My sister, Laura Ward, died the year we were ten, the year we snuck out of school to play. From that day forward, my mother’s grief turned into a burning hatred for me, convinced that I was the reason my sister was gone. She treated me like a servant, like an unwanted burden, and filled the void by adopting a perfect, obedient daughter to replace my sister. She took everything from me without a second thought — my rights, my freedom, my very existence — and even demanded that I give up a kidney for her precious adopted girl.

Alright, Mother, if you want a life, I’ll give you mine!

But it was only when my body lay cold, my breath long gone, that she finally turned and looked at me.

Lately, I’ve been plagued by headaches, sometimes even fainting in the streets.

When I finally got my test results from the hospital, it felt like my heart plummeted into an ice-cold abyss.

A deadly brain tumor, they told me. Not common at all. If I didn't get help right away, I might only have two months to live.

But I was just 23.

Two months – that was all I've got left.

How was I supposed to tell my mother?

With a heart weighed down by the news, I stepped into the house that was supposed to be mine.

The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of my mother and her adopted daughter, Leisha Ward, inseparable like glue, the picture of a loving family.

And me? I was just an outsider in this home.

“Where have you been? Why are you back so late? Are you planning to let your sister starve? She’s not in good health! Get in there and make dinner!”

“Yes, Mom!”

She didn't even seem to see the medicine bag I had. Or maybe she saw it and just didn't care. I slowly made my way to the kitchen, feeling weak. Picking up the spatula, I could barely lift it. Every time I tried to stir, it took all the energy I had.

Mom and Leisha were in the living room watching TV, their occasional laughter piercing me like needles.

Suddenly, Leisha slipped silently into the kitchen.

The bracelet on her wrist, newly bought, glinted under the light, drawing attention.

“Look, Sarah, Mom bought me this bracelet. It cost forty thousand dollars! Are you jealous?” She flaunted her wrist provocatively.

“So what if you’re her real daughter? You still have to serve us like a servant,” she sneered.

My heart clenched. Forty thousand dollars… That was my surgery money.

All these years, I’ve worked like a mule at home and taken on jobs outside, just to survive, to scrape together enough for tuition and living expenses.

And now, that money had so easily become something for someone else to flaunt.

“Sarah! If you don’t hurry up and finish cooking, I’ll skin you alive!” My mother’s angry shout echoed from the distance.

“You worthless thing, even cooking takes you forever! Are you trying to starve us?”

With that, she pulled Leisha back to the living room, where they resumed their so-called ‘warm family moments.’

It felt like a heavy blow had struck my heart. Dragging my weary body, I continued with my tasks. When the soup was ready, I brought it out, only to find myself facing an even greater humiliation.

"Oh!" A soft, malicious cry sounded, followed by the sudden sensation of something tripping my foot. It was Leisha, deliberately setting a trap. The soup spilled, scalding hot, searing my skin with unbearable pain.

At that moment, my mother rushed over—not out of concern, but to make things worse. "Useless! Can't even carry a bowl of soup properly!"

Several sharp slaps landed on my cheeks, and the world began to spin around me.

“You wretched thing! I should've thrown you into the chamber pot when you were born! You cursed brat, you killed Laura, and now you want to harm Leisha, too! You'd better stay put and prepare to donate your kidney to Leisha!

“I’ll beat you to death, you worthless bitch! Don’t you know your sister is frail? And you still dared to spill soup on her?”

Wearing her high heels, she kicked me in the stomach, and the pain brought tears streaming down my face.

“Mom, I’m sorry...” I whispered.

She didn’t care, kicking me again and again, as if trying to release years of hatred onto me.

I was in so much pain I couldn’t speak, my head feeling heavier, and through the blur, I saw my mother shielding Leisha behind her, soothing, “Don’t be afraid, sweetheart,” as if none of this had anything to do with her.

Inside, a storm of humiliation, anger, and helplessness churned into the most bitter feeling. I was just as much a blood relative in this family, yet I had to endure this treatment day after day…

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!”

