Just because I accidentally broke my adopted sister’s bracelet, my brother threw me into the black market to “learn my lesson.”

By the time I was rescued, I had been tortured so brutally that I was barely recognizable. It was Elijah York who risked his own life to pull me out of that hellhole. When we finally escaped, his blood had soaked my clothes, yet he held me tightly against his chest and whispered that he would never regret it.

For three years after that, I drifted between moments of clarity and bouts of pure madness. I despised myself, constantly feeling dirty and broken, but Elijah always treated me like a princess.

Until this day, my mind was, for once, clear. Caressing the tiny new life I had just discovered growing inside my womb, I was overflowing with joy as I hurried to surprise him. However, right outside his office door, I overheard a conversation between him and my brother.

“Did you actually catch feelings after playing a part for so long? Don’t forget that in three months, it will be the optimal window for Chloe’s bone marrow transplant.”

Elijah let out a low, amused scoff, his tone indifferent.

“I’ve been drugging Nora for three years. Everyone thinks she’s completely lost her mind by now. Legally, she is my wife, and I hold full guardianship over her. That’s the only way the bone marrow extraction process remains completely legal and compliant.”

I froze right where I stood, the blood freezing in my veins.

My brother, Tyler Benson’s voice drifted out from the room.

“It’s good that you see it that way. You’ve been making all sorts of excuses during her last few blood draws. I actually thought you were catching feelings for her.”

Elijah’s voice was filled with pure disgust. “Tyler, you seriously overestimate your sister, and you definitely underestimate me. Every single time I see her crawling toward me like a dog wagging its tail, it makes my stomach churn. The only reason I delayed the blood draws was out of concern that it might affect the upcoming bone marrow transplant.”

Tears streamed down my face as a sharp, agonizing pain ripped through my chest.

Three years of pretending. A thousand days of fabricated affection. All those blood tests I thought he ordered out of care for my well-being were nothing more than quality checks to see if my body was a fitting vessel.

A shiver ran down my spine, and my body instinctively told me to run. However, just as I spun around, the door was pulled open from the inside, and light flooded the hallway.

“Nora? What are you doing here?”

Elijah stepped out. His tall, imposing figure cast a shadow over me, his eyes sharp with intense scrutiny. I dug my fingernails hard into my palms, forcing myself to mimic the confused, dazed expression I always had during my episodes.

“I-I don’t know… My head is spinning so fast. I think I saw those shadows again. They’re pacing around downstairs!”

Elijah stared at me in silence for a few seconds. Finally, recovering his usual gentle demeanor, he guided me back into the room.

“It looks like your condition is worsening. Let’s increase your dosage slightly.”

I stared at the pills he held out to me, a wave of nausea churning in my stomach. I could no longer reconcile the man standing before me with the blood-drenched boy who had rescued me from the black market all those years ago.

With his words still echoing in my ears, I knew I had no choice but to play along for now. Yet, when I opened my eyes again, the familiar ceiling was gone, and my hands and feet were bound tightly to a frame.

“You’re awake.”

I strained to turn my head. Nearby, a monitor displayed a live feed of the villa’s security cameras. One of the camera angles pointed directly at the spot where I had stood eavesdropping the night before.

Elijah’s voice was ice-cold. “It looks like you caught every single word last night.”

My heart sank. I knew there was no point in acting anymore.

“I was never actually sick, was I? Why… Why are you doing this to me?”

Tyler laughed, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world, though his eyes were bloodshot with rage.

“Why? Even now, you show no remorse! Who was the one who hired thugs to rough Chloe up because she was terrified that Chloe would take away all the family’s affection? And who was the one who spread photos and rumors all over school afterward, claiming she’d do anything for money, nearly driving her to drop out?”

My eyes widened in horror, and I shook my head frantically, desperate to explain. “That’s not true! Please listen to me. I didn’t do any of–”

“Enough!”

Tyler slapped me across the face, and the back of my head slammed hard against the wooden headboard, causing my vision to go dark for a moment.

“Chloe identified you herself, and those thugs confessed to taking your money! The rumors and the trauma you caused her are the exact reason her mental health spiraled and her body broke down! We’re simply making you pay for what you did.”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

What I did? I hadn’t done a single thing wrong. Why should I have to forfeit my entire life to pay for her sins?

