him. I thought we would always rely on each other like that. But everything changed when Lily, our half-sister, arrived. She had poor health, so my brother gave her my bedroom because it had better sunlight. When she didn't like the meals our cook prepared, my brother took her out to eat every single day. When she was afraid to sleep alone, my brother stayed in her room until she fell asleep. A month before my high school finals, Lily contracted a rare liver disease and was in critical condition. My brother went out of his mind with worry. He took her to the best hospitals in the country and consulted every top specialist. Ultimately, the doctors gave two options: Wait for a deceased donor, or do a living-donor transplant. Waiting for a donor could take a year or two, time she didn't have. A living-donor transplant required an immediate family member with a matching blood type. And in the entire Sterling family, only she and I had the same blood type. When my brother came to talk to me, I was doing my final review for exams. "Chloe," his tone was softer than it had been in a long time. "You know about Lily, right?" I didn't say anything. "The doctor said you have the highest probability of being a match." I turned a page in my textbook. "Chloe, she's going to die." His voice trembled slightly. "Please. Save her." I finally looked up at him. "Alexander, do you remember what you were doing the last time I was sick?" He froze. "I had a fever of 104 degrees. I lay in my room alone for two days, and no one cared." "And what were you doing? You were taking Lily shopping." "Because she said she was in a bad mood." He opened his mouth. "Chloe, that time was my fault..." "And," I cut him off, "do you remember the time I was pushed down the stairs?" "When I told you it was Lily who pushed me, what did you say?" "You said I was clumsy and didn't watch where I was going, and that I was just trying to blame Lily." His face went pale. "Chloe..." "Alexander, you want me to save her?" I stood up, looking him in the eye. "Fine." "But after this, we are even. I will no longer be a member of the Sterling family, and you will no longer be my brother!" 3 He flinched. "What did you say?" "I said, I'm willing to donate part of my liver to her." "But after the surgery, I'm leaving the Sterling family." "Consider me dead." He remained silent for a long time. Finally, he nodded. On the day of the surgery, I was wheeled toward the operating room. Just before I went in, I saw my brother standing by the door. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something. But in the end, he said nothing. The surgery was a success. Lily survived. I lost a third of my liver and never returned to the Sterling estate. That afternoon, Alexander came back. This time, Lily was trailing behind him. Seven years had passed. She had grown even more beautiful, those dark eyes still as bright as ever. Alexander sat on the edge of the bed. "Chloe, Lily came to see you." "Chloe," Lily walked over, her eyes rimmed with red. "I heard you were sick. I've been so worried..." "Drop the act," I interrupted. "It's just the three of us. Who are you performing for?" Lily's face paled, and a tear slipped down her cheek. "Chloe, why do you hate me so much? What happened back then wasn't my fault..." "Not your fault?" I scoffed. "Lily, you hacked my account and insulted yourself in the class group chat—wasn't that you? You peeked at my exam paper—wasn't that you? You pushed me down the stairs—wasn't that you either?!" "Enough!" Alexander abruptly stood up. "Chloe, it's been seven years, and you're still telling these lies!" "All the evidence back then proved it was you! How long are you going to keep framing Lily?!" "Just because you were jealous that Lily was better than you, just because you couldn't stand her, you fabricated all these lies!" Every word he spoke twisted like a knife in my heart. "Alexander, are you so certain I was the one lying?" "Wasn't it you?!" he said coldly. "Everyone at school—the teachers, the students—saw what you did. You were the one constantly bullying Lily. You were jealous of her!" I closed my eyes, not wanting to argue anymore. There was no point. He never believed me. "Chloe," Lily stepped closer, grabbing my hand. "I know you hate me. But Alexander said you're sick, and I'm truly so sad..." "If you need money for treatment, I can give you all my savings..." I snatched my hand away. "Lily, save your little tricks!" I looked at Alexander. "Alright, I know why you're both here. But I'm not donating my liver to her." "I would rather give it to a stranger than save her again." Alexander's face darkened with rage. "Chloe, are you really that heartless?!" "Yes, I