The spot she grabbed was exactly where I'd scraped myself falling earlier. The pain made me flinch.
Mom yanked harder, impatient. "What's with that attitude? Do you still think you're my daughter?"
"Vivian needs a blood transfusion. Now. Your blood type matches—let's go."
I stopped resisting, though something sharp twisted in my chest.
"Mrs. Cox, did you forget? I'm anemic. The doctor said I can't donate blood to anyone."
She froze. A flicker of embarrassment crossed her face.
Before she could respond, the driver announced we'd arrived.
Dad threw open the car door, grabbed me, and shoved me straight toward the operating room. "Hurry. Every second counts."
I looked at Mom one last time. Said nothing. Lay down on the transfusion bed like a good daughter.
My head grew heavier. Nausea coiled in my stomach.
They still needed more blood.
Before I blacked out, I heard the doctor mutter: "These rich families, I swear. The kid's perfectly healthy—why do they need this much blood?"
Bitterness flooded my chest.
When I woke, the doctor told me my parents had already left.
Home was in the suburbs. I didn't have a single dollar on me.
So I walked. Five hours. I nearly collapsed twice before I finally saw the Cox family's front gate.
But before I could reach it, I spotted all my luggage piled outside.
"What are you doing?"
I rushed forward, stopping a servant mid-throw, my clothes dangling from her hands.
Mom and Dad stood nearby, faces cold.
"After what you did to Vivian today, you have the nerve to come back?"
"You're not part of this family. Get out. We don't want to see you again."
I stood there, watching my belongings get tossed out like garbage.
I used to think I really didn't care anymore.
But the two people staring at me with those indifferent faces—they were my parents. And for someone who had nothing to do with them by blood, they'd done this to me.
"Alex, if you did something wrong, you have to face the consequences." Vivian clutched Mom and Dad's hands, her voice dripping with guilt. "Don't worry—they're just angry right now. You're only moving out temporarily. I'll put in a good word for you later, and maybe you can come back and stay in the maid's room."
But the moment our parents looked away, her expression twisted.
She mouthed the words slowly, making sure I caught every one:
Alex Cox, you can't beat me. Get out of the Cox family.
I didn't respond. I just looked at Mom and Dad.
"If you want me gone, fine. But I need Mrs. Cox and Mr. Cox to sign an agreement confirming I'm not a member of this family. A complete severance. No unclear entanglements later."
Mom blinked, clearly caught off guard. She tugged at Dad's sleeve, helpless.
He didn't react.
Seeing this, Vivian clutched her head and burst into tears. "Mom, Dad, maybe let Alex stay? I'm okay. Even if she really hates me and wants to hurt me... it doesn't matter."
The moment she finished, Dad's expression hardened.
He pulled out his phone and called a lawyer.
Within minutes, the agreement was in his hands.
After both of them signed, he tossed it at my feet.
"The agreement you wanted. Sign it."