Elijah’s gaze swept downward toward my stomach, which I was instinctively trying to shield.

“Your umbilical cord blood holds a unique medical value for Chloe’s treatment. That is the only reason you were allowed to get pregnant, but don’t get your hopes up. It will never come to term. After all, a child carrying your genes would only be an eyesore to Chloe.”

I stared at Elijah in utter disbelief. The very eyes I had once lost myself in were now cold and empty.

“Elijah, do you remember what you promised me?”

“Everything that was said was just a means to an end. From the start, Chloe is the only one Elijah has ever loved.”

With that, Tyler dislocated my jaw. An agonizing pain spread through my lower face, and saliva mixed with streaks of blood spilled down my chin. Tyler let go of me abruptly, making no attempt to hide the sheer disgust in his eyes.

Suddenly, I was reminded of when I was a little girl running a high fever, and Tyler had stayed by my bedside all night long. When I fainted and threw up in the middle of the night, he had scrambled to wipe me clean, his face filled with nothing but pure heartache. Now, I was nothing more than filth to him.

Before my tears could fall, Elijah suddenly grabbed Tyler’s arm.

Tyler was taken aback. “What are you doing?”

Elijah looked at me, and a hint of reluctance flickered in his eyes. “We still need her alive for the bone marrow transplant. Don’t push her too far yet.”

Just then, Tyler’s phone started ringing.

“What? Chloe’s condition has worsened? She needs the umbilical cord blood right now?”

The hesitation and inner struggle on Elijah’s face vanished instantly. “I’ll have the private doctor come in right now to induce the miscarriage and harvest the blood!”

A sharp pain stabbed through my abdomen, and I began frantically thrashing my body.

“No… No! Don’t touch my baby! Elijah, I’ll donate my bone marrow! I’ll sign the consent form! I’ll even agree to the divorce! This is your child, too! Elijah, I beg both of you, just let me go! I will never show my face in front of you again!”

Elijah’s eyes widened, but Tyler cut in before he could speak. “Nora, do you really think I don’t know what your plans are? You want to use this child as a bargaining chip so you can flaunt it in front of Chloe in the future and make her life miserable, don’t you?”

He turned to look at Elijah.

“Elijah, Chloe is waiting. Every single second we waste puts her in more danger. For her sake, is there anything you can’t sacrifice?”

Elijah closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were dead and cold.

“Do it. As long as Chloe gets better, I don't care about anything else.”

Cold medical instruments forced their way into my body, and a sharp, piercing agony consumed my mind. In my hazy state, I felt as though I had returned to the day I first brought Chloe home. The girl we were sponsoring had suddenly lost both of her parents, so I begged my mom and dad to adopt her.

At the time, Tyler had frowned and said, “You shouldn’t bring strangers into our home. She might end up ungrateful for all you’ve done for her.”

When exactly did everything start to change?

Was it when Chloe sat on the ground at the bottom of the stairs with tear-brimmed eyes, whimpering, “Don’t blame Nora for this. I lost my balance, that’s all.”

Or was it when the rumors started flying, and she held her luggage with tears streaming down her face, crying, “I don’t know why Nora hates me so much… Maybe I should never have come here in the first place.”

I had tried my best to explain and fight back. However, every time I spoke, Chloe always found a way to make her tears fall first. With each passing day, Tyler’s gaze grew colder, and my parents’ eyes filled with a mounting disappointment. Just like that, right in front of the person I had brought into our home, I slowly lost absolutely everything.

Then, there was Elijah. For all those years, I had pursued him. I had watched his basketball games, waited for his classes to end, and clumsily learned how to bake the desserts he loved. Yet, he always looked right past me, his gaze somewhere else.

However, when Tyler threw me into the black market, Elijah appeared like a saving grace. Back then, I had buried my face in his chest and cried. I had truly believed that I had finally found my salvation.

How could I have known that I was walking straight into another abyss?

My mom’s familiar voice suddenly snapped me back to reality.

“How is Nora doing right now?”

The worry in her tone tugged at my heart. However, just when I thought I had finally caught a lifeline, in the very next moment, it felt as though I was thrown back into hell.

