Seven years after I disappeared, my sister found my name on the organ donor registry.

She stood in the transplant center, staring at the paperwork in the nurse's hands. Her brows knit as she looked at the photo attached to the file, along with the name I used to go by.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He's in hospice on the twelfth floor," the nurse answered quietly. "Today is the last day he'll still be conscious. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning."

Her expression turned cold as she headed upstairs.

The moment she pushed open the door, she saw me sitting on the bed, writing my final letter.

"Landon."

I looked up at her and smiled faintly. "You must have the wrong person, Ms. Bennett. My name is Jay Mercer. Not Landon Bennett."

She stepped toward the bed, her tone rigid. "Come home. Apologize to Mason, and I'll hire the best specialists in the country for you—"

"That won't be necessary." I didn't even look up again as I signed the last line of the organ donation papers. "I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not apologizing to anyone."

My Sister Comes Back for My Liver

After a long silence, Sherry Bennett let out a cold laugh. "You really haven't changed. Seven years later, and you're still pretending to be innocent."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked me over. "You're sick? What kind of illness needs surgery?"

I smiled faintly. "Stage-four glioblastoma. Brain cancer."

Then. I glanced at the donation papers beside me. "I figured my organs would do more good saving people than rotting underground."

Something flickered across Sherry's face, but it vanished almost instantly, replaced by that same icy look. "Cut the act. Do you think playing pathetic is going to make me feel sorry for you?"

Her gaze swept over the small hospice room, taking in the peeling walls, the worn folding chair, and the dying flowers by the window.

"So life didn't work out after you left home?" she mocked. "If you hadn't done those disgusting things back then, maybe you wouldn't have ended up like this."

I lowered my eyes to look at my hands. They were so thin now that every bone showed clearly beneath my skin.

I said nothing.

"Landon…" She said my old name again, softer this time. For once, her voice cracked. "Are you really that sick?"

I looked at her without blinking. "Why do you care, Ms. Bennett?"

Her face tightened. "Because I'm your sister."

"No." My voice stayed calm. "Your brother died seven years ago."

Her face went pale with anger. "You really hate me that much? After everything that happened, are you seriously pretending you weren't the one who—"

"Enough." I cut her off before she could finish. "You didn't come here to dig up the past. So, say what you actually came to say."

She opened her mouth, then hesitated. For once, Sherry Bennett had nothing to say.

I gave a soft laugh and said calmly, "Let me guess. Mason needs a new liver, doesn't he?"

Sherry didn't answer.

She didn't have to. The way her eyes avoided mine already told me everything.

I leaned back against the hospital bed and laughed under my breath. "So, that's it. After seven years, he finally remembered he had an older brother."

Then, I looked at her. "So, today, you came here to ask for my liver?"

"Not ask," she corrected sharply. "It's your duty. You agreed to donate before, and Mason needs you again now. He's your brother."

I stared at her, almost amused by how ridiculous she sounded. "Sherry, when you kicked me out seven years ago, why didn't you remember I was his brother then?"

"That was your own fault!" she snapped. "If you hadn't done those horrible things to Mason, if you hadn't framed him, I never would've kicked you out."

Her voice shook with fury. "You're still lying. Still acting innocent. You think disappearing for seven years erased what you did?"

I slowly closed my eyes as numbness spread through my chest.

Even now, she never doubted him.

To her, I was always the villain.

"Please leave," I said tiredly. "I need to rest."

She suddenly grabbed my shoulder hard enough to hurt. "Listen carefully. Mason needs your liver."

I opened my eyes and looked at her calmly. "Then he can wait for someone else. My organs are already promised to strangers."

Her whole body shook with anger. "How can you be so heartless? Mason saved my life back then. Without him, the Bennett family wouldn't even exist today. And you're nothing but an ungrateful parasite."

I didn't answer. I only turned my head toward the window.

"Landon, let me make this clear," she said coldly as she released me. "If you refuse to save Mason, I won't let you have peace. I'll use every connection and every penny the Bennett family has to keep you alive."

Her voice dropped lower. "You'll spend the rest of your life wishing you were dead."

I listened to her threats without feeling anything at all.

I simply replied, "Do whatever you want."

She stared at me for several long seconds before turning and walking out.

The door slammed shut behind her.

I lay alone in the hospital bed as silent tears traced cold paths down my cheeks.

The Day My Sister Chose Him

My mind drifted back fourteen years.

I was thirteen then, and Sherry was twenty-one. Our parents had died in a car crash, leaving behind the Bennett family fortune and a swarm of relatives circling like vultures.

Back then, Sherry protected me as if her life depended on it.

At the funeral, one of our drunk uncles pointed at me and snarled, "That kid's cursed. Your parents died because of him."

Sherry punched him so hard his nose exploded with blood. Then she stood in front of me and warned coldly, "Touch my brother again, and I'll make you regret being born."

That night, she held me while I cried until I could barely breathe.

"It's okay, Landon," she whispered over and over. "I'm here. I'll protect you for the rest of my life."

I believed her completely. I thought it would always be the two of us against the world.

Then, Mason Bennett showed up—our father's son from another relationship—and everything changed.

