After Cutting Ties, My Parents Still Forced Me to Donate Bone Marrow to the Fake Heiress

Quinn Mann and I had been together three years, and Mom said that if we both got into an Ivy League school at the same time, she would throw us an engagement dinner.

Because of that one promise I buried myself in books for two years and finally made it in.

Then I was told I would be Nadia Winfield's bridesmaid.

I broke down and demanded an answer, but Quinn only stepped in front of Nadia to shield her.

"The only person I love is Nadia."

My parents told me to step aside and let Quinn and Nadia be together, and as compensation they threw me a college celebration dinner.

But on the day of that dinner, Quinn picked up the microphone, his face full of righteous conviction.

"Today I have to tell the truth. Hannah Winfield only got into an Ivy League school because she copied off my exam."

"That day she came crying and begged me. I went soft for a moment, and that's what caused this whole disaster."

"But my conscience won't let me rest anymore, so I've already reported it to the authorities."

In an instant the whole room erupted, and my mother slapped me hard in front of everyone.

"The Winfield family has no daughter with such rotten character!"

Before they took me away to be investigated, I was forced to sign the disownment papers.

Ten years later, I became a top attorney.

And then I saw my parents and Quinn on a family-reunion TV show.

Even after ten years, seeing these people still left a bitter ache in my chest.

Both my father's and my mother's faces carried the marks of the years, their temples gone gray.

Quinn had lost his boyish edge and looked like a steady, grown man now.

"Ten years ago, after our daughter Hannah got into an Ivy League school, she cut ties with us. All these years we've searched everywhere for her, but there's been no word at all. We were out of options, and that's why we came to the show."

My mother's eyes were brimming, her voice choked almost past recognition.

"This child has a strong temper. We've long stopped holding her mistakes against her. What parent truly stays angry with their own child?"

My father's eyes had gone red too.

"May I ask what reason Hannah had for cutting ties with you?"

The host was a girl in her early twenties, holding out the microphone as she asked.

My parents' expressions shifted, as though it was hard to say, and the audience below broke into murmurs.

"Kids these days are so spoiled. She actually dared to cut ties with her own parents?"

"If she were my kid, I'd have whipped her half to death by now!"

With my parents sitting there in silence, Quinn took the microphone.

"Let me be the one to explain. After all, I'm the cause of everything."

He paused, then went on.

"Hannah liked me from the time we were young, but my heart only ever belonged to her sister. I turned down her confession, and in a fit of anger she cut ties with the family. But I don't regret it!"

The whole room erupted.

"My God, this Hannah is too much. She actually tried to steal her own sister's man!"

"Good thing he's a decent man, or her poor sister would have suffered terribly!"

Watching those people milk their misery in front of the camera, I couldn't help thinking back to the day of my college celebration dinner.

Back then I was still sunk in grief over Nadia and Quinn's engagement.

The dinner was meant to make it up to me, and it gave me no joy at all. Then Quinn took up the microphone and reported me for plagiarism by name.

In that instant the guests were in an uproar, and my mother slapped me hard across the face.

I was forced to sign the disownment papers, driven out of the Winfield house, and taken away for investigation.

They cleared my name in the end, but my reputation was already destroyed.

I went looking for work to earn my tuition, but no one would hire me.

There was no choice. I took the hardest, most grueling jobs I could get.

While hauling cargo one day, long-term malnutrition made everything go black in front of me, and a hundred-plus pounds of sand came down straight onto my body.

That was when the ring finger on my hand was crushed out of shape for good.

With no money for treatment, I could only let it heal crooked, and it aches to the bone on every rainy day.

A shrill phone ring cut through my thoughts.

"Hello, we're with a family-reunion program. Your family is all looking for you. Would you be willing to come on the show?"

"My parents died ten years ago."

I said just that and hung up without a second's hesitation.

In front of the camera, the moment my parents heard I refused to claim them, they crumpled to the floor sobbing.

And just then, Quinn came out from backstage, supporting someone by the arm.

It was Nadia, except now she was so thin she was barely recognizable, her face white as paper.

The moment she appeared she dropped straight to her knees, and no matter how Quinn tried to pull her up, she wouldn't rise.

"Sister, I know I don't have long to live. All I want before I die is to see our family together again. If you don't like me, I'm willing to leave. I'll give Mom and Dad and Quinn all back to you."

As Nadia spoke, tears struck the floor one after another, and the audience below couldn't help weeping too.

I let out a cold laugh. After all these years, Nadia was still such a good actress.

I switched off my phone, put it all out of my mind, and focused on my work.

I was a lawyer now, no longer the little girl who let them do whatever they pleased with her.

But the next day, I found them standing downstairs outside my office.

Just like before, the three of them kept Nadia carefully shielded.

Quinn most of all, hovering as if terrified she might feel the slightest discomfort, handing her water one moment, dabbing sweat from her brow the next.

The instant Lola saw me, she strode straight over and slapped me across the face.

"You wretched girl, why didn't you go to the show!"

The blow left me stunned, my cheek burning hot.

