Chapter 4

To keep from being thrown out, and to stop Victor from coming after me, I tore up my Brindleford Academy acceptance letter in front of our parents.

I enrolled at the vocational school Victor went to instead, and went back to taking care of him.

As the years of paying for his treatment went on, my parents worked longer and longer hours.

Most of the housework became mine.

I did laundry, scrubbed floors, bought groceries, and cooked to everyone else's taste.

Their resistance to me wore down a little at a time under the weight of routine.

Even when they slipped and praised me for being responsible, they'd check Victor's face right after.

Three years in, Victor had steadied a little and no longer threatened to die every time our parents complimented me in passing.

Because of his illness, the family sat for a formal portrait every year on his birthday.

I never asked to be in one again.

Victor still got suspicious. One day, while our parents were out, he stood over me and demanded an answer.

"What's your angle? I don't believe you'll spend your whole life happily waiting on me.

"Are you planning to hang around here until you're grown so Mom and Dad decide they raised me helpless and you're the only one they can count on?"

I paused, gave him nothing, and just reminded him to take his medication.

Victor laughed, furious.

"I won't let you win, Remy. Everything in the Weller family has always been mine. At most, you're one of my dogs."

Strangely, after Victor said that, our parents started treating me better.

My father began asking about my classes.

My mother even bought me a few new outfits, the first I'd ever had.

When she saw me in clothes that actually fit, she reached out and touched my head.

"Our Remy's gotten so tall."

I held still under her hand, almost afraid to breathe, trying to get my body to unlock.

Her eyes dropped to my right leg.

"It's just a shame about your legs."

I stood up immediately.

"I put a lift in the heel of every right shoe. If I walk slowly, nobody notices the limp."

The words came faster.

"I haven't embarrassed you or Dad."

My mother hesitated, then gave me a smile.

"Tomorrow's your eighteenth birthday. Let's all get a family portrait together."

My eyes went red on the spot.

After eighteen years, my parents had finally accepted me as part of the family.

I was too excited to sleep, and after midnight I heard them arguing in their bedroom.

I couldn't make out the words.

The next morning I dressed early, trembling with anticipation.

But instead of heading for the portrait studio, the car turned toward a hospital.

I looked around uneasily while my father held my wrist like he was afraid I'd run.

"Aren't we taking a portrait? Why are we at a hospital?"

My heartbeat picked up, and dread rose through me.

The driver stopped hard, and my mother pressed a damp cloth over my nose and mouth.

My arms and legs went weak, and my thoughts started to blur.

Two men I'd never seen got into the car and looked me over.

"Your family understands the long-term consequences, right? Taking one kidney usually isn't fatal, but it can affect his health permanently."

My father nodded fast. "We understand. Once he gives you the kidney, your people arrange the matched stem-cell donor for our older son right away, correct?"

It hit me all at once. The family portrait had been bait. They'd brought me to an illegal organ broker who'd promised access to a compatible donor for Victor in exchange for my kidney.

I bit my tongue hard, using the pain to stay conscious, and started fighting.

When I tried to get away, my mother pressed both hands over my face and begged through tears.

"Remy... I'm begging you.

"Victor finally has access to a compatible donor, but the broker wants a kidney. Your father has to stay healthy enough to support this family, so it has to be you.

"Help Victor one last time. Help this family one last time.

"Once Victor gets his treatment, you're completely free. You won't owe him anything. You can go to college, do whatever you want."

My voice had almost given out.

"Mom, all I ever wanted was for you to love me. I'm your son too.

"Please don't do this to me."

My mother went silent.

The men reached for me.

I fought, kicked, bit, and clawed with everything I had, and none of it mattered.

When I wouldn't cooperate, one of them pulled out a baseball bat and got ready to knock me out.

My mother started forward, and my father caught her.

"Don't forget why you had Remy in the first place."

My mother went down on her knees.

"Remy, without Victor you'd never have existed. It's one kidney. Give it to him, and I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

I looked at my furious father, my kneeling mother, and the men waiting to tie me up and carry me inside.

I closed my eyes.

The moment they thought I'd given up, I threw the door open and went headfirst into the rushing water of Alder Run.

"I don't want this life. I'm giving it back to you."

Wind roared past my ears, and somewhere behind me somebody screamed like it was being torn out of them.

"Remy!"

...

"What are you thinking about so hard?"

Elena pushed the door open and folded into my arms the way she always did.

I came back to the present and smiled a little. "Just remembering when I was a kid."

"If you don't want to see them, don't force it. I'll cancel."

I brushed my thumb across her cheek.

"We'll go. After all these years, it's time to finish it, and now I've got you with me."

Outside the private dining room, I took a breath.

Elena threaded her fingers through mine and moved her thumb gently over the back of my hand.

A server opened the door. When my parents saw Elena, they hurried over with wineglasses in hand.

Victor got up too and put on that practiced smile of his.

Elena spoke calmly. "Thanks for waiting."

She lifted our joined hands slightly. "Let me introduce my fiance, Miles Weller."

The fire off Elena's ring flashed across every face.

Every face in the room went blank with disbelief.

Victor shouted, "Remy?"