Exit Code: Their Betrayal

Chapter 2 Revoking the Title of Mother

Leo picked at a loose thread in the rug. “I. I think I lost it at school, Mommy.”

He wouldn't look at me. The lie had come out too fast, and he knew it. When I stayed quiet, he wrapped both arms around my leg and pressed his face into my dress.

“Mommy, will you still check under my bed tonight?”

For two years, that had been our bedtime routine. I would kneel beside him, look under the bed and inside the closet, then declare his room monster-free. He still wanted me to do it tonight.

My phone buzzed against the marble counter. Clara had sent me a photo.

The talisman I had carved and taken to the temple for a blessing hung from the rearview mirror of her cherry-red convertible. Its edges were worn smooth from the months Leo had carried it in his schoolbag.

I had sat through the blessing with the little piece of wood between my palms, asking only that my son come home safe. Now sunlight flashed off it in Clara's car.

Beneath the image, a single line of text.

*Leo said Clara-mommy has a weak heart and needs protecting more than you do. So sweet of him, isn’t it?*

Clara-mommy.

I read it twice. Arthur noticed my face and sighed.

“Evelyn, what is it now? We just got home. Don’t ruin the mood with one of your tantrums.”

Leo was still pressed against my leg, waiting for me to protect him from the dark. The talisman I had made to protect him was in Clara's car.

Seven years earlier, I had refused the system's ticket and built my life around Arthur and Leo. Arthur now called my reaction a tantrum. Leo wanted the bedtime comfort I gave him after handing its symbol to someone else.

I closed my eyes and called up the interface only I could see.

“System, confirm revocation of the identity-right ‘Mother.’ Upon world data erasure, extract all associated memories of maternal comfort and learned habits of security from Leo Sterling.”

The confirmation appeared at once.

**[IDENTITY-RIGHT: ‘MOTHER’ REVOKED. PENDING EXECUTION.]**

The countdown clock shifted. **[6 DAYS, 21:37:14]**

Arthur caught my arm. “Evelyn, are you even listening to me? Stop sulking and go change. The Vance family’s annual charity gala is in three days. As my wife, your attendance is not optional.”

His wife. He still wanted the title when it was useful to him.