Chapter 1

My uncle had kidney failure, and I was a match, but I did not want to donate.

I had looked it up online. Some donors ended up weak for the rest of their lives, stuck taking medication forever.

I hated taking pills.

Mom said that was all nonsense. A person could live perfectly fine with one kidney, she told me. It would not affect my life at all. She also said that if I did this one small favor for him, Grandma would finally love me the same way she loved my cousin.

However, I did not even like my maternal grandmother. She played favorites.

Grandma loved Uncle Oliver, so she loved his son more than he loved me. Every time we visited, Grandma and Grandpa fussed over my cousin and bought him all his favorite snacks while they handed me bruised apples. That was with Mom giving up most of her paycheck every month to take care of them.

Still, if donating a kidney really was just a small procedure, then it was worth it to make Mom happy.

I was about to sign the consent form when a wall of text appeared in front of me.

[Does the main character in every second-chance story have to get screwed over and die before they grow a brain?]

I would get screwed over and die? My hand froze on the pen.

Another comment floated into view.

[Wake up! If you donate that kidney, your health will be compromised for life. Say goodbye to every decent job. And nobody's going to thank you for it!]

[And later, your mom's going to blame you for not having a good job, for not being someone she can show off to your grandma!]

[She's going to clean out your savings and give it all to your uncle for some business scheme just to stay in your grandma's good graces. And when you try to get your money back? You'll be too weak to put up a fight. They'll literally beat you to death!]

Mom frowned when she noticed me spacing out. "What are you dragging your feet for, Cody? I'm your mother. Would I ever set you up?"

Chapter 1

I stared up blankly, but I was not looking at the tense expression on Mom's face. I was looking at the text scrolling behind her. It was as if I were a character in a show who could suddenly see what the audience was typing.

[Fast-forwarding. Let's just skip ahead to after the main character is reborn.]

[Wake up, main character. What do you mean 'losing a kidney won't affect your life'? Losing your uncle is what won't affect your life.]

[What has your uncle ever done for you that your mom has the nerve to ask for a kidney?]

[Even then, it still wouldn't be enough. Unless his uncle once single-handedly stormed through enemy lines to save his life. If that were the case, then sure, go ahead and donate.]

[Please! If his uncle actually cared about him that much, he would never let the kid volunteer in the first place.]

'Losing your uncle is what won't affect your life.'

The more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

Mom frowned when I did not answer. "Cody, what are you thinking about? Didn't I already tell you? You're young. A kidney is nothing to you, but for your uncle, it's life or death. I've been begging you. Can't you even do this one little thing for me?

"You're always saying your grandma doesn't love you. Your father taught you to be so petty about everything. Is it any wonder she doesn't like you?"

Mom let out a long sigh. "Fine. I'm not blaming you. Just sign the form. You're still too young to understand that family is supposed to look out for each other. Just sign it. Your uncle promised to write you a check for 50,000 dollars after the surgery. See how generous he is?"

The comments exploded.

[Don't listen to her. After the surgery, your uncle will only give you $1,000. That won't even cover your hospital stay and medication.]

[By the time you graduate, the job market is going to be brutal. And with your body wrecked from the donation, how many decent jobs do you think you're going to miss out on?]

[Don't do it. Those people are heartless. They're not worth it!]

That was all I needed to know. I set the pen down and pushed the consent form away.

"Mom, this is a big deal. I want to talk to Dad about it first."

The moment I mentioned Dad, her expression changed.

"Cody, didn't I tell you? This is our little secret. We'll tell your father after the surgery."

I blinked. "But Mom, you always told me that if something has to be kept from my parents, it's never a good thing and that I have to be extra careful."

Even before the comments appeared, something had felt slightly off. After reading them, that uneasy feeling grew sevenfold. Now, seeing Mom's reaction, every alarm in my head was going off.

Once I fully calmed down, the doubts only multiplied. There was a very real chance that everything the comments had described would actually happen.

