Chapter 2

When I woke up again, I found myself thrown into a small room in the basement where the servants lived. The floor was wet, with water seeping through, and the paint on the walls was peeling off.

In this cold, damp space, every brick and every drop of water seemed to mock my fate.

Ever since my sister’s death, I had become nothing more than an invisible ghost in this house.

I watched as Leisha, with her smug face drenched in jewels and riches, basked in the luxury of the bedroom that once belonged to me.

Meanwhile, I struggled to scrape together even the most basic funds for surgery and medical treatment.

And Leisha? She could just wait patiently for me to donate my kidney to her!

I stumbled and scraped together all the money I had saved over the years from a life of frugality.

Those bills, stained with sweat and tears, were handed over for the first installment of my treatment.

After the treatment, I spent two days in the hospital.

But when I returned home, there was no concern over where I had been or if I was safe. Instead, I was greeted with even more vicious insults and shoves.

"Where the hell have you been, you worthless brat? Were you out there messing around somewhere?"

My mother screeched, her eyes sharp like blades, threatening to cut me into pieces.

"If you dare go out and bring shame to our family name…" She didn’t even finish her sentence.

Leisha, ever the opportunist, added fuel to the fire, "Oh, Mom, just look at her, so weak. She looks like a rabbit about to breathe its last. Who knows what disgraceful thing she might have done..."

Before her words even ended, I saw my mother’s face change drastically. She rushed into the gym and grabbed a baseball bat.

Without warning, she swung it hard at my back.

"Aah! It hurts! Please, Mom, let me explain..."

But wishes and reality often diverge drastically.

She didn’t give me a chance to explain or defend myself. The bat continued its relentless assault on my back, my hips…

Every blow was accompanied by a sharp, ear-piercing crack.

Every wound felt like a volcanic eruption, scorching and unbearable.

When the last strike landed heavily on the back of my neck, I completely blacked out, feeling my body floating as if I had finally escaped all the restraints and pain.

But my ears still rang with my mother’s furious, almost deathly shriek, "Useless disgrace, a total embarrassment!"

She ordered them to throw me back into the basement where I always stayed.

Just before I drifted off, I think I heard my mom's voice again.

“Lock her up until it’s time for her to give Leisha the kidney transplant!”