My Son Sent Me to Die Then Begged Me to Love Him

After the Memory Tribunal, the son who had once hated me with every fiber of his being took a knife to the woman he called his beloved Aunt Olivia.

He wept as he begged me, Mom, the bad woman's gone. Can you please, please love me again?

My ex-husband, Ethan, hovered nearby, his voice a fragile whisper. "Can you come back? I don't even mind that you had a child with someone else."

I laughed.

Pulling Mia, my daughter from my new marriage, closer, I stood up. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go home."

Mia looked up at me, her brow furrowed. "Who are they, Mommy?"

I paused, genuinely considering the question. "It's been so long, I'm not sure I remember. Just… people, I guess. Strangers on the street."

1

It was my own son who sent me to the Memory Tribunal.

It’s a place where lies get you erased from existence. On the spot.

No child ever sends their own mother to the Tribunal.

But here I was, seven years after I’d walked out on him, and he had dragged me here without a flicker of hesitation.

It all started because he’d spent those seven years hunting me down, only to finally corner me and ask, "Why did you abandon me?"

At that moment, I was at the park with my daughter. The kind of playground you find in any quiet, middle-class neighborhood, with a worn-down slide and squeaky swings. The kind of place my son, a boy raised in sterile mansions and exclusive country clubs, would never have given a second glance.

But he stood there, his eyes locked on me as I held Mia, a smile on my face. He watched, transfixed, as I helped her take a sip from her water bottle and then gently wiped her chubby chin.

Only after she’d giggled and run back to the swings did I turn to him, my voice flat. "You were the one who didn't want me."

His face twisted, the accusation stinging him. He grabbed my sleeve. "You're lying! Olivia said you left to go find your own happiness! She said I shouldn't stand in your way!"

A genuine, startling laugh escaped me. It was so absurd, I couldn't help it.

After a moment, I brushed his hand away. "Noah, I don't know how many times I've told you this, but this will be the last. The liar isn't me. It’s your precious Olivia. By the way, why haven't you started calling her 'Mom' yet? I would have thought your father would have married her by now."

Noah froze, his grip slackening. He mumbled, his eyes darting away. "Dad's… busy."

Busy?

I’m sure he was. The Vance family empire was vast. I remember when Noah was hospitalized as a child; his father had only managed to show up for three minutes.

And yet now, after Noah had sent me to the Tribunal, the impossibly busy Ethan Vance was sitting in the front row of the gallery.

He was thinner, his face etched with lines that weren't there before. He looked at me, a frown creasing his brow. "Leah, you know that lying here gets you erased. I'll have Noah withdraw the petition. Just… pack your things and come home. He’s just missed you, that’s all."

Again, that incredulous laugh bubbled up. "Come home? Home to where, exactly?" My gaze drifted to the woman sitting beside him, Olivia. "To the home you two share?"

Olivia’s eyes instantly welled with tears. "Leah, you’re still holding a grudge against me…"

Ethan's frown deepened. "Does that matter right now? What matters is that I'm trying to help you. To save you."

He said it with such certainty, as if my guilt was a foregone conclusion.

My daughter, Mia, piped up from her seat next to my husband, her little voice fierce. "Who are you? Stop talking nonsense! My mommy doesn't lie!"

Ethan stared at Mia, his shock absolute. It was as if he had no idea she even existed.

Noah, who had spent the last few days witnessing just how much I adored my daughter, looked on with a numb expression. "I told you, Dad. Mom has another kid now. You didn't believe me."

Ethan's fingers trembled as he looked back at me. "Leah… this child is adopted, right?"

My husband, Mark, who was sitting right next to Mia, let out a cold laugh. "You're the one who looks like you were picked up from the lost and found." He held up his hand, flashing the simple gold band on his finger. "We were married first, then came the baby. The product of love. Oh, and for the record, my wife doesn't lie. She doesn't need your help."

Ethan swayed, looking like he'd been struck. His eyes found mine again. "Leah, you swore you'd never betray me. Have you forgotten?"

I’d been doing a lot of laughing since I arrived at this place. It was a strange, hysterical feeling, and it was bringing tears to my eyes.

Wiping a corner of my eye, I cleared my throat. "Ethan, you've made more promises than I can count. If vows were binding, you would have been struck by lightning years ago."

His face went chalk white.

I turned away from him, facing the Tribunal's central camera. "Let's begin."

A moment later, the memory-retrieval apparatus clamped firmly around my head. An AI's cold, synthetic voice announced the rules. "The petitioner will ask a question. The respondent will answer. Following the answer, the respondent's corresponding memory will be extracted and broadcast. At the conclusion of the questioning, the liar will be erased."

Behind me, I heard Ethan's desperate voice. "Leah, it's not too late to take it back. Just come home…"

I glanced back at him, a half-smile playing on my lips. "I'd rather be erased."

Noah's voice, tight with anger, cut through the silence. "You'd rather die than be my mother again?"

I closed my eyes and gave a small, deliberate nod.

Yes. For the boy who was once my entire world.

2

Noah sniffled, his grief hardening into resolve.

He asked the first question, his voice cracking. "Why did you abandon me? You're my mother. How could you just leave your own child?"

His eyes were red and swollen, brimming with a universe of hurt. He looked like a lost puppy.

But the image that flashed in my mind wasn't of a puppy. It was of him, throwing a full glass of milk straight at my chest.

He had been vicious, like a young wolf learning to bite, his finger pointed at my face. "Get out! I never want to see you again! I want Olivia! She's like a princess, and you're just a frumpy housewife! No wonder Dad would rather be with her!"