Grandma had always favored Uncle Oliver's side of the family. Most of the money Mom sent her ended up funneled straight to Uncle Oliver. Whenever there was anything good to eat at Grandma's place, his family got first pick. I only got whatever was left after it had started to go bad.

Maybe it was true that the worse you were treated as a kid, the harder you tried to earn their approval. Uncle Oliver spoke his mind freely around Grandma without a second thought. Mom, on the other hand, treated everything Grandma said as law and never dared to push back. Dad and I had paid the price for it more times than I could count.

If donating a kidney to Uncle Oliver left me in poor health, Mom would do exactly what the comments predicted. She would not stand up for me. She would turn around and blame me instead.

The thought sent a chill down my spine. Without those comments, I would have signed that form in a daze and given up my kidney without a second thought.

Mom must have run out of patience, because she grabbed the pen and shoved it into my hand. "Why do you have to make everything so difficult? Just sign it already!"

I threw the pen aside, jumped to my feet, and bolted out of the room.

Chapter 2

I had barely made it out of the hospital when Mom recovered from the shock and came running after me.

"You ungrateful little..."

She grabbed my arm. Her grip was strong, and I could not break free.

Just then, an urgent voice rang out. "Lorraine, what are you doing to Cody?"

It was Dad.

Mom's grip loosened so suddenly that I nearly stumbled. Dad caught me and turned to glare at her. "Lorraine, why are you and Cody at the hospital? Did you bring him in for the match test?"

Mom shifted uncomfortably. "There are people everywhere. Do you have to be so loud?"

She had not denied it. That told Dad everything he needed to know.

"So you actually brought him in for the match test."

"Didn't I tell you? If you want to use money to solve the problem now that your brother is in trouble, fine. If you want to get tested yourself, I won't stop you. But I told you Cody was off limits."

Mom realized there was no point hiding it and lowered her voice. "Cody's a match. This could be my brother's only chance. I just figured he's young. A small surgery wouldn't even—"

Dad was barely holding it together. "You heartless... You don't deserve to call yourself a mother. He's a match, but so what? You're actually going to let him donate? Not a chance in hell. Cody is my son, not a spare organ supply for your family. As long as I'm breathing, he's never giving your brother a kidney."

Mom knew she was in the wrong and could only stand there while Dad laid into her, but when he said 'never', she could not stop herself from muttering back. "He's still my brother. And my mother's getting old. You want her to outlive her own child? My brother was on his knees begging, Wade. How can you just stand there and feel nothing?"

Dad let out a cold laugh. "Feel nothing? He had the nerve to come after my son's kidney, and I'm the one who should feel sorry for him?

"Don't talk to me about how desperate your brother is. He's desperate because he wants your son's organ. If there weren't laws stopping him, you think he'd bother begging? He would've shown up with a knife and taken it himself."

"You always think the worst of people," Mom muttered.

Dad scoffed. "Am I wrong? All these years, how much have you given your mother? How much has your brother taken from her? Has either of them ever shown you an ounce of gratitude?

"They've never once appreciated a thing you've done. When Cody goes over there, they feed him leftovers. You really think handing over his kidney is suddenly going to change that?

"If your mother and your brother had even a shred of respect for you, they would never have asked for this. They've never respected you, Lorraine, and you just keep going back for more."

She snapped. "If you don't want to help, then don't. Why do you have to go on and on about it?"

He looked at how angry she was, and something in him deflated.

"Lorraine, I want this to be the last time you bring this up. If you ever mention Cody donating a kidney again, I'm filing for divorce. I mean it. A devoted daughter like you should just go live with your mother and your brother, because you sure as hell don't deserve this family."

He did not wait for her response. He took my arm and walked away.

We had already gone a fair distance before Dad finally calmed down. He let out a long breath.

"Cody, there's something I need to tell you. Your mom... if she's willing to let this kidney thing go, we can still make this work. But if she keeps putting her side of the family above us, if she tries to force you into this again, then I can't keep this marriage going. I'll file the papers.

