Chapter 3

“Mom, why did you have to stop me? Didn’t you tell me to find a way to earn my own keep?”

My son looked at me, confused. He then proudly waved the wad of cash he earned today.

“I sold the camera for 200 dollars and the old laptop for over 300 dollars. There were a few other items I sold, too. I earned a total of nearly 2,000 dollars.”

He pulled out his sales records, but I was fuming. Not only were the items he sold very expensive, but they also held precious photos of our family. I couldn’t believe he sold them at such a low price!

“Mrs. Lane, what a good son you have! He’s so generous!”

Someone walked past Shawn’s stall and showed off the camera he bought from Shawn. There were even some intimate photos and videos of me and my husband in the camera.

I felt utterly embarrassed as they laughed and teased me, but my son looked completely unperturbed. He even joined in.

“Since you dared to capture it on film, why can’t we watch it? Why didn’t you find it embarrassing when you filmed it?” he said with a smirk.

I could no longer hold my anger back. I lurched toward him and slapped him hard on his cheek.

“Get out! You’re no longer my son! Don’t even think about taking a cent from me!”

He looked at me, stunned and in disbelief that I had actually laid a finger on him.

I immediately bought him a bus ticket to Seaville, leaving him with no choice but to find a job and earn money. I even blocked his account on various socials.

“Shawn Lane! From this moment on, you’re no longer my son! Find a way to earn your own keep!”

I shut my eyes tight. I didn’t know which hurt more, the physical or emotional pain I was feeling.

In a fit of spite, my son refused to come home from that day on.

In the past, I would certainly have been the first to succumb and find him to call him back home. I would claim to teach and discipline him patiently, but end up giving up money again.

This time, however, I no longer wanted to condone his actions. I changed the password to the lock of our door so he wouldn’t be able to let himself into the house.

My husband found out about what happened at the flea market, but still thought that I was being too cruel.

“He’s just a child!”

He didn’t understand why I was being so heartless and thought I shouldn’t have made such a big fuss over a pearl necklace.

“My grandmother left that for me! Me, heartless? That good son of yours almost caused your death. Isn’t that even more heartless of him? What’s more, are you two even related by blood?”

I was so mad, I couldn’t hold my tongue.

If he were such a saint, he should just give Shawn money from his own pocket instead of blaming me.

The look on my husband’s face changed when he heard my last sentence, which effectively silenced him.

Shawn was spoiled rotten by my husband and mother-in-law, which made him increasingly unscrupulous and brazen. I thought it was about time for my mother-in-law to know the truth.

By the time I decided how I wanted to announce the truth, I suddenly received news about my son, who had vanished for a week.

“Hello, are you the family member of Shawn Lane? He met with a car accident…”

My mind buzzed when I received the call. I instinctively wanted to go to him.

Despite my grief and anger, I couldn’t stop the heartache and anxiety I felt when I heard that something untoward had happened to him.

When I heard that his life was hanging by a thread, memories of him when he was young flashed past my mind. Memories of him just learning to call me "Mama," when he first learned to walk, and when he bought me a birthday cake.

I could remember each scene so clearly.

Tears fell uncontrollably.

They wanted me to pay for the cost of surgery, which amounted to ten thousand dollars. My hands trembled as I struggled with the decision.

What about my mom? What should I do?