Every word had been a bullet, finding its mark right in the center of my heart. In that moment, I learned that a child doesn't need a weapon to kill their mother. A few sentences will do the job just fine.

Even now, years later, when the words had lost their power, the memory of that pain was still sharp.

I answered him calmly. "I didn't abandon you. You threw me away. You were so desperate to have your Aunt Olivia, you couldn't see anything else. Have you forgotten?"

Olivia bit her lip, her expression a perfect mask of tragic innocence. "But you were the one who left the Vance estate, leaving him behind when he was so young…" Her gaze flickered toward Mia and Mark. "Now I understand why you were so heartless back then."

Ethan, still pale and reeling, shook his head. "Leah, you've disappointed me more than I can say."

I didn't even have the energy to argue with him.

I just stared straight ahead. "Let the Tribunal decide who's right and who's wrong."

A few seconds passed, and then the machine whirred to life, projecting my memories onto the massive screen for everyone to see.

There I was, a younger version of myself, skeletal and hollow-eyed, dragging a small suitcase out of the grand entrance of the Vance estate.

Behind me, Olivia held Noah in her arms. He looked at me, his expression cold. "Is this some kind of act, Mom? Are you trying to guilt-trip me and Dad?"

Those puppy-dog eyes, so innocent in shape, held a gaze as cold as ice.

Olivia made a show of scolding him, but her eyes danced with triumph and provocation. "Noah, darling, she's still your mother, after all. You have to be patient with her, even when she makes mistakes."

Noah’s eyes narrowed, a flash of pure malice in them. He grabbed a toy car from a nearby table and hurled it at me. "Why should I be? She's faking it! Once her mission was over, she had nowhere else to go in this world! She can't survive without Dad! She's just trying to force us to kick you out!"

The toy car struck me squarely in the chest.

The impact was cold, a deep, piercing ache. It shattered the last, fragile piece of hope I’d been clinging to.

So, he knew. My own son knew I had no family, no home, nowhere to go.

And he was still determined to drive me out.

I turned my head, my gaze finding Ethan, who stood behind Noah and Olivia.

"He couldn't have come up with those words on his own," I said, my voice flat. "Someone must have taught him."

Ethan frowned. "He's just stating the facts, Leah. I promised you, you will always be my wife. Now put down the suitcase and stop this drama. Aren't you tired of the performance? Go make Noah some dinner. He’s been gaining a little weight; we need to watch his diet."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

The Vance family was absurdly wealthy, yet for some reason, everyone in that house was convinced that I, and only I, had to be personally responsible for every aspect of Noah’s life. Ethan’s mother once told me, "Leah, you came from nothing. You can't just enjoy the title of Mrs. Vance without contributing something, can you?"

Ethan had been standing right beside me, and he'd said nothing. Not a word about how I had been his salvation, how without me, he never would have survived those dark, lonely years.

Noah, still nestled in Olivia's arms, glared at me over her shoulder. "It would be so great if you actually left. Then I could finally call Olivia 'Mom'."

I closed my eyes. A single tear escaped and traced a path down my cheek. Something inside me dissolved with it. I knew what it was. It was a mother's love.

When I opened my eyes again, I gave Noah a small wave. "Well then, I'll grant your wish."

I turned and walked out the door, leaving everything behind. Behind me, I could hear Noah cheering and Olivia's soft, triumphant laugh.

Even Ethan, I thought I heard, let out a quiet chuckle.

3

The memory faded from the screen. I looked at Noah.

"You see? You were the one who didn't want me."

The Tribunal's synthetic voice cut through the silence. "The respondent's testimony is truthful. This round is concluded."

Noah was utterly stunned. It was as if he was only now remembering how much he used to despise me. He stared at me, his mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.

From the gallery, my daughter Mia, unable to contain her fury, threw her small carton of milk with all her might. It sailed through the air and hit Noah squarely in the chest. "That's for hurting my mommy!"

Her little face crumpled, her voice thick with a pain that was all for me. "You're the one who drove her away! How dare you blame her? You're a big, mean bully!"

The milk carton bounced off Noah's chest with a dull thud, but he didn't seem to notice.

Seven years had passed. Some memories had faded.

His lips trembled as he looked from me to Olivia, his eyes clouded with confusion.

Olivia offered him a placating smile. "Pushing your mother away wasn't very polite, sweetie, but it wasn't entirely your fault."

She was so focused on him that she didn't notice the faint red laser dot that had appeared on her right shoulder from an unseen corner of the Tribunal hall.

She continued, her voice soothing. "After all, nobody wants to feel like they're being used as a pawn, right?"

As if her words were a trigger, Noah's spine stiffened again. "She's right! Even if I told you to leave, don't you have any responsibility? Everyone in the Vance family knew! They all knew I was just your ticket into this family! Without me, without using me, you never would have married my dad!"

I closed my eyes, listening to my son’s voice, still holding the last traces of childhood, as it hurled accusations at me.

Accusations that I was a gold digger who wouldn't leave after her mission was complete. Accusations that I had used a child as leverage to marry into wealth.

A strange curiosity bloomed in my chest. I turned to look at Ethan. "Is that what you think, too?"

Ethan was silent for a few seconds before his gaze flickered away.

Mark let out a sharp, disgusted sound and whispered to our daughter, "Don't listen to their garbage. If your mom was that ruthless, does anyone really think they could have pushed her around like this?"

Mia nodded fiercely.

I paused.

For the first time since this began, my eyes stung with tears.

Noah looked over at Mia, his expression darkening as he posed his next question. "Mom, did you use me as a pawn to marry into a rich family? Is this the child you actually wanted, and I was just a tool? Answer me! In front of the Tribunal, answer me!"

First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "255628" to read the entire book.