She raised her hand to hit me again. I caught her wrist and shoved it away hard, and she lost her footing and went down onto the ground.

Her face was pure disbelief.

"You dare push me?"

Ten years ago, I swallowed everything just to earn their love.

But that was ten years ago. Whatever scraps of love they had, I stopped wanting them long since.

I have a family now that truly loves me.

"Don't forget, we've already cut ties. Lay a hand on me again and I'll call the police."

Louis was beside himself, chest heaving.

"You! She's the mother who gave birth to you and raised you!"

Nadia wiped at her tears, her voice thick with crying. "Sis, whatever you're angry about, take it out on me. Stop breaking Mom and Dad's hearts."

It was the evening rush now, and the crowd of onlookers kept growing.

"That disownment agreement you signed back then has no legal standing. You're a lawyer, you can't not know that. You still owe your parents a certain duty of support."

Quinn had an arm around Nadia, and the look he turned on me was cold as ice.

Looking at him standing there so respectably, disgust rose thick in me.

We grew up together in the orphanage, the two of us leaning on each other to survive. Quinn was the weaker one, so I always gave him more than half of whatever food I managed to grab, and went hungry myself more often than not.

We'd said we would always be together, so when the Winfields came to take me in, I begged them to bring Quinn home too.

But I never could have imagined that the one to drive the last knife in would be him.

"Sis, I'm sorry. As long as you can forgive me and come home, I'll do anything. Mom, Dad, and Quinn, I'll give them all to you."

Nadia stepped forward and knelt down in front of me.

I looked at my parents and Quinn, at their swell of righteous indignation, and it struck me as almost funny.

"I forgive you. As for these people, I wouldn't take them if you handed them to me for free."

For a moment my parents and Quinn went blank.

I lifted my foot to leave, but Quinn caught my arm. His expression was complicated, guilt in it, but more than that, the look of a man who thought he was owed.

"Nadia's sick. Go to the hospital and get tested for a match. If you can save her, call it building up some good karma for yourself."

I flung his hand off, impatience all over my face.

"Good karma? I'm not that much of a saint. And as for that disownment agreement having no legal standing, I'll draft a new one tomorrow."

The words were barely out before I pushed through the crowd and walked off without a backward glance.

But right before I went to bed, a coworker sent me a screenshot.

"Hannah, you're trending!"

I opened it. A glaring headline sat firmly at the top of the list.

Ivy League Graduate Beats Mother in the Street, Coldly Refuses to Save Her Own Sister!

The comments had already scrolled past several million, every last one condemning me as an ungrateful, heartless girl.

Someone had even dug up my home address and personal details.

The more I read, the colder I went. They'd actually gone this far for Nadia.

Just like ten years ago, blocking off every road I had for Nadia's sake. What a fine, far-sighted parental love.

My phone rang. The moment I answered, that gentle voice sent tears streaming down my face all at once.

"My darling, what's going on online? Is someone bullying you?"

"Mom."

I said it with a sob in my throat, and the other end erupted.

"Sweet baby, Mom's booking the fastest flight out right now to stand behind you!"

The next morning, the second I opened my door I was hit by a glare of red. Paint had been splashed everywhere, all over the door and the wall.

Several dead rats lay on the ground too, their bellies torn open.

The stench rushed into my nose and I gagged, hurrying out the front gate before it eased.

Out on the street, people pointed and murmured about me.

I pretended I couldn't hear any of it. Mom and Dad had already gotten the trending topics taken down, and in a while these people would forget.

But when I got to work, I was told I'd been fired.

My things had been boxed up and dumped beside the trash can.

A coworker I got along with pulled me into the restroom and dropped her voice.

"Hannah, what did you do to the Winfields? They pressured the boss and said he had to fire you, or they'd cancel their contract with the firm!"

I looked at her fretting on my behalf and nodded, giving her a reassuring smile.

"It's fine. I was planning to leave soon anyway."

She patted my shoulder and left.

I'd only come to this firm to get some experience. I really was going to move on before long.

I was carrying my box downstairs when I saw the Winfields sitting in the lobby.

Lola's eyes were certain she'd already won.

"Come back. Once you've cured your sister, be the Winfield family's private attorney. I'll pay you five hundred thousand a year, a lot more promising than this little firm."

"New York isn't run by the Winfields. There's justice in this world, and people are watching what you do!"

I glanced at Lola and kept walking, my things in my arms.

The smug look on her face froze on the spot.

"Stop right there! You are donating bone marrow to your sister today! I'm your mother! You do as I say!"

Lola couldn't hold the refined-lady act together anymore, stamping her feet in fury.

"Hannah, when did you get so heartless? You were so kind as a child!"

Quinn blocked my path, his face a picture of grief and pain.

This time I really looked at him, and let out a cold sneer.

"So what did being kind get me back then? A knife in the back from the people closest to me? I'm not stupid enough to do that twice. Move."

I slammed hard into Quinn as I passed. His mouth opened, but not a word came out.

Hatred flickered in Nadia's eyes. She trotted over to me and gripped my leg, refusing to let go.