But what they didn’t know was that this time, after being locked away in that damp basement, I truly died.

My soul drifted lightly through this world, like a wisp of smoke, silent and unseen.

I watched my mother and Leisha laughing together by the seaside, the sunlight bathing them in a warm, golden glow as if blessing them with its light.

Meanwhile, I was nothing more than a speck of dust in a forgotten corner of the world, untouched by even the faintest ray of sunshine.

"Sweetheart, do you like this necklace? Go ahead, buy it," my mother said, her face filled with affection for Leisha.

The necklace, glittering with diamonds, sparkled even brighter under the sun.

"Thank you, Mom!" Leisha replied, delighted as she took the necklace, but then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she added, "Oh, by the way, Mom, what do you think Sarah is up to now? Should we video call her to show her the beautiful seaside?"

Her innocent suggestion carried a hint of mockery.

Hearing those words, I felt a sharp tug at my heart, but the worst was yet to come.

"Call her? Why bother with that useless thing? Just mentioning her reminds me of my poor Laura, skipping school with her and getting killed because of her! The only reason I let her stay in this house is because she's my own flesh and blood. Otherwise, I would have..."

My mother’s voice dripped with disdain and indifference.

"Compared to that dead girl, you’re a blessing. I’m so grateful I chose to adopt you," she continued, each word piercing through my soul like an arrow, echoing in the emptiness around me.

"If I’d known back then, I wouldn’t have given birth to her—such a curse…" she added.

My vision blurred. Though as a soul I couldn’t shed tears, my heart hurt so bad it felt like it was being stabbed over and over.

Memories flooded back, crashing over me like waves.

I thought back to when Laura talked me into skipping school. We were climbing over the wall when her foot slipped. That was when the awful accident happened that killed her.

I remembered myself, small and frail, with a desperate, helpless gaze.

I remembered the cold shoulders of my family as they placed all the blame on me and the realization that I would never again feel the warmth of a mother's embrace in this life.

The scene of them at the seaside, enjoying their happy vacation, stood in stark contrast to me, who had silently followed behind them, enduring the pain, always seeking approval and love but never receiving a moment of genuine care or tenderness.

Memories of similar scenes in real life resurfaced again and again.

Every time my mother happily took Leisha out to play, I was left alone, anxious, and uneasy at home. Each time I came back from school, hoping to share my day, all I got were cold words or complete indifference.

All these moments intertwined, proving that even in death, my existence was still denied and forgotten.

The sound of waves crashing against the shore reached my ears, clear and sharp, but I could no longer hear any warmth from this world—only the echoes of struggle and weeping deep within me.

Mom still didn't seem to realize I was dead.

She still thought I was the stubborn girl I used to be, always opposing her.

But she had long forgotten that for many years, I had stopped arguing with her, never once provoking Leisha, and instead worked tirelessly in what was supposed to be my own home, doing chores like a servant.

All of this, because I hadn't stopped Laura from climbing over that wall.

I felt so guilty, so I endured everything, believing that no matter how badly my mother treated me, I deserved it.

I kept telling myself that Mom was just heartbroken over Laura's death and that if she hated me, I should understand her more.

But with Leisha's arrival, Mom grew more and more distant. The woman who once held me close now hurt me repeatedly, with a cruelty I could never have imagined.

Even in death, I couldn’t escape her grasp, watching her grow closer to a daughter not of her blood.

“Leisha, once we get back, the test results should be ready. If a transplant is possible, I promise I’ll get you a healthy kidney, my sweetheart!”

Mom stroked Leisha’s hair affectionately, while Leisha, unable to hide her smile of delight, hugged Mom tightly, though her eyes were filled with disdain.

Maybe she was thinking the same thing I had wondered all those years: If Mom could treat her obedient biological daughter like a sinner, how could she ever truly care for an adopted daughter without blood ties?