Her eyes raked over me, head to toe, her gaze and the curl of her lips dripping with contempt.
"We raised you to respect your elders. Is this how you speak to your parents?!"
"You have three seconds to try that again!"
Fury etched into every line of her face, she strode toward me and seized my sleeve—the fabric so worn from washing it had faded to gray.
"Three... two..."
Her voice was ice.
I pressed my lips together, my throat tight and raw.
"I said—how dare you take my kidney away?!"
"You have no right!"
The words tore out of me. My eyes locked onto hers, unblinking.
Before she could answer, my father's palm cracked across my face.
"Penelope! Who do you think you're talking to?!"
"You want to know what gives us the right? We gave you life. We raised you. We got you into Ivybridge University!"
"So many girls are coddled their whole lives and end up with nothing to show for it. You should be thanking us for teaching you hardship!"
His voice rang through the room, sharp as a blade.
"Suffer now, and you'll thank us later!"
"Giving up your kidney to that village girl is our final test for you."
"This is not a discussion!"
The sprawling executive office felt cavernous around us. My parents stared at me, their expressions carved from stone.
Just like when my sister was bullied at school because of their "character-building poverty" experiment. Just like when she jumped off that building.
All they'd given her were those same cold, hollow words.
"Weak-willed. Can't handle a little hardship."
"So mentally fragile. Making a fuss over nothing."
Antonia died believing our family was destitute. She didn't want to be a burden.
She never knew it was all a performance.
My nails dug crescents into my palms. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.
Every word came out measured, deliberate.
"This is my kidney. I won't give it to anyone."
"If you try to forfeit it in my name as my parents—then we're done. I'll sever all ties with you."
I turned and walked toward the door without hesitation.
I'd barely reached it when a crystal ashtray exploded against the frame.
Glass shards sprayed across my cheek, slicing skin.
Behind me, their voices erupted.
"Have you lost your mind?!"
"Who gave you the nerve to threaten to cut ties with us?!"
"Penelope, if you walk out that door, you won't see a single cent of the family fortune!"
My footsteps halted. A bitter smile curved my lips.