The pill was abortive.
I never thought I would have to use it, but in this desperate moment, it became my only way out.
Caleb and Juliette worked together, strapping me down onto the operating table.
"Our hospital strictly controls anesthetics and I barely managed to get some. Now that it's worn off, I'll have to proceed without it," Caleb muttered.
Juliette scoffed. "What if she dies from the pain? Are we supposed to cut up her body and dispose of it in pieces? That sounds like too much trouble."
This was my own sister speaking. She had always maintained a gentle and kind image, but beneath that façade lay nothing but cruelty.
If I died, she would not feel guilt or sorrow, only annoyance at the inconvenience of getting rid of my body.
The love I once believed in, the bond of flesh and blood, was nothing more than my own naive illusion.
To her, I was never a sister. I was merely a tool to save her son.
Something was stuffed into my mouth, silencing any cries for help.
Caleb did not hesitate. The scalpel descended, slicing into my abdomen.
Agonizing pain ripped through me, so intense that I felt as if I were being torn apart. My fingernails dug into the disposable sheets beneath me, nearly shredding them.
Then, there was a noise at the door.
The pain was unbearable and suffocating, yet hope flickered back to life within me.
I forced myself to turn my head, my vision blurred by tears and through the haze, I saw my parents standing there, looking anxious.
"Help me... save me..."
With the last ounce of strength I had, I stretched out my trembling hand toward them.
But would they?
Even now, I still do not understand why they never wanted to look at me, let alone love me. My sister and I were identical. We were both their daughters.
From the moment I was born, they discarded me, sending me away to live with my grandmother in the countryside.
However, my grandmother only cared about mahjong. She never treated me well. As long as I could remember, I was always hungry and crying hoarsely until my throat went raw. If not for the kind neighbor who secretly fed me through the window, I might have died long ago.
When I was ten, my grandmother passed away. I thought my parents would finally take me home. But instead, they sent me off to my other grandparents.
To them, only the two sons of my eldest uncle mattered. I was nothing.
I never had enough to eat, never had warm clothes to wear and I slept in a cold storage room. Every night, I longed for the day my parents would finally come for me.
It was not until my grandparents passed away that my parents finally and reluctantly, took me back.
I foolishly believed that hearts were made of flesh and that if I treated my parents and sister well, I could restore the family bond I had always longed for.
Last year, my parents suddenly began treating me kindly and I thought I had finally succeeded.
But now, caught in the clutches of death, I realize it was all an illusion.
At this moment, standing at the gates of hell, I have no choice but to pin my last shred of hope on them.
People said blood was thicker than water. Surely, I wanted to believe that they would not stand by and watch me die.
However, their next words shattered me completely.
"It takes too long to find another donor. Theo can't wait any longer!"
"Cut her open. As long as we get the umbilical cord blood, just leave Isabelle and the child here. Let them fend for themselves."
They rushed forward, frantic and feverish. One of them was seizing Caleb's scalpel and the other was ripping open the IV bag to prepare for the extraction.
Four devils, eyes bloodshot, filled with a madness beyond reason.
The scalpel plunged into my flesh, carving through me over and over again.
My limbs convulsed from the sheer agony, my soul screaming to escape this broken body.
Cold sweat drenched me. The pain was unbearable and I felt I was dying, but I did not even have the strength to scream.
Then, just when the pain reached its peak, I felt it. I felt something being torn from my body, ripped away with brutal force.
A child…
The baby I had carried for seven months…
Laughter rang out, sharp and unhinged, piercing through the blood-soaked air. Wild. Crazy.
I was trapped in a living hell, enduring inhuman torment with no hope of survival.
My consciousness wavered, slipping into the abyss of nothingness.
The breath of death crept closer, wrapping around me like a suffocating shroud. A part of me longed for release, to be freed from this agony, but I could not.
I was not the one who deserved to die. They were.
Through the excruciating pain, I forced myself to stay awake, clinging desperately to the last shreds of my will.
Then, suddenly, Caleb's bloodied hands trembled as he let out a horrified scream.
"Why is the baby covered in bruises? Is he... is he dead?"
"It's worse than that… It's over… The umbilical cord blood seems to be contaminated."
