My Mom Let Me Burn for Her First Love

The night before my SAT, I got the call to collect my father's body from prison.

But my mom found me first.

She wanted Dad to take the fall for her first love, Ethan Shaw, for a second time.

Where's your father? Ethan accidentally caused a patient's death during surgery. Tell him to go to prison for Ethan again. These two times will make up for that slap your father gave Ethan.

"After this, I'll come back to the family and stay with you two."

I clutched Dad's urn in my arms, my head down, mumbling in a daze.

"Dad's dead."

But Mom just scoffed and immediately had her people lock me in the sauna room.

The temperature in the sauna shot up rapidly from 113 degrees to 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mom sent voice messages to Dad's chat, threatening him.

[Xavier! You've got some nerve teaching our son to lie to me!]

[Let's see what kind of game you're playing! If you don't want Connor to get hurt, you better show yourself right now!]

My whole body turned bright red from the burns.

I desperately pounded on the door, trying to explain and call for help.

But Mom was too busy comforting her frightened first love to pay me any attention.

Severely dehydrated, I suddenly laughed bitterly.

Mom, Dad and I are using our two lives to atone for your beloved first love.

Is that enough?

Every time my hands struck the iron door, a layer of skin peeled off.

Blood beads sizzled out, and my throat felt like it was on fire.

But I still clung to what little strength I had left, constantly begging for help.

"Dad really died in prison!"

"He's already been tortured to death by you! Are you going to force me to death today too?"

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

Extreme dehydration made my throat so hoarse it was bleeding.

Mom ignored me, just nodding angrily.

She gritted her teeth and yelled at Dad's chat window.

"Fine! Real nice, Xavier!"

"Look what you've taught our child! Making him lie and say you're dead, and now teaching him to say such unlucky things about himself!"

She threw her phone down in frustration.

Hearing my constant cries for help only made her angrier. She yelled at me impatiently.

"Stop pretending! The heating system in there is broken! The temperature can't even be adjustedyou learned this act from your father!"

"I'm only doing this to force your dad out!"

In her rage, Mom's whole face turned purple.

At that moment, Ethan Shaw timidly stepped forward and patted her back to calm her down.

"Vanessa, forget it. Don't make Xavier go to prison for me. He must still resent me from last time. I don't want to come between you."

Mom's anger immediately dissipated. She turned and gently patted his back, soothing him.

"It's not your fault. Xavier has a dirty mind and is suspicious of our relationship."

"You're different from Xavier. He's already been in once, so going through more hardship won't matter."

"Besides, I've already made arrangements at the prison. He's living quite comfortably in there."

Nearly every inch of my skin was burned, and breathing became more and more difficult.

But after hearing Mom's words, I laughed coldly, laughing until tears fell.

Making arrangements meant having people beat Dad to death?

When I went to collect the body, Dad's entire body was covered in fresh wounds mixed with old scars and blood. Several of his bones had been pulled out.

He couldn't even... close his eyes!

He died with his eyes open, and even after death, Mom still insulted him!

Thinking of Dad, my sobbing grew louder uncontrollably.

Mom clicked her tongue impatiently.

"It's all my fault for spoiling them both."

"Xavier's sulking and won't show up, and Connor's fighting with me too. The sauna room is just a bit dark, that's all. No need to be so dramatic and cry."

I froze in place again.

She said... she spoiled us?

Spoiling us meant making Dad go to prison for her first love?

Spoiling us meant leaving me alone in the villa without checking on me for three years?

During those three years, she seemed to have forgotten she had a son. She didn't send money and couldn't be reached.

My tuition and living expenses all came from going to class during the day and delivering food at night.

I counted down the days on my fingers.

I kept telling myself that once Dad got out of prison, once I got into college, everything would be better.

But what I waited for was the news of Dad being beaten to death.

What I waited for was Mom willing to sacrifice her own son's life for her first love again!

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and the skin on my lips crackled and burst.

I unconsciously licked the blood flowing from my lips.

So thirsty, so hot, and my body hurt so much.

In my fading consciousness, I suddenly heard Dad calling my name.

"Connor! Dad's begging you to hold on! Dad's begging you to call for help and not give up on yourself!"

"Stay alive!"

I jerked my eyes open, gasping for air.

Dad was right. I shouldn't give up on myself.

I worked so hard studying for three years, wasn't it all for tomorrow's SAT?