Mason was sickly, so Sherry gave him my bedroom because it got better sunlight. He didn't like the housekeeper's cooking, so she took him out to eat almost every night. He hated sleeping alone, so she sat beside his bed until he fell asleep.

A month before my SATs, Mason was diagnosed with a rare liver disease. His condition deteriorated quickly, and Sherry nearly lost her mind trying to save him. She took him across the country, meeting every specialist money could buy.

Eventually, the doctors gave her two options: wait for a donor liver, or proceed with a living donor transplant.

The waitlist could take years, but Mason did not have years.

A living donor transplant required a compatible immediate family member. In the entire Bennett family, I was the only match.

…

The day Sherry came to talk to me, I was sitting at my desk doing practice exams.

"Landon," she called softly from the doorway. "You know about Mason's condition, right?"

I kept flipping through my textbook.

She continued, "The doctors said your compatibility rate is the highest."

I turned another page.

"Landon… he's going to die." Her voice trembled for the first time. "Please. Save him."

I finally looked up at her. "Sherry, do you remember the last time I got sick?"

She froze.

"I had a 104-degree fever and spent two days alone in my room," I reminded her. "No one checked on me. You were out shopping with Mason because he told you he was in a bad mood."

Her lips parted slightly. "Landon… I was wrong about that—"

"And what about the time I got shoved down the stairs?" I cut in. "Do you remember that?"

I held her gaze. "I told you Mason did it. You told me I should watch where I was going instead of blaming him for my own accident."

Her face slowly drained of color. "Landon…"

I stood up from my desk. "You want me to save him?"

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then, I nodded.

"Fine. But after this, we're done." My voice was calm enough to scare even myself. "I would longer no be a part of the Bennett family, and you would no longer be my sister."

The Brother I Refused to Save

Her entire body stiffened. "What did you just say?"

"I said I'll donate part of my liver to him." I looked at her calmly. "But after the surgery, I'm leaving the Bennett family. From then on, all of you can pretend I'm dead."

Sherry remained silent for a long time before she finally nodded.

On the day of the surgery, they wheeled me into the operating room. Just before the doors shut,

I saw Sherry standing outside.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something. In the end, she stayed silent.

The transplant was successful, and Mason survived. And I lost a third of my liver, along with my place in the Bennett family.

From then on, I never went home again.

…

That afternoon, Sherry came back.

This time, Mason was with her.

Seven years had passed.

He was taller now, leaner, and more polished than before. Yet his eyes still carried that same false innocence, soft and wounded, as if he had never hurt anyone in his life.

Sherry sat beside my hospital bed. "Landon, Mason came to see you."

Mason stepped forward slowly, his eyes already red. "Landon, I heard you were sick. I've been so worried about you…"

"Drop the act," I cut in coldly. "There are only three people in this room. Who exactly are you performing for?"

His face went pale at once. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked at me like I had shattered him. "Landon, why do you hate me so much? None of what happened back then was my fault—"

I scoffed. "Not your fault? You hacked my account and posted as me in the class group chat. You stole my exam papers. And the day I got pushed down the stairs—are you really going to say that wasn't you either?"

"Enough!" Sherry shot to her feet. "Landon, it's been seven years, and you're still lying?"

Her voice shook with fury as she glared at me. "Every piece of evidence back then proved you were the problem. How much longer are you going to blame Mason for your own mistakes?

"You were jealous because he was loved more than you. You couldn't stand him, so you made up all those disgusting lies."

Every word felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest.

I looked her straight in the eye. "Sherry, are you really that certain I'm the liar?"

"Of course I am," she replied coldly. "Your teachers and classmates all saw how you treated him back then. You bullied Mason because you were jealous of him."

I closed my eyes.

There was no point in arguing anymore. She had never trusted me, not even once.

Right then, Mason stepped closer and grabbed my hand. "I know you hate me, but when Sherry told me you were sick, I was devastated. If you need money for treatment, I'll give you everything I've saved—"

I jerked my hand away. "Mason, save the performance for someone who still buys it."

Then I turned to Sherry, my voice going flat. "You both came here for one reason, and we all know it. So let me be clear. I'm not giving him my liver. I'd rather donate it to a complete stranger than save him a second time."

Sherry's face turned ice-cold. "Landon, how can you be this heartless?"

"Heartless?" I held her gaze. "Seven years ago, I gave him a third of my liver. And what did I get in return? You threw me away like garbage."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Now you suddenly remember I exist? Tell me something, Sherry. Why the hell should I save him again?"

"That was your own fault!" she snapped.

"Fine." I nodded slowly, then glanced at Mason. "Then, maybe this is his fault too. People reap what they sow."

Sherry trembled with rage. Suddenly, she grabbed my collar and yanked me toward her. "Don't push me, Landon."

I met her eyes without flinching. "What are you going to do? Hit me? Kill me?"

A faint smile touched my lips. "I'm dying anyway. Do whatever you want."

Her fingers shook against my shirt. After a long moment, she finally let go and drew in a slow breath.

She asked again, "Landon, I'll ask you one last time. Are you going to save Mason or not?"

"No," I said.

"Fine." A cold smile spread across her face. "Then, don't blame me for what happens next."

She pulled out her phone and made a call.

"Do it," she said coldly. "Just like I told you before."