“Now that the bone marrow has been harvested, send it over quickly,” my mom continued. “Chloe can’t afford to wait any longer. Since Nora’s in surgery anyway, we might as well have them perform a hysterectomy, too. That way, we can prevent Nora from harboring any improper thoughts or schemes in the future.

“It’s all my fault for not raising her right, and it put Chloe through so much suffering. Cutting off that possibility once and for all is probably for the best for Nora, and for everyone else.”

My dad agreed with her statement. “Yeah, leaving it intact is indeed a ticking time bomb. No matter what, she is my biological daughter. I’d rather support her for the rest of her life than have her go out and ruin other people's lives.”

So, in their eyes, the entire purpose of my existence was nothing more than to pave a smooth path for Chloe.

With that, the last shred of hope inside me was destroyed. As my consciousness began to fade, I forced myself to reach out and fumble for the burner phone hidden on me.

[That favor you owe me—you can pay it back now.]

The moment the message had been sent, both the display on my phone and my mind plunged into darkness.

I had no idea how much time had passed before the pungent stench of disinfectant finally jarred me awake. My body felt as though it had been crushed into pieces and then forcefully patched back together. The hollow emptiness in my lower abdomen served as a constant, brutal reminder of everything that had just transpired.

Just then, a soft sobbing sound echoed from the bedside.

“Ugh… Elijah, Tyler, how could you guys do this to me?”

I looked over and saw Chloe leaning weakly against Elijah’s chest.

“Just the thought of putting something from her body into mine makes me feel so disgusted! Why didn’t you tell me? This is such an insult to me!”

Elijah looked down at her with concern, trying to comfort her. However, the moment he turned to me, his eyes betrayed his impatience.

“Since you're awake, apologize to Chloe right now! Beg her to accept your filthy bone marrow so it can save her life!”

Chloe challenged me, “Do you honestly think that just because you donated your marrow, I’ll be grateful to you? No! I will never, ever forgive you for everything you’ve done to me! I know you did this to yourself on purpose. You just want the boys to feel sorry for you! You just want them to watch me die, don’t you?”

“Chloe, don’t get so worked up. Your body can’t take this kind of stress,” Elijah rushed to soothe her.

Tyler went a step further by throwing me straight onto the cold floor.

“Nora, apologize right this instant and guarantee that you will never interfere with her treatments like this ever again!”

“She isn’t going to give a sincere apology!” Chloe cried out.

Chloe clutched Elijah’s hand, her eyes filled with tears as she looked toward our parents, who had just rushed into the room after hearing the commotion.

“Look at the way she’s glaring at me… Even if I accept her bone marrow, she’s going to find a way to kill me sooner or later!”

My mom lunged forward, frantically wrapping her arms around Chloe before turning to bark furiously at me. “Nora! This is a matter of life and death right now! Do you have to kick up a fuss at a time like this? You have driven Chloe to such a miserable state. Do you want her to die right in front of your eyes before you'll finally be satisfied?”

I stared at my parents, and then at Elijah, who was holding Chloe. Tears streamed down my face, slamming against the floorboards. So, this was what it actually felt like when a heart was dead.

Just as I was about to speak, Chloe’s body suddenly went limp, and she fainted into Elijah’s arms.

“Chloe!”

“Quick, call a doctor!”

Elijah’s face turned pale as he dashed out of the room with her. Tyler and my parents followed them out the door, but not before Tyler turned back to threaten me over his shoulder.

“Nora! If anything happens to Chloe, I will never let you off the hook!”

The hospital room door slammed shut with a deafening thud, and my vision went black as I collapsed. Beneath me, a pool of dark red liquid began to spread across the floor.

Once Chloe’s condition had finally stabilized, Elijah, seething with anger, kicked the door open.

“Nora, you better–”

His voice cut off abruptly. The hospital bed was empty. All that was left was nothing but a mess of tangled sheets and a pool of dark red blood on the floor that hadn't completely dried yet.

He grabbed a passing nurse, his voice trembling with a panic that he himself hadn't even realized.

“Where is the patient in this room? Where did Nora go?”

The nurse shook off his grip with a frown.

“Are you a family member? Get over to the emergency care right now! The patient has lost an extreme amount of blood, and her condition is incredibly poor. Family members need to prepare themselves for the worst!”