Chapter 3

I stepped forward, making Richard and Linda stumble back. I stared them down, my words sharp and deliberate. "Let me spell it out for you. In this life, I only have Grace by my side. As for my parents, they died eighteen years ago.

"You didn't come here to acknowledge me as your daughter. You want me to donate a kidney to your precious Sophie, isn't that right?"

As soon as I said that, all the color drained from Richard's and Linda's faces.

Then, sirens blared at the school gate. Two police cars screeched to a halt beside the Mercedes, and a few officers strode over, heading straight for us.

"Hey, we're from Riverdale Police Station. Are you Alice Thorn? Did you call the police?" one of the officers asked.

I nodded and handed over the agreement and the police report. "Yeah, I called the cops. I'm reporting Richard and Linda for abandoning me as a newborn eighteen years ago. Here's the proof."

The officer took the evidence, glanced at it, and his face instantly turned serious. He looked at Richard and Linda. "Mr. Mason, Ms. May, please come with us to the station to cooperate with our investigation."

Linda was hysterical, screaming, "I'm not going. She's my daughter. I gave birth to her. Even if I gave her away, that's not a crime. What right do you have to arrest me?

"Alice. Tell the cops what's really going on. This is a family matter. Tell them to leave, or I'll kill myself right here in front of you."

Still yelling, she tried to ram herself into the flagpole, but the officers grabbed her in time and held her back.

Richard, who'd been all calm and collected before, now glared at me with venom. "Alice, you're heartless. If you don't drop the charges today, we'll drag you down with us. Don't think you'll have it easy."

Seeing them so desperate and frantic, I found it hilarious.

"Drag me down with you? Please, you don't deserve that." I shot them a cold look. "If you've got something to say, tell it to the cops, or better yet, the judge."

Then, a white sports car pulled up at the school gate. A girl in a designer dress, her face pale, was helped out of the car. It was Sophie.

As soon as she saw me, her eyes turned red. She spoke in a weak, trembling voice, on the verge of tears. "Alice, please don't treat Mom and Dad like this, okay?

"They've been searching for you for eighteen years, and it's been so hard for them. If you're angry with them, you can yell at me, hit me, do whatever you want, but please don't send them to jail.

"I'm not in good health. I can't live without Mom and Dad. Alice, I know you hate us, but whatever you want as compensation, we'll give it to you. Please forgive Mom and Dad, okay?"

As she spoke, she was about to grovel in front of me, looking really pitiful.

Sympathetic murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Come on, her little sister is begging her like that. Maybe she should drop it. They're family, after all."

"Yeah, her sister looks so frail. If their parents end up in jail, how will she manage?"

"Blood is thicker than water. No matter how bad things get, you can't send your own parents to prison. That's way too cruel."

At the sound of the crowd's murmurs, a flicker of triumph crossed Sophie's eyes, and she burst into louder sobs.

Linda quickly chimed in, "That's right, Alice. Look at Sophie. She's got kidney failure, got out of the hospital, and she can't take any more stress.

"Please, have some pity on her, drop the charges, and come home with us, okay? Mom will be your slave, anything you want, I'll make it up to you."