Uncle Rick had racked up a massive gambling debt. My mom put three crumpled balls of paper on the table and told us, her three children, to draw lots. "To be fair, whoever draws the paper with ink on it takes on all of Uncle Rick's debt." "Big sister goes first, little brother goes last. Don't blame anyone if you pick it. It’s just fate." At that exact moment, I saw a stream of text scrolling across the sky, like comments on a livestream: [Girl, don't do it! Every single paper in that box has ink on it! Whoever draws first is doomed!] [Your mom is secretly livestreaming this from the corner to make sure you can't back out later! There are already hundreds of thousands of people watching!] [She knows you can't pay it back. She’s already called the black market organ harvesters. They’re waiting outside. Whoever draws is dead meat!] Whoever draws, dies? I smiled. I stopped my little sister, Penny, who was reaching out out of curiosity, and shoved the box directly in front of my brother, Tyler. "Tyler’s the boy. He should go first." Then, I grabbed my mom’s arm and pulled her closer. "Mom, why don't you draw one, too?" 1 The loan sharks had just left, and Mom immediately whipped out the paper balls for the draw. My brother Tyler’s chubby hand reached out first. "I wanna go first!" Mom, who usually spoiled him rotten, actually slapped his hand away. Hard. "No rules! We go by age. Oldest to youngest. It’s all about luck, stop grabbing!" I sneered internally. Then, more text floated across my vision. [She never thinks of her daughter when there are good things, but the second there’s debt, she pushes her to the front!] [She’s dying to sell her daughter for cash. She probably plans to use the leftovers to buy a house for her precious son.] [This isn't just about money. It’s murder.] "Nora, you're the oldest. You draw," Mom commanded. Uncle Rick and Aunt Pam, who had been wailing moments ago, stopped crying. They stared at me with hungry eyes. "Hurry up! Or those thugs will come back! Niece, do you want to see your uncle beaten to death?" "Stop stalling. You're a pretty girl; money comes faster for you than for a boy." Penny reached her hand out, curious. I blocked her, hiding the cold look in my eyes, and forcibly shoved Tyler’s hand into the box. "Tyler is the man of the house one day. He should go first!" Before Mom could react, I shoved the box into her arms. "Mom, you grab one too. Uncle Rick is your brother. You have more life experience; surely you have more ways to make money than us." The box seemed to burn her skin. She threw it away without thinking. Then, she snatched the paper Tyler had grabbed, tore it to shreds, and screamed at me. "You little ungrateful wretch! Playing games with me? Don't want to draw? Fine! If you won't draw, then it’s you! You’re paying your uncle’s debt!" [It's over. Is she really going to sell her daughter just like that?] [Those organ harvesters are brutal. They’ll strip her for parts until there's nothing left.] Sell me? I subtly scanned the room, looking for the hidden phone. Once I spotted the camera lens peeking out from a pile of clutter, I stood up, threw open the window, and started wailing at the top of my lungs. If hundreds of thousands of people were watching, surely they wouldn't beat me to death on camera. "Mom! What do I do?! I want to help Uncle Rick, but I’m a fresh college grad! I barely make $2,500 a month! Uncle gambled away $200,000! How am I supposed to pay that?!" "Uncle Rick, it’s not that I don't want to help, I literally can't!" Mom sneered from the side. "Crying is useless. This is your fate." But Uncle Rick rushed over to cover my mouth. "Shut up! Are you trying to call the debt collectors back?!" I glanced at the yard. The thugs were already turning back. I smiled. Too late, Uncle. Here they come. 2 The lead thug kicked the door open. Our flimsy front door, already hanging by a thread, crashed to the floor. "Are you playing games with us? Trying to fool us?" "You want a little girl to pay the debt? On $2,500 a month? I’d be waiting until the next century!" "Figure it out now, or I break your legs! Let’s see if you can gamble in a wheelchair! You don't have money? Then stop acting like a big shot!" Uncle Rick’s knees buckled. Most people have a backbone. My uncle was a jellyfish. He dropped to his knees. "Big bro, please! Just give me a little more time. I’ll find the money, I swear!" The thug kicked him square in the shoulder. Aunt Pam screamed. Rick rolled over, scrambling back up with a face full of snot and tears. "Bro, listen, I’m working on it! I don't have cash, but I have people! Look, my sister has three kids!" [Wow. Shameless.] I pinched my thigh hard, forcing tears to stream down my face. I wailed, "I'll work hard to pay it back! If I don't eat or drink for the next 27 years, I can pay off the principal! Please, just wait!" "What?!" The thug was furious. "27 years? Are you mocking me? I’m not waiting that long. Pay up now!" Uncle Rick started cursing at me. Aunt Pam joined in, sobbing, "Sister, control your kid! Is she trying to get my husband killed?" Mom was frantic. She took off her slipper and raised it to hit me. Penny threw herself over me. "Mommy, don't hit Nora! Please!" I looked at my little sister, my heart aching. Other kids get love. We were born to be blood bags. I pushed Penny aside and threw myself at Mom’s legs, hugging them tight. "Mom! It’s my fault I’m useless! But we can't let Uncle Rick die!" "He’s your baby brother! You have to help him!" Uncle Rick and Aunt Pam’s heads snapped toward us. They saw a new lifeline. "Sis! Nora is right. She’s too young to make real money, but you can!" "You guys own this house, you must have savings! Please, help us first!" Now, it was Mom’s turn to panic. 