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"This dose costs 200,000 dollars." He stared down at me, his voice devoid of warmth. "Can you afford it?"

I writhed on the floor in agony, cold sweat soaking through my clothes.

"You're… you're monsters…" I sobbed. "I'm your son. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Shut up!"

Dad exploded. He snatched my phone and grabbed my finger, forcing it against the screen to unlock it. He tapped through each app. Loan notifications kept chiming as he maxed out every line of credit I had.

"Paid! The money's paid!" Tears welled in his eyes, but his face contorted as he shouted. He grabbed my jaw and forced my mouth open.

"Drink! Drink it now! You're in debt anyway, so drink! If you don't want to die, drink it!"

The vial of filthy liquid was poured roughly down my throat. I choked and coughed violently, but he clamped his hand over my mouth and made me swallow.

The dirty water had a sickeningly sweet taste as it slid into my stomach. Miraculously, the searing pain in my chest began to ease.

I collapsed on the floor, gasping for air, feeling like I'd just walked through the gates of hell and back. Before I could get up, the floor shook violently.

Dust rained down from the ceiling, and the light fixture swayed wildly. I looked at my parents in terror. "We need to get out! It's an earthquake!"

But they started frantically moving things around the house.

"Quick! Sell the TV!" Mom shrieked. With a wave of her hand, the television mounted on the wall vanished into thin air.

"The couch too! Sell the couch!" Dad yelled. The heavy leather couch disappeared in the next second.

As the furniture vanished piece by piece, the house grew colder and colder. The once-warm living room was now freezing. I shivered uncontrollably, my teeth chattering.

Mom suddenly rushed over and pulled off the only coat she wore. It was an old quilted jacket she'd had for years, the cuffs worn through.

She wrapped the jacket tightly around me and buttoned it securely. She was left in nothing but a thin long-sleeved shirt. She huddled in the freezing air, her lips turning purple, but her eyes remained fixed on the empty house.

"Just a little longer. We can make it one more day…" she muttered through chattering teeth.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

I tried to take the jacket off and give it back to her, but she pressed my hands down.

"Don't! Keep it on! You'll freeze!" She glared at me fiercely, then turned and retreated to the corner.

I didn't understand. Why would she give me her only coat after being so cold to me moments ago?

I searched through the bare living room, trying to find even the smallest clue. Finally, in the corner where the TV stand used to be, I found a hidden metal box. It was the box where we kept important documents.

I opened it with trembling hands. There was no property deed or bankbook inside, just a pile of papers covered in fingerprints.

I picked them up, and my eyes widened. They were wrinkled agreements, the handwriting messy, stained with dark red marks.

"Organ Donation Compensation Agreement."

"High-Interest Loan Contract."

And at the bottom was one in Dad's handwriting, the signature shaky and uneven. "Kidney sale agreement. Voluntary. Payment on receipt."

I clutched the paper and jerked my head up to look at Dad.

"What is this?" I threw the agreement in front of him, my voice raw. "It wasn't enough to bleed me dry? You had to sell your kidney too? Who the hell do you owe money to? Answer me! Say something!"

Dad acted like he hadn't heard me. He didn't even glance at the paper. He just stared at some fixed point in empty space.

Suddenly, he screamed at the air like a madman. "Renew it! Renew it now! Don't cut me off! I have money! I just sold my kidney! I have money!"

I watched him spiral into hysteria, my blood running cold. "Dad, it's me! It's Nate! Look at me!"

I lunged forward and grabbed him by the collar.

"Get off me!" He shoved me away with shocking force. "You don't understand anything! Without money, you die!"

He backhanded me across the face. The blow was brutal. My ears rang and my vision swam.

"Who do you think I sold my kidney for? It was to keep you alive!"