Getting into NYU was my dream, and Dad's too!

I found strength from somewhere and crawled back up to pound on the door.

"Mom, I... I'm begging you to let me out first, okay?"

"If, if you let me out, I'll take you to find Dad."

I tried hard to suppress my trembling voice and soften my tone as much as possible.

After hearing this, Mom seemed quite satisfied with my response. Her expression softened considerably.

She waved to the bodyguard.

"Open the do"

But before she could finish, Ethan Shaw grabbed her arm and interrupted.

"Vanessa, it's so late. Don't make things hard for the kid."

"He has his test tomorrow. Going back and forth would take several hours. Let him get a good night's sleep first."

Reminded by him, Mom suddenly realized and immediately stopped the bodyguard.

"Connor, your Uncle Ethan is right. The temperature control in there is perfect for sleeping anyway."

"Get a good night's sleep first. Tomorrow morning I'll have the bodyguard wake you up, then we'll find your dad and send you to take the test."

After arranging everything, Mom left with Ethan Shaw.

No matter how much I cried and begged for help, no one answered.

But I kept pounding on the door. Only one thought filled my mind.

Stay alive.

I don't know how long passed before there was finally sound outside.

"Quiet!"

It was the bodyguard Mom left for me.

Annoyed by the noise, he barked at me.

Then I heard the sound of someone unlocking the door!

My heart leaped with joy.

But the hope that just ignited was completely extinguished the next moment!

The bodyguard wrapped duct tape tightly around my mouth and restrained my hands.

He impatiently closed the door again.

"Just sleep when she tells you to sleep. Ms. Turner is your real mothershe's not going to hurt you! You're so damn noisy!"

I whimpered, unable to make any sound.

The dark, scorching space was filled with despair.

The blood blisters on my body burst one after another, especially crisp in this deathly silent night.

Just then, my phone rang.

I fumbled with my bound hands, struggling with all my might to grab my phone and answer the call.

It was Dad's good friend, Lucas Smith.

The moment I learned what happened to Dad, I called him for help.

"Connor, I've already had your dad cremated. I'll give you the ashes."

"Connor, where are you now? Hello? Connor, are you listening?"

He got more and more anxious.

I gasped heavily, struggling to speak.

"I... Mom locked me... in the sauna room."

"I think... I... I can't hold on much longer..."

Lucas cried out, cursing Mom non-stop.

He kept calling my name, telling me to stay conscious.

I tried hard to nod, but my ears were ringing and I couldn't hear anything anymore.

In my fading consciousness, I seemed to see Dad coming to take me away.

A pair of hands suddenly pulled me out.

I spun around and found that my body didn't hurt at all, and there were no wounds.

At that moment, I was actually in Lucas's car.

He was driving at breakneck speed, staring straight ahead, tears streaming down his face.

I knew he was grieving for Dad.

"Lucas..."

I reached out to wipe his tears, but my hand passed straight through Lucas's face.

Staring at my transparent body, I finally realized.

I was already dead.

By the time I came to my senses, Lucas's car had already stopped at the Turner family villa.

He kicked the door open and shouted frantically.

"Vanessa Turner! Come out!"

"Where did you lock Connor? He's barely hanging onlet him out now!"

Thinking of my state during the phone call, Lucas's voice trembled uncontrollably.

He didn't dare think any further.

Mom casually came out of her room, her nightgown buttons fastened wrong.

"Lucas? Did Connor send you? Didn't I tell him he just needs to sleep and I'll send him to the test at dawn?"

"That place is just a bit quiet in the suburbs. He's as dramatic as his father."

Lucas closed his eyes, forcing himself to stay calm.

"The sauna room at 170-180 degrees isn't a joke."

"You already got Xavier killed in prison. If you have any humanity left, don't let both father and son die at your hands!"

After Lucas finished speaking, the entire villa fell into dead silence.

Mom stood frozen in place. After a long while, she laughed coldly.

"I knew Connor couldn't fool me alone, so he brought you in on it too?"

"It's just two or three years in prison. Does he need to be so dramatic? He'll still be my husband when he gets out anyway."

As she spoke, she glanced at the urn Lucas was holding and scoffed.

"Pretending to be dead with words didn't fool me, so now you're bringing out ashes?"

Lucas stared at my mom, almost laughing from anger.