3 Uncle and Auntie played the family card hard, and I piled on the moral blackmail. "Mom, you always told us that we have to support our family no matter what. You said siblings are our backbone." "Isn't Uncle Rick your backbone? Are you just going to watch him die?" "If something happens to him, how will you face Grandma and Grandpa in the afterlife?" Mom’s face turned from green to purple. "Shut your mouth!" With a massive debt looming over her head, she forgot about the livestream. She raised her arm and smacked my back twice, hard. Years of farm work gave her a heavy hand; my back burned with pain. Penny cried and tried to stop her, but Mom shoved her to the ground. I clenched my fists and endured it. Born into this hellhole, I had no choice. I had to save myself. And I was going to take Penny with me. "I'm sorry, Mom! I won't say anything else!" I sobbed. Then I looked at Uncle Rick. "I'm sorry, Uncle. We really can't help. Mom has her own family to feed. She can't save you." Rick exploded. "Wang Xiuhua! I am your brother!" Mom’s face was red, but she stayed silent. The thugs saw that Rick wasn't going to pay up anytime soon. The leader walked into the kitchen and came back with a meat cleaver. "No money today? I take a hand. Next week? I take a leg!!" I grabbed Penny, burying her face in my chest. "Penny, close your eyes. Don't look." Mom didn't want the debt, but seeing the knife, she panicked and rushed forward to stop them. Aunt Pam grew a spine and joined the fray. The room erupted into chaos. Our furniture was smashed to pieces. In the scuffle, Mom got shoved hard and hit the back of her head on the floor. The floating comments rejoiced: [So satisfying! Karma comes fast!] [But the girl isn't safe yet. The organ traffickers are still waiting outside!] I looked at Tyler, the family's "Golden Child." The person who loved him most was groaning on the floor in pain, but he was standing on a chair, cheering, "Yeah! Get him! Fight!" I silently pitied my mother for raising such a monster. But I grabbed his arm. [Go outside and find Dad! Now!] He curled his lip. "No way. Let them fight. If one dies, the rest go to jail. Cool." [Wow. Just wow.] [Open your eyes, Mom! This is your precious son!] I suppressed the chill in my eyes. "This house is your inheritance, Tyler. If someone dies in here, the property value drops to zero! Go get Dad, now!" Only when his future assets were threatened did his expression change. Mom was still in the middle of the brawl, totally unaware. I watched the door intently. A few minutes later, the comments updated. [Oh snap.] [The Golden Child just got snatched.] [Mom dug her own grave. Her precious baby boy got taken by the traffickers she hired. Good luck explaining that to her husband!] I took a deep breath and called my dad. 4 By the time Dad got back, the thugs had trashed the place. Uncle and Auntie tried to beg for money again, but Dad chased them out with the meat cleaver. When I picked up the phone that was still livestreaming, the comments were going wild. [That man looks terrifying. Is he going to hit the kids? Someone call the cops!] [This woman is awful, but she doesn't deserve to die. This family is a horror show. We don't even know the address to send help!] I ended the stream. Mom and Dad? They fight, they break things, they make up. It wasn't worth the police yet. Dad’s cursing filled the room. "Wang Xiuhua! You lost my son for that piece of trash brother of yours?!" "What? My son? Where is he?" Mom’s wailing and Dad’s screaming echoed. Penny shrank into my arms, looking at me with terrified eyes. "Sister, is Daddy going to hit us?" Seeing the bruises on her arm, I hugged her tighter. In this house, beatings were as common as dinner. "No. I'll protect you." The noise next door died down. Then, Dad kicked our door open. Bam! "You two useless girls! Why are you just sitting there? Go find your brother!" We scrambled out like we’d been granted amnesty. I took Penny to the river in the next village and we sat there all afternoon. We didn't head back until it was pitch black. "Sister, if we don't find him, will Mom and Dad be mad?" They would be furious. But right now, Dad had someone he hated more than us. He wouldn't have time for us.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "386712", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel