: At Their Mercy

2

When they left, they had the doctor give me a full-body check-up.

All the medicine and nutrient solutions were the best available.

The doctor remarked with a sigh, "To have parents like these... this child is truly blessed."

I sneered inwardly.

'Blessed?'

'They're giving me a full check-up just to see if my kidneys are working properly, aren't they?'

I couldn't open my eyes or move, but I could clearly feel someone drawing my blood.

They changed the vials one after another.

And I could only lie there like a toy, at everyone's mercy.

'Are they really going to take my kidney?'

'To give to Sylvia Vaughn, the sister I've never even met?'

Of course, I wasn't willing.

But I was completely powerless to resist.

Every day, I struggled to open my eyes. I just wanted to see a glimmer of light in this endless darkness.

But it was all in vain.

I couldn't open my eyes, but my hearing, on the other hand, was getting sharper and sharper.

That day, my biological parents came, bringing their son and daughter with them.

They murmured in my ear.

"Raina Shane, this is your sister and brother."

"Mom and Dad have had such a hard life. One daughter is a vegetable, the other has uremia, and we only have our son who is healthy."

"Even though you've been away from us, you're still Mom and Dad's biological daughter, right? You couldn't bear to watch Mom and Dad lose two children at once, could you?"

I wanted to question them.

'So they have to sacrifice the chariot to save the general, and I'm the one being sacrificed?'

'Then I'll die, and they'll have their perfect family of four, a son and a daughter, living happily ever after...?'

Just as they were speaking, the doctor came in for his routine check.

"Sylvie? You're..."

From his tone, I immediately sensed the truth.

This doctor knew Sylvia Vaughn.

In fact... he was Sylvia Vaughn's attending physician!

I couldn't help but panic.

'This doctor... Does he think the same way they do?'

'Would he also go after my kidney for Sylvia Vaughn's sake?'

: My Heart Went Cold

3

A long wait in the darkness.

Finally, I heard my biological parents speak.

They brought it up again: they wanted to transplant my kidney into Sylvia Vaughn.

The doctor seemed to hesitate before finally, after a long pause, offering a tactful refusal.

"This is against regulations."

"Although Raina Shane is now a vegetable, it's only been a few days. There's still a chance she could recover."

"She's just unable to move, but she isn't dead..."

My heart, which had been pounding, finally began to calm down.

Thank goodness the doctor didn't agree.

But just then, I heard a THUD, followed by the doctor's flustered voice.

"Mrs. Vaughn, what are you doing? Please, get up. Stand up."

My mother's sobs followed immediately.

"Doctor, I'm begging you. Please, just help my daughter, won't you?"

"Can you bear to watch our family lose two daughters? If we could find a kidney donor, we would never resort to this."

My father spoke up then, his voice hoarse, sounding like a father who deeply loved his daughter.

"Doctor, she's already a vegetable. If you just agree to let her donate her kidney, both my daughters can live. That would be the greatest medical virtue of all..."

At the same time, another, more aggressive male voice cut in.

"The hospital has its rules, but rules are rigid, and people are flexible! My sister, Sylvie, is only twenty-one!"

That name... I recognized it.

That must be my brother—the one who's supposedly obsessed with his sister.

His sister is only twenty-one...

But I'm his real sister. And I'm only twenty-one, too.

The situation reached a stalemate.

After a long time, the doctor spoke again.

"Mrs. Vaughn, please don't put me in such a difficult position..."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness this doctor still had some principles.

But then, Sylvia Vaughn suddenly began to cry softly.

"Forget it, Mom, Dad. Let's just go home."

"I've been so happy that our family could be together for the past twenty years."

"For the time I have left, I just want to spend it with my mom, dad, and brother. Let's go."

My father, who had been silent until now, suddenly kicked the hospital bed.

"Doctor, after this is done, we'll give you a certain figure."

My eyes wouldn't open. I couldn't see the gesture my father was making.

I only knew that the doctor's silence lasted even longer this time.

Finally, he spoke, slowly.

"Let's talk in my office."

My heart went cold.