"Sis, please, save me. I really don't want to die. It's just bone marrow, it won't affect your health at all. If I live, I can honor Mom and Dad in your place, ah!"

I kept walking, then heard a cry. Nadia's body suddenly toppled backward.

Her head cracked against the corner of a table, and warm blood came pouring out at once. She slumped limply into the arms of Quinn, who had rushed over.

"Don't blame Sis. It was my own fault, I wasn't careful. If she doesn't want to, then forget it. I just hope that after I'm gone, she'll honor Mom and Dad for me..."

Blood covered Nadia's face, and still she was thinking of them.

Louis and Lola broke into tears in an instant, clutching her hands tight.

"No! You're our only daughter, we can't lose you. If anything happens to you, Mom won't go on living either!"

"Call an ambulance! Somebody help!"

"Nadia!"

The three of them were a chaotic mess. Quinn turned to look at me, his eyes full of hatred.

"If anything happens to Nadia, I'll make you pay with your life! You're coming to the hospital with us!"

The words had barely left his mouth before several bodyguards dragged me into a car by force.

They dragged me to the blood-draw window, and when I saw the thick collection needle, I shook all over with fear.

During the time after I'd been thrown out of the Winfields, selling my blood was the only way I could scrape by. The sight of a needle had become a trigger for me.

"Let go of me. What you're doing is against the law!"

"If it can save my Nadia, I'd kill for her. We gave you life once. Consider this paying us back."

They held me down so I couldn't move, and the thick needle drove through my skin without mercy.

Bag after bag of blood was drained out of me, endless, until my vision went black and my whole body felt like it might float away.

"This woman has already given the maximum. She can't give any more."

The young nurse saw my face was white as paper and, unable to bear it, warned them.

"She's fine. She's strong. Keep going. Nadia needs more blood in reserve, just in case."

Lola gave the order coldly, as though she couldn't see how pale I was.

"Hannah, hold on a little longer. Nadia is very sick. If you save her, I'm willing to marry you."

Quinn came and stood in front of me and stroked my head, the way he used to comfort me back in the orphanage.

"Quinn, don't you forget who pulled you out of that orphanage. Ten years ago you put a knife in me, and now you want to twist it again. Doesn't your conscience hurt at all?"

I glared at him, hard.

The color drained from Quinn's face all at once, and he couldn't get out a single word.

"You shut your mouth! Quinn belongs to Nadia. Don't you dare set your sights on him."

I had just finished bleeding and was trying to stand when Lola struck me across the face.

The force of it, on top of legs that already wouldn't hold me, sent me cracking into the chair.

Pain tore through my forehead. Blood clouded my eyes and I couldn't see.

This was the second time Lola had hit me.

In her heart, I had never once been her daughter.

I couldn't hide the hatred anymore.

"Her life is a life. Mine isn't?"

But my raw, screaming voice was nothing but a clown's act in Lola's eyes.

She let out a cold snort.

"How I wish Nadia were my real daughter. I regret ever giving birth to something as venomous as you."

Hearing that, I couldn't stop myself from bursting into laughter.

All three of them went cold down the spine at the sound.

"You think I ever wanted to be your real daughter? Being your daughter in this life is the most disgusting thing that's ever happened to me."

"You!"

Lola shook with rage, pointing at me, unable to speak.

"Is the patient's family here? The patient is in acute kidney failure. She needs an immediate transplant, or her life is in danger."

The doctor hurried out of the operating room as he spoke.

Louis, Lola, and Quinn all rushed at him at once, and Lola dropped straight to her knees before him.

"I'm begging you, save my daughter. Whatever it costs!"

Quinn shoved me toward the doctor and said urgently,

"Doctor, her blood type is a perfect match for Nadia's. The kidney would be a good match too, wouldn't it?"

"In theory, yes. But it still depends on whether she consents herself."

"She consents! She consents! You can operate right now, as long as it saves my precious daughter!"

Lola seized me as though she'd just heard the best news of her life.

She pinned my hand down, trying to make me sign the surgical consent form.

"I do not consent!"

I wrenched my hand free and flung the pen hard to the floor.

"There is no way I'm giving her my kidney. Her life is a life. Mine isn't?"

"Hannah, I'm begging you, save Nadia. She's about to die. You can lose one kidney and still live a perfectly normal life!"

Quinn held onto my hand, his words earnest, his face all frantic worry.

"Live a normal life with one kidney gone? Tell that to someone stupid enough to believe you. I'm leaving, or I'm calling the police."

I hadn't finished speaking when I felt a needle stab into me, and I went limp and crumpled down.

I turned and saw Lola holding a syringe of anesthetic, her face twisted.

"Stop wasting words on her. Take her straight into the operating room! We're her parents. We have the right to sign for her!"

"If anything goes wrong, I take full responsibility!"

My mind grew hazier and hazier. I wanted to struggle but couldn't move a muscle, and I could only let them wheel me into the operating room.

Then, just as the operating room doors were about to close, I heard a familiar voice.

"Who dares touch my precious daughter?!"