"I know you're in your senior year and the timing couldn't be worse. But I need you to be ready for that."

I wrapped my arms around him. "Dad, I get it. I know what's been going on. Whatever you decide, I'm behind you."

After that blowup, Mom backed off for a while, but I had read the comments. I knew she would not give up that easily.

Hence, I stayed on guard. I only came out of my room when Dad was home, and I only ate what he cooked. Whenever I went out, I made sure at least one classmate was with me.

One afternoon, a classmate and I went to the bookstore to pick up study materials. After we finished, we wandered around the street for a while.

Then, he tapped my arm. "Hey, isn't that your mom?"

Chapter 3

I looked where my classmate was pointing. Mom and Grandma were standing outside a bank, talking.

Mom pressed something into Grandma's hand. "Mom, this is 100,000 dollars. It's every cent we have left. Use half of it to buy Oliver some supplements to help him recover and keep the other half to give Cody as a gift after he donates."

Grandma took it but did not soften one bit. "That son of yours acts like he's some big shot. It's his own uncle, his own flesh and blood, and he's dragging his feet over one kidney? And now, you have to bribe him on top of it?"

Mom put on a thin smile. "He's young, and his father taught him to be stingy. You're the elder here, Mom. Don't stoop to his level."

We were not standing far away, and my classmate was floored.

"She's giving your grandma all of your family's savings? You're about to start college. She's not keeping anything for you? She always seemed so... normal. How can she just completely ignore what you need?"

I could only laugh. Mom had always been this way. She was obedient and unassuming on the surface, but she had always put the family she was born into above the family she had built.

In her mind, Dad and I were just extensions of herself, and sacrificing us to prove her loyalty was a given.

When the comments said Uncle Oliver would only give me 1,000 dollars after the surgery, I had actually thought that was still generous of him. Knowing his personality, he could just as easily have given nothing at all. If I were to bring it up, Mom would not comfort me either; she would lecture me.

"Helping family is just what you do. Your uncle's family has already spent so much money. Instead of thinking about how to help, you want to take money from him? How selfish can you be?"

No wonder Uncle Oliver had been willing to give anything at all. The money had come from Mom in the first place. He just passed a fraction of it back.

He took 100,000 and returned 1,000. What a deal.

The comments blew up again.

[So, the money Oliver gave the main character came from the main character's own mother all along!]

[No wonder after the main character donates his kidney and needs lifelong medication, his mom says she can't afford his prescriptions. She had already given everything to his uncle!]

[She has money to bankroll her mother and brother but can't buy her own son his medicine? I have never wanted to reach through a screen and slap someone so badly.]

I took a deep breath, opened the voice recorder on my phone, and walked up to them. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

The moment she saw me, Mom instinctively turned to block the bank card in Grandma's hand. "Nothing. Your grandma couldn't figure out how to make a deposit, so I was helping her."

I held up my phone. "Mom, I saw you hand Grandma the money just now."

Her face went rigid. "What's gotten into you? We're family. Your uncle is in trouble, and I'm helping out. You can't even understand that?"

"We?" I let out a hollow laugh, disappointment settling deeper.

"Mom, when you say 'we,' does that include me? Does it include Dad?"

Her expression darkened. "You're too young to understand any of this. Stop listening to your father's nonsense. If you can't even help your own family, life is going to teach you a hard lesson one day."

A hard lesson.

Right. Life would have taught me a hard lesson.

If the comments had not warned me, I would have signed that form without thinking twice, handed over my kidney, and ended up exactly in the situation they had described. I would have died, and even then, people would have blamed me for it. That would have been the real tragedy.

Looking at the guilt and blame fighting for space on Mom's face, it finally hit me. She was never going to change.

The only reason I had not signed last time was that Dad had shown up when he did. If he had not made it that day, I would have already been on the operating table.

I gritted my teeth and turned to leave. "I'm telling Dad about this, about everything. And I'm never donating a kidney to Uncle Oliver. If you keep pushing me, Dad will divorce you."

My mother was not really a mother. She was a grown woman whose heart had never left the household she grew up in. Grandma would never give up on her son, which meant Mom would always choose to sacrifice me.

Dad had to file for divorce. As long as we lived under the same roof, my kidneys were not safe.

Chapter 4

Mom's temper flared. "You're just a kid. When did you learn to be so petty? You don't even understand what it means to respect your elders. And you're always complaining that your grandma doesn't treat you the same way she treats your cousin. This is exactly why. You're so difficult that nobody wants to be around you.

"Look at yourself. Your own family can't stand you. What makes you think anyone out there is going to treat you any better?"

I stopped walking and turned around. "Grandma doesn't love me because I'm difficult? Do you actually believe that? When has it ever been about the grandkid? Grandparents play favorites based on which of their own children they like more, and everything just flows down from there.

"So is it really that nobody likes me, or is it that nobody respects you, and I get treated like I'm invisible because of it?"

That one landed. Mom flinched like I had stepped on a nerve. "What are you talking about?"

I pressed on, saying, "My cousin is the favorite because Grandma likes Uncle Oliver, because Uncle Oliver actually stands up for his own kid. And Grandma is fine feeding me rotten apples because she looks down on you, which means she can get away with treating your son like garbage.

"But you'd rather lie to yourself. You think just because you close your eyes and pretend it's not happening, maybe nobody will notice that they've never respected you."

Mom was shaking with anger, but I just turned and left.

I told Dad everything the moment I got home. He went straight to Mom and asked for a divorce. He also demanded that she get the money back, since that sum was their joint savings and belonged to both of them as marital assets.

Mom felt a twinge of guilt, but she did not take him seriously. She assumed Dad was only using divorce as a threat to stop her from spending money on Grandma. She tried reasoning with him using the same tired arguments, but Dad would not budge. He wanted a divorce, custody, and division of their marital assets.

When Mom realized that nothing she said was getting through, she got spiteful about it. She started openly funneling money to Grandma and Uncle Oliver, going to the hospital every day to wait on them hand and foot, buying them expensive supplements, and making sure Dad could see all of it.

She thought he would cave, that he would worry about the money draining away and sit down to talk things out with her like a reasonable person.

However, Dad had already made up his mind. While Mom put on her show, he was quietly looking for a place to live after the divorce, consulting lawyers, and studying family law online. He was preparing in earnest.

After a while, Mom's little performance ran out of steam. Neither Dad nor I gave her the reaction she wanted, and she seemed to lose interest in the act.

Grandma's side, however, had not given up on the kidney. After several failed attempts to pressure me directly, they started mobilizing relatives to guilt me into it.

Unfortunately for them, guilt did not work on someone who had stopped feeling obligated.

When they texted me, I left them on read. When they tried to find me in person, I told them I was in class. I was in my senior year, after all. My schedule was packed. There was no way I could leave the school during the day, and that was the truth.

This went on for a while. Then, one day, Mom came to me again.

"Cody, come have dinner at Grandma's with me. Ever since your uncle got sick, we haven't all gotten together. Grandma specifically asked for you to come this time. After what you said to her last time, she didn't even hold it against you. This time, she was generous enough to invite you to dinner. All you have to do is go and apologize, and she'll let it go."

Listening to Mom rattle all of this off as though the matter were already settled, I found myself wondering when exactly I had agreed to go with her.

Chapter 5

They were all after my kidney right now. There was no way I was walking into a trap like that.

I had been wondering why their efforts lately had been so half-hearted. It turned out they had been saving up for the big play. The second I stepped through Grandma's door, they would probably skip the meal entirely and pin me down to sign the papers.

I shook my head. "I'm not going. Senior year is brutal. I've heard of parents doing everything they can to help their kids, but I've never heard of a student taking time off to have dinner with relatives."

Mom opened her mouth to push back, but I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed for the door. "I've got tutoring lessons."

