Born to Be Sacrificed

My neighbor's daughter is sick, and my mother forces me to donate a kidney to her.

I've been malnourished since childhood—just drawing blood is enough to cost me my life. However, my mother says, "What does your death matter to me? Rhea is my actual daughter!"

Only then do I learn that my mother switched me and our wealthy next-door neighbor's daughter at birth! I glance at my neighbor's daughter, but she's calm and unaffected.

I watch as my mother signs the consent form for the operation. My father ties me to the operating table, and my brother performs the surgery. I have no strength to retaliate, so I make one last request—a DNA test with my mother.

She agrees—she wants me to stop holding out hope.

Later, I forget everything after the surgery, but she breaks down.

When I opened my eyes, Mom was standing in front of me. I tried to get up, only to realize that my arms were tightly bound to a hospital chair.

Before I could say anything, Mom suddenly spoke up. "I've raised you for so many years, and now it's time for you to repay me! I want you to save Rhea."

I couldn't help but feel a rising sense of panic as I asked, "Mom… what are you talking about?"

A young man's voice interjected, "Mom wants you to donate your kidney to Rhea."

That voice sounded all too familiar to me.

I turned my head and, sure enough, saw that it was my older brother, Jeremy Campbell.

"Jeremy?" I called out, and instantly, tears welled up in my eyes.

All my life, Jeremy was the only one who cared for me and treated me the best.

But at that moment, his expression made me feel extremely terrified—it was as if I were a complete stranger to him.

I cried and pleaded with him, "Jeremy, please let me go! It hurts! What do you mean by kidney donation?"

"Rhea is sick and needs a fresh kidney donation. And you just happen to be a match—at least you can be considered useful."

As he spoke, he retreated behind Rhea.

It was only then I noticed that my neighbor, Rhea Sinclair, and her mother were there too!

A while back, Rhea was diagnosed with a serious illness, and shortly after, Mom took me to get tested.

Mom had despised me since I was a child. Instead, she cherished the neighbor's daughter far more than she did me, her own flesh and blood.

Just then, a terrifying thought formed in my mind. Would Mom really sacrifice me for an outsider?

I refused to believe it and struggled, shouting, "What does that have to do with me? I'm your biological sister! How can you force me to donate my kidney?"

But Jeremy just sneered coldly while staring at me. "You're not my real sister—Rhea is. You're nothing but a fake!"

I was dumbfounded. I understood every word he said, but why couldn't I make sense of them when strung together in that sentence?

What did he mean by saying Rhea was his real sister?

Even Rhea herself was slightly taken aback, and she turned to look at him. Jeremy, however, only gently smiled at her.

The nylon straps binding my arms grew tighter. It began cutting into my flesh, and blood seeped out.

But what hurt even more was the way Jeremy smiled at her—it felt like a knife was slicing me open.

Mom stood up. "I didn't want to say anything at first, but since Rhea's sick, I can't keep it a secret any longer."

She approached Rhea and gently took her hand, as if she were holding the most precious treasure in the world. "Rhea is my real daughter!

"You're the neighbor's daughter. I was the one who swapped you two at birth!"

My mind buzzed as if I had been struck with lightning, and I shook my head frantically. "No! That's impossible!"

Mom coldly said, "Why isn't it possible? If you don't believe me, I even recorded a video back then, just in case I ever needed to reclaim Rhea!"

I bit my lip and cried with reckless abandon. My voice seemed to drip with desperation as I pleaded, "Mom, Mom… I was wrong! I must've upset you again, right? Please don't abandon me! I'm your daughter!"

Frantically, I begged, "Mom, look at my hand. I'm bleeding… Mom, hold me… It hurts so much…"

However, Mom only coldly looked at me with disgust and firmly shouted, "Don't call me that! I'm not your mother! I've hated you since you were a child. Every time I saw you, I thought of Rhea! I hate you!"

I opened my mouth and said in a trembling voice, "But yesterday night, you even… even brought me out to eat some cake…"

That cake was one I had dreamed of for 20 years. Why did they have to take away my happiness so soon? I had just gotten it…

Upon seeing no other option to seek help from, I turned to Rhea. But the next words she said instantly shattered the world I once knew.