My Son "Died", I Left My Fake Family

Chapter 3

Suffocation swallowed me whole.

I couldn't stop gasping. My nails scraped against the cold iron door, begging him to let me out.

"Open the door, Charlie!"

In the suffocating silence, the memory from two years ago came rushing back.

It all began the day Jack faked his own death. That was the day I developed claustrophobia. I had begged Charlie to save our son, but he had shown no mercy.

Back then, he refused to open the door. And now, he was doing the exact same thing.

I didn't know how long I stayed trapped. Then, a thin line of light appeared beneath the door.

I crawled toward it like a lifeline. That was when I saw Jack approaching with a lunchbox.

For a moment, I thought that no matter what happened, he was still my son. He must have been worried I was hungry. But his words pierced my heart.

"Apologize to Mommy Yolanda, and I'll give you food."

I looked at the child I had risked everything to give birth to. I couldn't believe they came from him.

"Jack." I grabbed his shoulders tightly. "What did she tell you? You're my son. Why are you choosing her over me?"

Jack pulled away, and the lunchbox slipped and hit the ground.

"Because you're a monster. You burned my puppy alive!"

My heart went cold. That day, Yolanda had told me she overheard Charlie saying he planned to leave everything he owned to his assistant's child.

Everything that should have belonged to Jack.

I forced Charlie to sign a marital property agreement, demanding that all his assets go to our son.

He refused, so I burned the house down.

I had sent Jack to Yolanda's place beforehand because I didn't want him to see what I was doing. But he still saw me at my worst.

I had clearly sent his puppy away with him too. I had no idea why it ended up dying in the fire.

Jack had cried and asked me, "Why are other people's moms so kind? Why do you keep fighting with Dad? Why did you kill the puppy I loved the most?"

The one who created that tragedy was clearly Charlie. Yet somehow, all the blame had fallen on me.

"Jack." Charlie's voice came from outside. "Why are you here?"

Jack immediately ran into his arms.

"Dad, Mommy Yolanda was worried about her, so she asked me to bring her food. But she wouldn't eat it. She even cursed Mommy Yolanda and the baby!"

My breath caught in my throat. My own son had been twisted by Yolanda.

Charlie came closer, his presence pressing down on me.

Tears blurred my vision as I backed away. I was genuinely afraid of him.

He grabbed my face with one hand. "Emma, how can you be so disgusting?"

"I didn't." I shook my head.

He didn't care about my explanation. The fury in his eyes only grew darker.

In the end, he threw me onto the floor. "Shut off the ventilation too. I don't want a single bit of light getting in there!"

He turned away with Jack.

"Charlie!" I rushed toward him.

But before I could reach him, the iron door slammed shut and caught my hand.

Pain shot through me. I leaned against the wall and slowly sank down.

The darkness swallowed everything. Fear wrapped around me as I trembled.

Then, as if the situation wasn't already cruel enough, several rats crawled out from the corner.

I desperately pushed myself backward.

Back when I lived in the orphanage, our conditions had never been good. Rats would often appear in the middle of the night.

Yolanda would always stand in front of me and tell me not to be scared.

She would laugh and tease me, "You're such a scaredy cat. What are you going to do if I'm not around one day?"

She knew better than anyone how much I feared them.

The rats crawled closer, but my fingers had already started going numb. I screamed and cried, desperately trying to chase them away.

My consciousness slipped away.