Chapter 4

I wiped my nose and froze when I saw the dark blood on my hand. The venom had spread through my whole body.

Mom hurriedly handed me a tissue. "What's happening? Why is it black?"

A wave of sadness rose in me. "If I died one day, would you be sad?"

Dad shot me a hard look. "What nonsense is that?"

Mom scolded me too. "Clara, don't say such awful things. You're perfectly healthy. How could you die? If you keep this up, we're going to be angry."

The room fell into a heavy silence after that.

Ethan suddenly spoke up. "Mom always does this. She loves to act in front of us so we'll pity her."

Then, he grabbed Grace's hand. "Grace never does that. She's my favorite."

I felt another dull ache in my heart. I stepped forward, took Ethan's hand, and placed it in Grace's.

"Ethan, haven't you always wanted Grace to be your mom? I'm saying yes today. From now on, Grace is your mother."

His eyes lit up. "Really? Can I really call her 'Mom'?"

I nodded with a smile.

He kissed my cheek, then threw himself into Grace's arms and shouted, "Mom! From now on, you're my mom!"

The warmth on my cheek made me sink to rock bottom.

It was the first time Ethan had ever kissed me in all these years. He always said men and women shouldn't be too close, even though I was his mother. Yet, he never pushed Grace away.

They looked every bit the perfect family. I quietly slipped out and closed the door behind me. I wanted to keep whatever time I had left for myself.

I hadn't gone far before I felt the room tilt beneath me. My hands and feet stopped listening to me, and I hit the ground hard.

When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed and hooked up to tubes.

A new nurse with reddened eyes told me my condition was critical, and I had less than two hours left. She asked if I wanted her to call my family.

I smiled and said I didn't have any.

Just then, my phone kept buzzing in my pocket. She fished it out for me.

The screen lit up with messages from Grace.

"Clara, are you miserable now? So what if you're the real daughter? I still drove you out like a stray.

"Your parents, your husband, your son, and all your assets are mine now. Don't worry. I'll enjoy the rest of your life for you."

I was still staring at the texts when a group of people walked in and came straight toward me. Without saying a word, they wheeled me off to the operating room.

Out in the corridor, one of them finally produced a document.

"Your sister, Grace, has acute renal failure. She needs a transplant. Your family said that if we find you, we're to take you to surgery immediately. Here's the authorization."

Mom's signature sat at the bottom.

The ceiling lights blurred past as instruments clinked and clattered on the prep table.

I felt the room spinning and couldn't make out a single word anyone was saying.

That potent painkiller could numb every nerve in my body, but it couldn't touch the ache in my heart.

They had just finished the prep and were about to inject the anesthesia when my heart monitor flatlined and every machine erupted in alarms.

Seeing this, the surgeons froze.

The operating room doors burst open, and a nurse rushed in, panting. "You can't take her kidneys! Ms. Clara Winton was bitten by a venomous snake. The toxin has spread throughout her body. All her organs are compromised. She took a strong analgesic two days ago. Today is her last day."

Silence fell over the room.

I was dying from snake venom, yet my mother didn't even notice. All she cared about was cutting out my kidney to save the adopted daughter she loved more.

My soul hovered above it all, watching as the nurse called my mother.

"Hello, are you the parents of Ms. Clara Winton? Your daughter passed away at 11:00 am."

The line clicked dead before she could finish.

"Scammer! How dare you curse my daughter!"

Mom paced outside another operating room. She'd already instructed everyone that once I was found, they were to drag me to surgery no matter what I was doing. Why was it taking so long?

She dialed the surgeon. "What's going on? It's just a kidney. Why hasn't it been done yet?"

The doctor said apologetically, "I'm very sorry. Your daughter was envenomed. Her organs have been destroyed by the toxin and can't be used. And she's already passed away. Her body is in our morgue. Please come to claim her as soon as possible."