Chapter 1
After the kindergarten organized a routine health check, my daughter, Hannah, died unexpectedly.
Outside the operating room, the principal, Grace Quinn, held out an organ donation consent form and urged me to donate Hannah's organs.
Not long after I signed it, both the principal and my daughter's homeroom teacher, Fiona Warren, resigned.
When I saw them again, one had become a corporate executive, and the other had returned to her hometown and bought a luxury house.
By pure chance, I later learned that the child who received Hannah's heart was the grandson of the richest man in the capital.
But on my way to confront them and get my revenge, I got into a car accident and died instantly.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Hannah went to school for that health check.
*****
Outside the door, Hannah stood in her neat, pretty uniform, turning her head to urge me on. "Mum, hurry up! Ms. Warren said we have a health check today. Everyone has to be at school before eight."
I stared at her in shock, so stunned that I forgot to change out of my slippers.
I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around her, tears pouring down my face.
Was this a dream? Hannah was already gone.
A month earlier, the kindergarten had announced that a wealthy sponsor would cover the cost of a full medical checkup for all the students. I happily sent Hannah off to school.
Who would have thought that a few days later, before the test results even came out, something would happen to her at school?
The teachers said Hannah had secretly eaten a piece of candy she picked up from the ground.
The police later caught the madman who had been throwing candy into the school.
But Hannah was always such a little fashionista. To protect her teeth, she usually held back even from her favorite chocolate at home. How could she have eaten candy picked up off the ground?
*****
The doctor eventually declared that Hannah could not be saved.
Fiona sobbed in remorse, blaming herself for failing to look after Hannah.
Grace wiped away her tears and handed me a form titled Organ Donation Consent. "Mrs. Young, Hannah was a kind and gentle kid," she said. "I believe that if she were watching from above, she would want to make one last contribution to society.
"There is a kid with a congenital heart condition here, about the same age as Hannah.
"Although Hannah is gone, if her organs are donated, she can continue to live in this world in another way. Don't you think so?"
Furious, I slapped Grace across the face and tore the donation form to shreds.
But later, when I saw that kid lying in the hospital bed, barely clinging to life, I swallowed the pain tearing through my chest and, with trembling hands, signed my name on the consent form.
Hannah was pushed into the operating room just like that. Her heart, both kidneys, her liver, and her corneas were taken. With her life, she saved six children.
The surgery went smoothly. After the sick child received Hannah's heart, the family asked the hospital to deliver me a check for 150 thousand dollars.
I froze. What was I supposed to do with this money? I didn't want the money. I only wanted my Hannah back.
My hands shook as I tried to tear the check apart, but my husband, Eric Young, and his mother, Nora, shoved me aside, beaming as they snatched it up.
*****
That night, I couldn't sleep. I went to Hannah's room to look around and overheard Eric and Nora talking.
"Did Principal Quinn give you the remaining 150 thousand dollars yet?" Nora whispered, her voice buzzing with excitement.
"She did. And a few other families said they'd pay a few thousand bucks more as compensation."
"A few thousand is nothing," she scoffed. "Tell them the rest doesn't matter, but Hannah's two kidneys aren't cheap. Each family has to add at least another ninety thousand dollars."
My blood ran cold. I was too stunned. I leaned against the wall, clapping a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.
Inside the room, they kept talking, more and more excited.
"That bitch Linda," Nora sneered. "Useless as dead weight. All she did was give birth to a daughter, spoil her rotten, and still have the nerve to refuse to give me a grandson.
"Now look at her. Her precious girl turned into a box of ashes and made the family over 300 thousand dollars.
"Eric, while she can still get pregnant, hurry up and put a baby in her. This time, she must give me a big, healthy grandson."
She sneered, "If she dares to have another girl, I'll have her killed again, cut out the kidneys, and sell them by the pound."
So it was you who killed Hannah?
Blinded by rage, I charged into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and was ready to rush out and hack those two animals to death.
But when I reached the doorway, I suddenly froze. Because I heard three other names come out of Eric's mouth.
"Mom, Hannah just died. Keep it together. Don't smile so happily in front of Linda," he said. "If she ever finds out that Hannah was chosen so Mr. Lawson's grandson could get a new heart, we'll all end up behind bars."
Nora instantly grew nervous. "Then I won't say another word. But the Lawson family already greased the wheels with Principal Quinn and Ms. Warren, right?"
"Don't worry," Eric replied. "The Lawson family is the richest in the province. You think they'd skimp on money like this? I heard Mr. Lawson personally arranged for Principal Quinn to become a deputy general manager at one of their branches. He even gave Ms. Warren 300 thousand dollars.
"Think about it. A kindergarten teacher makes barely 2000 dollars a month. How many lifetimes would Ms. Warren need to earn 300 thousand dollars?"
The moment Nora heard that Grace had become a deputy manager, she bristled. "Then you should go talk to Mr. Lawson too. Get yourself a leadership position.
"It was your daughter who died so Mr. Lawson's eldest grandson could get a new heart.
"Why does Principal Quinn get to be a deputy manager while our family only gets 300 thousand dollars?"