My cousin was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, and Victor's family was extremely worried. I used my connections and finally helped him get in touch with the best nephrologist in the country.
After the surgery was arranged, Victor invited me to dinner and said he wanted to thank me very much.
During the dinner, everyone praised me for being sensible and filial, and kept urging me to drink.
I was drunk and passed out.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on the operating table with a Renal Donation Consent Form with my personal signature at hand.
I was shocked. When was my kidney going to be donated to my cousin?
"Awake?" A doctor in a white coat pushed up his glasses and said in a cold tone, "Just sign and get ready for surgery."
"I won't sign! I'm not signing this voluntarily!" I screamed and tried desperately to break free from the cold restraints on my wrists, but the belt was buckled tightly and I couldn't move at all.
"You are kidnapping! It's against the law!"
The door of the operating room was pushed open, and my Victor and Helena walked in one after another. Helena's eyes were red, and she was holding a wet towel in her hand, as if she had just cried.
"Emily, are you awake? Why are you so stubborn?" She walked over to me, her tone blaming me, "Last night at the dinner table, you promised to save your cousin. How come you drank a little and forgot everything when you woke up?"
I looked at her in disbelief. "I said yes? When did I say yes?"
"Of course you agreed," Victor stepped forward, his voice loud and clear, with unquestionable authority, "Our whole family heard it. You also said, 'As long as I can save my brother, I'm willing to do anything.' Everyone supported your hand and signed this agreement because they saw how filial you were. This is the thumbprint notarization you pressed, you can't deny it!"
His words were like a basin of ice water, pouring from my head to my feet.
I finally understand.
This was not a celebration banquet at all, but a carefully planned Hongmen Banquet. They used family affection and alcohol as weapons to trick me into joining the game, and their goal was to take away a kidney in my body!
"I didn't! I couldn't possibly agree to that!" I screamed, twisting my body in despair. "You tricked me into drinking and forged my signature! You're committing murder!"
"Nonsense!" Helena's face instantly darkened, and she held down my struggling shoulder. "What murder? We are saving people! Saving your cousin's life! You are a girl, so what's wrong with losing a kidney? Your cousin is the sole provider of our Rossi Family. If he falls, our family will collapse!"
"Sole provider?" I laughed out of anger, but tears kept flowing down my cheeks. "Just because he's a sole provider, should I die for him? Victor, Helena, I'm also a human being. I get scared too, and I can die too!"
"Bah! What are you talking about? How unlucky!" Helena spat. "It's just a minimally invasive surgery. The doctor said it won't have a big impact on your body. You just need to rest for a few months. Which is more important, your cousin's life or your own rest for a few months?"
I looked at their self-righteous faces and my heart sank to the bottom. In their eyes, my health, my will, and my existence as an independent individual were not as important as their son's so-called "sole provider".
The doctor urged impatiently: "Family members, please make a decision quickly. The surgery can't be delayed any longer."
"Start! Start now!" Victor waved his hand, as if giving an unquestionable order.
"No! I will never agree even if I die!" I shouted with all my strength. My voice echoed in the empty operating room, sounding so miserable and helpless.