Just as he was about to yell, Ethan Shaw suddenly came out of the room and screamed, cutting him off.

"Ah!"

"Vanessa!"

He held his head, hiding behind Mom, pointing a shaking finger at Dad's urn.

"That box is full of something dirty. I saw it. It's so scary. Did Xavier send someone to get revenge on me?"

He looked so frightened and pitiful that Mom's heart ached.

She immediately pointed to the bodyguard.

"Throw that filthy thing out!"

I panicked instantly, floating in the air and instinctively wrapping my transparent body tightly around Dad's ashes.

But it was useless...

Lucas looked incredulous, shouting his explanation.

"These really are Xavier's ashes!!"

He also held Dad's urn even tighter.

The approaching bodyguards were desperately kicked to the ground by him.

Ethan Shaw trembled all over behind Mom.

Feeling sorry for him, she completely lost her patience. She strode forward, her face dark.

"I really underestimated Xaviergetting you all to lie and make me feel sorry for him, and now you dare use this kind of filthy thing to scare Ethan!"

"I won't let him have his way!"

With that, she waved to the bodyguard and had them restrain Lucas.

She personally seized the urn.

I floated in the air, spinning around anxiously.

Again and again I reached out trying to grab the urn, but each time my hands passed uselessly through Mom's body.

She walked up to the faucet in just a few steps.

Splash!

In seconds, Dad's ashes were flushed down the drain.

I stared at the rushing water from the faucet, frozen in place.

Gone, all gone!

She didn't even leave Dad his ashes!

I had no heart anymore, so why did my chest still hurt so much?

Lucas's eyes were bloodshot. Under the bodyguards' restraint, he struggled, punching and kicking at the air.

He'd almost gone mad.

"Vanessa Turner! You'll die a terrible death! Xavier suffered enough because of youwhy won't you leave him alone even after he's dead?"

Mom carefully wiped the water from her hands and said coldly.

"Don't try to scare me with talk of death. I didn't believe it at first, and I believe it even less now."

"Go back and tell Xavier that no matter what, he must go take the fall for Ethan again."

"If he keeps making trouble, after Connor finishes his SAT, I'll never let him see Connor again."

Lucas's pupils constricted. Things happened so suddenly just now.

He'd actually forgotten to go save Connor!

He knew that given Vanessa's crazed state, she'd never tell him where Connor was.

He couldn't protect Xavier's ashes. Connor was the last thing Xavier left in this world!

So Lucas practically crawled out, immediately driving to search the entire city for me.

Finally, after increasing manpower, he located the sauna room where I was just as dawn was breaking.

He collapsed on his knees in front of the iron door, picking up a rock and smashing it against the lock over and over.

"Connor! Connor! Can you hear Lucas? Please answer me! I'm begging you!"

I floated in the air, softly responding to Lucas, but he couldn't hear me.

He cried so hard his whole body shook. In desperation, he saw Mom driving up.

Mom's eyes still held sleepy haze. Seeing Lucas, she was first startled, then scoffed.

"So you really found the place."

Lucas couldn't care about anything else. He screamed at Mom.

"Open it! Connor's barely alive in there!" But his hands kept working on the lock.

Mom clicked her tongue in annoyance, looked at her watch, then strode forward, grabbed Lucas by the collar, and threw him to the ground.

"Quiet! It's not time yet! Waking Connor up this earlyare you deliberately trying to make him perform badly on his SAT?"

"Let him sleep a while longer!"

Lucas froze in place, absolutely incredulous.

His hand shook as he pointed at the sauna room.

"The heat is unbearable even from outsideyou locked him in there to sleep?"

"Open the door!"

Mom laughed angrily.

"This sauna room is mine. The heating system is broken. Don't you think I'd know what temperature it is?"

"I'm his real mother. How could I actually hurt him? Not like Xavier with his lies and shameless tactics."

Lucas didn't have time to argue with her. He just closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said word by word.

"Open! The! Door!"

Seeing Lucas's man-eating glare, Mom licked her lips, smiled knowingly, and nodded.

"Fine!"

"If Connor does poorly on his SAT, it's all your fault!"

With that, she waved to the bodyguard behind her to signal him to open the door.

The next moment, the prison called again.

"Is this Xavier's wife? We finally reached you. He died tragically in custody and we need a family member to come sign an acknowledgment form again."

At the same time, the sauna room door clicked open.