They wanted my kidney and expected me to deliver it to them in person? Not a chance.

When I came home that night and opened the door, Grandma, my aunt, and several other relatives from back home were all sitting in my living room.

I froze in the doorway. Dad was not home yet. Part of me wanted to turn around and wait outside.

Mom looked like Grandma had already given her an earful. Her face was tight. The moment she spotted me, she pulled me inside. "There you are. Were you so excited to see Grandma that you forgot how to move? Get in here."

Dad would not be back for a while. Making a scene now with Dad still out would only put me at a disadvantage, so I went in and sat down.

Grandma did not waste time with pleasantries. "Cody, you know about your uncle's condition. We can't keep putting this off. You're young. Losing one kidney is not going to ruin your life.

"We understand you've been stalling because you're scared, but your uncle doesn't have time. You can't keep being stubborn about this. Sign the papers today and stop making him wait."

I smiled. "I've already said no. You need to find another option."

Grandma frowned. "How can you be so selfish?"

I nodded. "Right. You going after someone else's kidney isn't selfish, but me not wanting mine cut out of me is. That's the logic here?"

Her expression faltered. "What kind of attitude is that? Is that any way to speak to your elders?"

Mom jumped in, frantic. "Cody, your grandmother came all the way to our home. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Grandma dabbed at the corners of her eyes where no tears existed, then dropped to her knees in front of me with a loud thud. "Cody, I'm begging you. I have no other choice. You can't just stand by and watch your own uncle die. You two share the same blood! If you let him die, you'll be burying me right after."

She burst into loud, heaving sobs.

I flinched and scrambled out of the way. Something about the whole thing felt off.

Grandma carried on wailing for a while, then wiped her face dry and stood up as if nothing had happened. Once she was on her feet again, she looked at me. The grief was gone, and her eyes were cold and bitter. "Cody, you really won't help, huh?"

I nodded. "I've told you over and over. You can't ask me to trade my life for someone else's."

A dark smile spread across Grandma's face. "You're afraid losing a kidney will ruin your future. But what if I post the video of what just happened?

"What if the whole internet sees how cold-blooded and heartless you are to watch your own grandmother get on her knees and do nothing? What will happen to your reputation then? What kind of future will you have after that?"

That was why something had felt wrong. Given Grandma's personality, if I defied her, she would have demanded Mom discipline me. She would never humiliate herself by kneeling. Not unless it was part of a plan.

Mom, the devoted daughter who would never let her own mother suffer a moment of discomfort, had just stood there and watched her kneel without lifting a finger to stop it.

It was a setup. They had planned the whole thing.

I looked at Mom. She avoided my eyes, guilt written all over her face. She had known, yet she had gone along with it.

For a moment, my mind went somewhere else entirely. This was my mom, the woman who used to carry me to the park, buy me clothes, and bribe me with chocolate when I would not take my medicine.

Now that I had come into conflict with her 'real' family, she had chosen to sacrifice me without a second thought.

The comments were just as stunned.

[That old woman is vicious.]

[The main character's mom is disgusting. Nothing hurts worse than getting stabbed in the back by your own parents.]

[Please tell me the main character won't cave because of this. If he loses that kidney, his life is over.]

While I was still lost in my own head, Mom's gaze shifted toward me.

"Cody."

Chapter 6

"Cody, just listen to your grandmother. Sign the papers, agree to the donation, and apologize to her properly. We'll clear the air as a family, and she won't actually post the video."

I let out a dry laugh. "Go ahead and post it. I don't care."

Grandma had thought she had me cornered. She had not expected that answer, and her eyes went wide.

I almost smiled. "You're saying that video is enough to ruin the rest of my life? Well, if my life is ruined either way, I might as well hang on to both kidneys."

People online were not that easy to fool. As long as I explained that the issue was a kidney donation, most reasonable people would understand. Besides, even if public opinion did turn against me, so what?

No matter how bad things got, it could not be worse than living with one kidney. As long as I still had my health, there was a limit to how far I could fall.

