The Remorse That Cracked a Family

Dad let out a sigh and said, "You see, even Daria knows who truly cares for her."

Mom nodded in agreement.

"Now our family is finally whole again," she said.

Yes, the five of them were a family. I watched their joyful reunion and quietly turned around. I opened the hospital room door and walked out.

Behind me, I could hear their joyful laughter. I slowly closed the door, shutting that world away from me forever.

On my last day alive, I didn't want them to see my miserable state. So I traveled to Avondale, the place where I'd made my first solo climb. I no longer had the strength to go up the mountain, so I found a small lodge at the base and checked in.

In my final moments before losing consciousness, Michelle found me. She rushed me to the hospital for emergency treatment, her voice thick with tears.

I never expected she would be the one to grieve for me at the end. With what little strength I had left, I looked at her and pointed toward the backpack beside my bed.

After a moment's pause, Michelle caught on, and pulled a sealed manila envelope from the bag. It held legal documents and evidence.

Before my kidney was removed, I had secretly installed a pinhole camera in the operating room.

The footage showed that Emma had never received a kidney transplant at all. Instead, she had conspired with the doctor to sell my kidney.

Michelle read the documents and trembled. Then she folded them to her chest and said, "I understand, Sarah. Don't worry. Leave everything to me. I'll make sure the people who hurt you get what they deserve."

When I saw her nod, I felt a sense of relief.

I had only nine minutes left to live. My consciousness began to slip away, and my vision became blurry.

My phone buzzed on the bedside table. It was a message from Emma.

"Sarah, tomorrow is our birthday. Let's celebrate together. I want to thank you for giving me everything."

She added a playful smiley emoji at the end.

I read the message and let out a bitter laugh. Her amnesia act was so pathetic, yet our entire family bought it.

When I collapsed from my illness, none of them believed I was truly sick. It had always been this way since childhood. Everyone always favored her and fell for her act.

Whenever I came in first place, she would mysteriously fall sick. Whenever I won medals in competitions, she would have an "accident" and get hurt. Eventually, all my successes became crimes against her.

My parents had always told me to give in to her, while Leon told me to spoil her. They all thought that as the "strong one", it was my duty to sacrifice everything for poor, fragile Emma.

And I'd done so my whole life.

I'd lost completely.

Just then, my phone lit up again. But this time, it was a message from Mom.

"Sarah, tomorrow is your birthday with Emma. Come home early."

My eyelids grew heavier.

I knew Michelle was sobbing beside me, but they were a distant, muffled sound now.

After so many years of exhaustion, finally I could rest.

On March 15, I died at Avondale Hospital at age 31. When news of my death and all the evidence were being forwarded to my family, they were in the midst of preparing a birthday cake.