Chapter 1
I was an infamous troublemaker by birth, while my twin sister was the beautiful and kind-hearted good girl.
Ten years ago, my mom developed kidney disease and urgently needed surgery.
While my sister Sophia Bright was live streaming to raise funds for our mother's medical bills, I stole money from home to buy snacks.
On the day of my mom's surgery, I didn't wait for her to come out of the operating room, so internet users exposed my act of using life-saving money for snacks all over the internet.
After I was digitally crucified and my name was dragged through the mud online, Mom exiled me to a backwater town in the middle of nowhere.
When Sophia also developed kidney disease, my mom remembered me.
Unable to reach me by phone, she decided to take my sister and go to the town herself.
Seeing the long-abandoned, dilapidated wooden cabin, Sophia nervously grabbed my mom's hand.
She said, "Could it be that Claire couldn't stand the hardships of the town and moved in with some guy?"
My mom clenched her fists in anger.
She said, "All the morals and integrity I taught her over the years were wasted on her.
"I gave her life. Once we find her, I'll make her give you one of her kidneys."
To find me, my mom posted a huge reward online.
But what Mom never knew was that I had already paid my debt in full, with my life, ten years ago.
*****
My mom, Monica Bright, was going door to door in the town, asking if anyone had seen me.
But after making the rounds, all she got were blank stares or dead silence.
Monica's patience ran out fast. She marched back to the wooden hut, her face dark with anger.
Sophia Bright was clutching the hem of her shirt, her eyes rimmed red.
Sophia said, her voice trembling with guilt, "Mom, it's all my fault. If I hadn't accidentally caught Claire sneaking snacks during that livestream and gotten her attacked online, none of this would have happened.
"Do you think she still hates me? Is that why she's hiding from us?
"Do you think Claire wants me to die?"
My mom's face darkened at that. She whipped out her phone and started jabbing at the screen like she was stabbing me through the phone.
One message after another shot out.
Mom: [Claire, you ungrateful brat. Got some nerve now, huh? Can't even bother to reply to your own mother?
[After all I've done for you, now that your sister needs you, you just pull a disappearing act?]
When there was still no reply, my mom finally snapped.
Mom: [If you don't come out right now, you'll regret it.]
Sophia quickly grabbed my mom's hand, her tears falling uncontrollably.
Sophia said, her voice trembling with despair, "Mom, please, don't do this. Don't hurt Claire anymore. If she really doesn't want to, then I'll just accept whatever happens."
My mom pulled Sophia into her arms, her voice quivering with heartbreak.
My mom said, her voice trembling with emotion, "Silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about?
"If she could be even half as mature as you, my hair wouldn't be turning white so quickly.
"Back when you two were still in my belly, she took one of your fingers, made you disabled from birth, so you could never live like a normal person.
"This time, I'm just making her pay you back with a kidney. She owes you this. It's the only thing she can do as your sister to make it right. She doesn't get a say in it."
My spirit drifted above, watching in stunned silence as my mom and Sophia clung to each other.
Ever since we were four, Sophia would always jump at the chance to look good in front of our mom, saying she wanted to help wash the dishes or sweep the floor.
But then she'd raise her right hand, the one with only four fingers, and pout, "With one finger missing, I just can't do it properly."
So, in the end, all the chores landed on me.
Meanwhile, all Sophia had to do was hand our mom a glass of water when she got home, and she'd be showered with praise and rewards.
Later, once I started school and learned what a burden having six fingers was, I began secretly saving up, hoping to get surgery.
But I never managed to save enough before Mom found out.
She didn't hesitate for a second. She slapped me straight away, no questions asked.
"You stole your sister's finger before you were even born, and now you're trying to cover it up? Don't you dare, Claire," Mom snapped, her voice icy cold.
Then she took every penny I'd scrimped and saved and used it to take Sophia to a big-city hospital to have her fused fingers separated.
Afterward, Sophia's hand looked just like everyone else's.
Wasn't that enough to make things right?
I'd been dead for nearly ten years.
But even after all this time, I still couldn't wrap my head around it.
Why was it that when Sophia was missing a finger, everyone saw her as broken, someone the whole world pitied?
Yet when I had an extra finger, I was the one everyone branded a curse.
Just then, Mary Jenkins, our neighbor, drove up in her car.
My mom immediately let go of Sophia and hurried over to stop Mary.
"Do you know where Claire is?" my mom asked, her voice sharp with urgency.
Mary gave my mom a look like she'd completely lost her mind.
"Monica, what are you even saying?" Mary asked.
"Didn't Claire die ten years ago?" she said, matter-of-fact.
My mom's face froze in shock.
Mary kept going, her voice steady but heavy. "Ten years ago, when Claire passed away, she donated every organ she could, even her whole body, for medical students to use as a cadaver in their studies.
"Because of that, the foundation provided a $400,000 charitable grant and wired it all straight to your account.
"Seriously, you didn't know about this?"