None of them had expected me to respond that way. For a moment, they just stared.

Then, the front door opened. Dad was home. He picked up on the tension in the room immediately. "Cody, come here. What did they say to you?"

I told him everything, start to finish, from the kneeling to the video to the threat.

Dad lost it. He pointed straight at Mom's face and tore into her.

"Lorraine, you've really outdone yourself. Your mother is scheming for her son, and that's disgusting enough, but at least she has a reason. You don't even treat your own child's life like it matters.

"You love your mother and your brother that much? Then let's get this divorce done. Pack your things and get out. Anyone who'd sell out her own son doesn't deserve to be called a mother and doesn't deserve to live in this house."

Mom's lips parted when she heard the word 'divorce', and she was about to say something.

Grandma slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Divorce? Fine. Who are you trying to scare?"

She shot Mom a look. "Are you really going to let your husband push you around like this?"

Mom pressed her lips together, glanced at Dad, and said nothing.

Grandma snorted in disgust. "Pathetic. You don't even wear the pants in your own home. You let him threaten you with a divorce while you just sit there. If I'd known you'd turn out this useless, I would've left you on the doorstep. I'm this old, and I still have to grovel to my son-in-law because of you. What good are you?"

That pushed Mom over the edge. Cornered and humiliated, she snapped, "Fine. Divorce it is. I'm not scared of you."

Dad almost laughed. "Good. We'll go file the papers tomorrow. In the meantime, get your things together and get out."

Mom choked on her response, but before she could recover, Grandma was already yelling, "Even if you're divorcing, why should my daughter be the one to leave? You should be the one moving out."

Dad smiled thinly. "Why should she leave? Because this house was purchased during our marriage, and your daughter took our marital assets and funneled them to your family. Legally, that's unauthorized disposal of joint property. The amount she transferred already exceeds half the value of this house.

"If we really want to settle accounts, your daughter will owe me money after the divorce. So you can either walk out of here on your own, or I can fill the neighbors in on your family's deeds and then you walk out. Your call."

Grandma cared about her reputation more than anything. She was out the door before Dad could say another word.

Mom hurried after her.

Once every uninvited guest had left, Dad let out a long breath. "Cody, the divorce is happening. There's no getting around it now.

"Before, I still thought your mom was a decent person. Even if she went overboard trying to please her family, I figured at least she was your mother. I thought she genuinely loved you, and I was willing to put up with a lot for that.

"But after today, I see things more clearly. She has never grown up. She's still her mother's child before she's your parent. A mom like that is worse than no mom at all.

"And don't take what your grandma said to heart. You're in your senior year. Focus on school. I'll handle everything else."

A weight lifted off my shoulders. I pulled out my phone. "Don't worry about me, Dad. I'll be fine. Look at this."

Chapter 7

Dad looked at the phone. "A recording?"

I nodded. It was a complete recording of everything that had happened from the moment I walked through the door.

Even if Grandma did try to weaponize the internet against me, this recording would show everyone that she had staged the entire thing to manipulate public opinion. Once people realized they were being used as a weapon, they would not play along.

If anything, the backlash would land squarely on her.

Mom had left with Grandma that night, but the next morning, she was back, banging on the door. "Wade! Wade, open the door!"

Dad opened it. "Are you here to file the divorce papers?"

Mom blinked. "What divorce papers? You're still going on about something you said in the heat of the moment?"

His voice was flat. "I wasn't blowing off steam. I'm serious about the divorce."

She frowned. "Everything's perfectly fine. What are you going on about? I'm the one letting things go here, and you're still picking a fight with me?"

She started pushing her way inside, but Dad blocked her.

"Perfectly fine? Your family tried to carve out my son's kidney. That's what you call 'perfectly fine'? Your version of 'perfectly fine' is a happy family built on my son's sacrifice? Get out. Say whatever you want, but this marriage is over."

The door slammed shut. Mom muttered a few things on the other side, but eventually, she left.