am," I looked back at him. "Seven years ago, I gave her a third of my liver. What did I get in return? I got kicked out of my own home!" "Now you come crawling back to me. Why should I?!" "You brought that upon yourself!" "Fine, perfect," I nodded. "Then my refusal to save her now is her bringing it upon herself too." "After all, you reap what you sow." Alexander was trembling with fury. He suddenly grabbed me by the collar. "Chloe, don't push me!" "What are you going to do?" I met his gaze dead on. "Hit me? Kill me?" "I'm dying anyway, so be my guest." His hands shook. After a long moment, he released me and took a deep breath. "Chloe, I'm asking you one last time. Are you going to save Lily or not?" "No." "Good. Very well." He laughed coldly. "Then don't blame me for what happens next." He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Do it. Execute the plan I told you about." 4 My heart sank. "What are you trying to do?" "Nothing much," he put his phone away. "Since you want to donate your organs to strangers, I'll make sure those strangers never get them." "I'm having the hospital cancel your donation application." "And then, I will use all of the Sterling family's resources to treat you." "I'll keep you alive in agony until you agree to save Lily." My eyes widened. "You're insane!" "You forced my hand," he said coldly. "Chloe, you are too selfish. For the sake of your pathetic pride and resentment, you'd rather hurt innocent people." "You're just as vicious as you were back then." With that, he grabbed Lily and walked out. I lay in bed, shaking with rage. That very night, a hospital administrator came in to inform me that my donation surgery was canceled. "Someone reported that your mental state is unstable, rendering you unfit to make donation decisions." "We need to conduct a psychiatric evaluation, which will take at least a month." The next day, I was transferred to the best private hospital in the city. I was put in a VIP suite, and my attending physician was the nation's leading neurologist. Alexander stood in my room, looking down at me coldly. "Cooperate with the treatment. Once Lily's surgery is done, whether you want to live or die is up to you." "Alexander, this is false imprisonment!" "Call it whatever you want," he shrugged indifferently. "I'm saving your life. Who's going to say anything?" "You are a monster!" "You forced me to do this," he walked over to the bed and leaned down. "Chloe, if you had just agreed earlier, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble." I looked into his eyes. They were filled with madness and obsession. I knew he would follow through on every word. "Fine," I closed my eyes. "I agree." He paused. "What did you say?" "I said, I agree to save her." I opened my eyes and looked at him calmly. "But I have one condition." "Name it." "After the surgery, you leave me alone. Let me choose how I die." He remained silent for a moment. "Fine. I promise." The next day, I was wheeled into the operating room. Alexander stood by the door, looking at me with a complex expression. "Chloe..." I didn't look at him. I just closed my eyes. The surgery lasted four hours. It was successful. A portion of my liver was transplanted into Lily once again. After the surgery, I was sent to the ICU. Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared. "The patient is in cardiac arrest! Prepare for resuscitation!" The EKG monitor emitted a long, continuous beep. My heart stopped, and my soul slowly drifted out of my body. Through the glass, I saw Alexander standing in the hallway. He was talking to the doctor, his expression much more relaxed now that Lily's surgery was a success. When he heard the news of my death, he simply gave a faint "Mm" and furrowed his brow imperceptibly. Just then, a commotion erupted outside the ICU. "Mr. Sterling! Mr. Sterling!" It was his assistant's voice. "We investigated the events from seven years ago! All the evidence is right here!" The assistant handed Alexander a tablet. Alexander took it, swiped through the files, and his face slowly turned ashen white. "How is this possible..." 5 He abruptly jerked his head up, looking into the ICU at my lifeless body. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with shock, regret, and utter despair. On the tablet, the evidence stabbed into his heart like a knife. The security footage clearly showed Lily sneaking onto my phone, logging into my account, and sending those vicious insults in the class group chat. Her head was lowered, a smug smirk playing on her lips. After sending the messages, she carefully placed the phone back into my backpack exactly where she found it. Then there was the exam. The footage showed Lily waiting until I went to the restroom to secretly rummage through my test papers. She then deliberately "let it slip" in front of the teacher, claiming I had stayed up late studying and magically guessed all the key topics. The most chilling piece of evidence was the stairwell video. In the frame, I was wearing my backpack, about to head down the stairs. Lily approached from behind, checked her surroundings to ensure no one was watching, and suddenly reached out, shoving me violently. Caught completely off guard, I tumbled down the entire flight of stairs. She then swiftly ran to the top of the landing. Tears sprang to her eyes instantly as she cried out to the arriving teachers: "Mr. Davis, I saw Chloe looking at her phone while walking... I told her to be careful, but she didn't hear me..." Her acting in the video was sickeningly perfect. "Impossible..." Alexander's voice trembled. The assistant pulled up another file—a psychiatric diagnosis report. "Mr. Sterling, these are Lily's medical records from back then. She had been seeing a psychiatrist regularly since she was fifteen. The diagnosis was Borderline Personality Disorder, accompanied by severe possessiveness and a need for control." "The doctor's notes read: 'The patient's attachment to her brother has exceeded the bounds of normal familial affection, displaying an intense desire for exclusivity. She views her sister as a rival and has repeatedly expressed a desire to "eliminate the obstacle" during sessions. Immediate systematic treatment is recommended, otherwise the consequences could be disastrous.'" Alexander's face was now as white as a sheet of paper. "And there's this," the assistant handed over another document. "These are new testimonies from her former classmates. Over the past few years, several of them moved abroad, escaping Lily's control, and are now willing to speak the truth." "They stated that Lily threatened them back then. If they didn't provide false testimony for her, she would use the Sterling family's influence to get their parents fired. Those kids were terrified and had no choice but to do as she said." "Sarah Jenkins said she personally saw Lily frame Ms. Chloe but was too scared to speak up. She lived with the guilt all these years, and now that she's settled overseas, she finally had the courage to testify." He remembered that night seven years ago. I knelt in front of him, crying and begging him to believe me. "Alexander, it really wasn't me! It was Lily! She framed me!" And what did he say? "Enough, Chloe! The evidence is irrefutable. How much longer are you going to lie?!" "So many people saw it! Are you saying everyone is trying to frame you?" "You're just jealous that Lily is better than you, which is why you're targeting her at every turn!" "I was so wrong about you!" He still remembered the look in my eyes back then. It was pure, unadulterated despair. Like a drowning person grasping at the final piece of driftwood, only to have it snap in their hands. "Alexander... I really didn't..." My voice had trailed off, eventually turning into a choked sob. "I don't want to hear your excuses!" he had roared. "Starting tomorrow, move out of the Sterling house! I never want to see you again!" That night, I packed my bags alone. He walked past my bedroom door and heard muffled crying from inside. He placed his hand on the doorknob, hesitating for a long time. In the end, he never pushed that door open. The next morning, I left. Without even saying goodbye. He thought I would come back. After all, I had depended on him since we were kids. But he waited a week, a month, a year... I never returned. And he never went looking for me. Because he believed I was the one who made the mistake, so why should he be the one to seek me out? Thinking back on it now, how laughable, how foolish he had been. "Mr. Sterling..." the assistant called out cautiously. Alexander violently snapped back to reality. He lunged toward the ICU doors. But the doctors blocked him. "Mr. Sterling, please accept our condolences..." "Get out of my way!" he roared, kicking open the heavy ICU doors. "Chloe! Chloe!" He grabbed my cold hand, his voice hoarse and broken. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" "I was wrong! I was so, so wrong!" His agonizing screams echoed throughout the ICU. A doctor pulled down his surgical mask and handed him a document. "Mr. Sterling, the patient signed a Do Not Resuscitate order before the surgery. She stated that if complications arose during the operation, we were not to resuscitate her, and to let her pass peacefully. This is her final will. Please accept our condolences."

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