I looked around at these so-called relatives. On their faces, there was greed, calculation, numbness, and indifference, but not a trace of affection or compassion.
I suddenly found it ridiculous that I had been living in a false family bubble for more than twenty years.
"I'm telling you," I wiped my tears and spoke in an almost calm tone, word by word, "If you want me to donate a kidney, I have to die."
After saying that, I turned around and wanted to leave this disgusting place.
"Stop her!" Victor ordered.
Several young cousins immediately rushed up and blocked my way.
"What do you want to do? Illegal detention?" I looked at them coldly.
"Emily, we're doing this for your own good." Helena came over and put on a compassionate face again. "You're emotionally unstable right now, so just stay here and we'll talk when you've figured it out."
Without saying anything, they pushed me into a bedroom on the second floor, and with a "bang", the door was locked from the outside.
I was put under house arrest.
They took away my cell phone, my bag, and cut off all contact with the outside world.
Every day, Helena would deliver three meals on time, and each time, she would persuade me earnestly, and her words were full of clichés of "family honor" and "sacrifice and dedication".
I went from fierce resistance at the beginning to silence later.
I looked at the small piece of sky outside the window and had only one thought in my mind: I can't just sit there and wait to die, I have to escape.
This bedroom was where my cousin used to live, and it was filled with his old things. I began to rummage through it quietly, hoping to find something useful.
On the third night, I finally found an old, discarded tablet computer in the corner of an old bookcase.
I was ecstatic, hid under the quilt, and quietly pressed the power button.
Fortunately, the tablet still had power. Even more fortunately, it automatically connected to the neighbor's Wi-Fi.
With trembling hands, I opened the browser, logged into my social account, and sent a message for help to my best friend Sophia Wright.
"Sophia, save me! I've been locked up by Victor's family. They want to force me to donate a kidney to my cousin! The address is..."
After sending the message, every second seemed like an eternity.
Five minutes later, Sophia's reply finally popped up: "Fuck! Just wait, don't be afraid! I'll call the police and bring people over!"
When I saw the words "Don't be afraid", my nerves that had been tense for the past few days suddenly broke, and tears flowed out silently.
It turns out that I am not alone.
In order to avoid their suspicion and to buy time for Sophia, I started to pretend.
The next day when Helena came to deliver food, for the first time I didn't give her the cold shoulder. Instead, I lowered my head and whispered, "Helena, I've figured it out."
Helena's face immediately lit up with surprise, "Really? I knew you were a good kid!"
"But," I raised my head, trying to make my eyes look sincere and cowardly, "I'm scared. I want to see my parents alone before the operation and ask them to give me some courage."
"Of course that's no problem!" Helena agreed immediately and turned around and left happily.
I leaned against the door, listening to her brisk footsteps as she came down the stairs, while counting down madly in my heart.
Sophia, please come quickly, it will be too late if you don’t come.
An hour later, my door was opened again.
Victor, Helena, and my parents came in together.