Once the door was closed, Dad took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself. "This works out. While she's off throwing a tantrum, I'll have time to find a good lawyer."

Time moved quickly after that. My academic competition was coming up. A strong finish in this competition, combined with my grades, would be enough to secure me an early scholarship to a top university.

According to what the comments had revealed about the 'original storyline', I had won this competition and earned the scholarship in my previous life. My cousin, Troy Pritchard, who was in the same grade as me, was eaten up with jealousy over it and spent plenty of time talking behind my back.

It was also because of this scholarship that after I graduated and could not find a good job, Troy mocked me. He said all those years of studying had been a waste, that I had taken up a spot at a top university for nothing as I could not make a decent living.

They all knew perfectly well that the only reason I was in poor health was that I had donated a kidney to Uncle Oliver.

As for Mom, rather than saying a single word in my defense, she complained that I was an embarrassment and that I made her look bad in front of Grandma.

The thought made me clench my jaw. I was going to win this scholarship. I was going to build a future worth having, and every single one of them could choke on it.

The competition went well. My ranking was strong, and barring anything unexpected, the scholarship was mine.

Afterward, I passed Troy coming out of a teacher's office. His eyes were still red.

The moment he saw me, they burned even redder. "Cody, you wouldn't give my dad a kidney, and now, he's stuck in a hospital bed because of you. And you took my scholarship spot on top of it. You must be really pleased with yourself."

I smiled modestly. "I earned that spot on my own, so yes, I am."

Troy had nothing to say to that. He stormed off.

I had not missed the raw jealousy in his eyes.

In the original storyline, I had just donated a kidney to Uncle Oliver when the scholarship results came out. Troy was jealous, but making a move against me right after I had donated an organ to his father would have looked terrible.

This time, though, I had not donated, and Troy believed I had 'stolen' his scholarship spot. There was nothing holding him back. What would he do next?

I did not have to wonder for long.

The very next day, Grandma showed up at my school to cause a scene.

Right in the middle of the sports field, she appeared with a banner during lunch break. I had no idea how she had gotten past the front gate.

The banner read, 'Cody Hewitt refused to save his dying uncle and disrespected his own grandmother. Does a student like that deserve a scholarship?'

Half the school had stopped to stare, crowding around the banner and whispering to each other.

Grandma was elated. She pulled out a megaphone like a magician producing a rabbit and launched into a wailing monologue.

"My grandson has no heart! He's going to sit back and watch his own uncle die! I got down on my knees and begged him, and it still wasn't enough!

"And just because I borrowed a little money from his family, he turned his parents against each other and tried to take all of it for himself! How can someone be so cruel?"

The teacher on duty looked like his head was about to split open. "Ma'am, please calm down. This is a family matter and has nothing to do with academics. Could you please handle this at home?"

Grandma's eyes darted around. "Nothing to do with academics? How can a heartless person like him be given a scholarship to a top university? And forget about that for a second. Doesn't the school bear some responsibility here?

"That good-for-nothing grandson of mine is making his father file for divorce so he can snatch my daughter's money. He probably wants to spend it all on some girl at this school. How is that not the school's business?"

Then, Grandma's eyes lit up, as if she had just thought of something. "He doesn't come home until after 10:00 pm every night. He's definitely fooling around with one of the girls here. And you're giving a student like him a scholarship? What kind of school is this?"

Chapter 8

The teacher was speechless, too angry to get his words out cleanly. "Ma'am, I don't know what kind of misunderstanding you have about this student, but as his teacher, I need to set the record straight.

"Cody Hewitt is a hardworking, well-behaved student. There is absolutely no truth to your claim that he has an inappropriate relationship with a female student.

"As for coming home after 10:00 pm, the seniors have mandatory evening study sessions. Dismissal after 9:30 pm is completely normal."

Grandma spat on the ground. "How do I know he didn't pay you off to cover for him?"

There was no reasoning with her. I stepped forward before the teacher could respond. "Sir, don't bother arguing with her. I've already called the police. Let's just let them handle it."

Grandma had been gearing up for a full performance, but the word 'police' sobered her up instantly.

"You called the police? You ungrateful little wretch. You'd actually have your own grandmother arrested?"

She gathered up the megaphone and the banner in a hurry and made for the school gate. She was moving so fast that she nearly ran straight into Mom, who was just arriving.

The second Grandma saw Mom, her confidence came flooding back.

"Oh, sweetheart, there you are. That wonderful son you raised is trying to throw me in prison!"

She threw herself into the performance, sobbing and carrying on as loudly as she could.

Mom, ever the devoted daughter, immediately teared up. She turned to me with a glare. "Apologize to your grandmother. Now."

I took a deep breath. "Mom, do you even know why she's here? Do you know what she just did?

"She came here to destroy my reputation and take away my scholarship. She stood in front of my classmates with a megaphone and told everyone I was having some kind of relationship with a girl at—"

Grandma's wailing drowned me out before I could finish. "My life is nothing but misery! My own daughter and grandson treat me like dirt! Why do I even bother going on?"

Mom panicked. She whipped around and screamed at me, "Your parents are never wrong, no matter what. Disrespecting your elders is unforgivable. Apologize to your grandmother right now!"

I turned my head away and said nothing.

The next second, Mom's hand connected with my face. Half of my face burned.

Something like regret flickered across Mom's expression after she did it.

"Cody, I didn't mean to hit you. But you were so disrespectful to your grandmother today that I had no choice."

When I just stood there holding my cheek, she kept going.

"If you think about it, this whole mess is because you refused to donate. If you'd just agreed from the beginning, we'd all still be one happy family. None of this would've happened."

Somewhere in the middle of saying this, she seemed to convince herself she was in the right. She let out a long sigh.

"All this chaos over something so small. You tore this family apart, and now, you're the one paying for it."

She was putting all the blame on me simply because I had not obliged her demands. It was so absurd that I almost laughed.

Just then, Dad arrived. He walked straight up to Mom and slapped her twice across the face.

"Lorraine, if you ever help your family bully Cody again, I swear to God you'll regret it."

He pulled me behind him and stared Mom down. "I've already asked you for a divorce. Cody will stay with me. If you can't get that through your head, I'll file a lawsuit and we can do this in court. Just make sure you show up."

Mom's face twisted in pain. "Wade, why can't you just understand? It's Cody's own uncle who's sick! Cody's too young to know what's right. Instead of teaching him, you're encouraging him to act out, and now, you're threatening me with divorce?

"Well, go ahead. Even if you try to use divorce to scare me, I won't back down. Cody has to donate that kidney."

Dad let out a laugh of disbelief. "Who's threatening you? I'm going through with this divorce, and Cody is never giving your brother a kidney. Stop playing dumb. This marriage is over. And after what you pulled today, hitting Cody to force him into donating, no court in this country is going to award you custody."

After the scene at school, Dad took me to Mom's office and made sure her boss and coworkers heard the full story. The goal was not to make her lose her job.

Once her colleagues knew the truth, the looks they gave her said everything.

A parent being close with their siblings was one thing. Trying to give away your child's kidney to save your brother, especially when the child had made it clear he was against it, was something else entirely.

Word around the office was that everyone had taken to calling her the 'devoted daughter' behind her back. It was not a compliment.

After that, Mom finally went quiet for a while. She kept a low profile, and then one day, she showed up at the front door with gifts, saying she wanted to apologize to Dad and me.

Dad still hoped for an amicable divorce and wanted to keep things out of court if possible. Mom sounded sincere, so he opened the door and let her in. She was noticeably calmer this time, and for my sake, Dad kept his composure too. No fingers were pointed, and no voices were raised.

Mom opened a box she had brought. "I figured we should sit down as a family and talk things through properly. Clear the air."

Yet the moment she lifted the lid, the expressions on both my face and Dad's went cold.