My husband suddenly had an asthma attack, and I couldn’t find his medication anywhere. Frantically, I called our son, begging him to buy the medicine and rush home.
But from the other end of the line, I heard my son’s impatient complaint:
“Mom, stop interfering! I just took time off work to check on my mother-in-law, and now you’re trying to stop me? Do you seriously have some kind of son complex?”
“It’s honestly disgusting!”
With that, he ruthlessly hung up the phone.
I didn’t understand what a “son complex” was. All I knew was that without his medicine, my husband’s life was in danger.
So, I called my daughter-in-law. But before I could even speak, I heard her icy accusation:
“Mom, your possessiveness over Dan is way too much!”
“My mom has a cold. Dan, as her son-in-law, is taking her to the clinic. Can’t you even tolerate this small thing?”
The phone was hung up again, and my heart went completely cold.
Watching my husband’s face turn an alarming shade of purple, I pushed my anger aside and quickly dialed 91
But when we got to the emergency room, my retirement savings card wouldn’t even process a single penny.
I called them both several times, but they kept hanging up.
Robert ultimately missed the golden hour for resuscitation and passed away in agony.
Later, on Tiffany’s SnapChat Stories, I saw Daniel kneeling before his mildly ill mother-in-law, warming her IV drip.
The heart I had devoted my entire life to my son, was utterly shattered…
1
I stayed by Robert’s side until morning, thinking about how foolishly we had revolved our lives around Daniel for half a lifetime.
Even after retirement, we’d still supplement them with eight thousand dollars from our pension every month.
To end up like this was a cruel, cosmic joke.
My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket. The name “Son” on the screen stung my eyes.
I answered. Daniel’s voice, thick with morning grumpiness, immediately snapped:
“Mom, what’s going on? Where’s breakfast? Tiffany and I have to catch the subway, you’re not seriously going to let us go to work on an empty stomach, are you?”
Disappointment weighed like a stone on my chest. My throat felt tight and dry, and I spoke wearily:
“If you want to eat, make it yourself. If you don’t want to cook, go buy something.”
“Go buy something?”
His tone instantly ratcheted up:
“Food outside is so unsanitary! In the year since we got married, Tiffany hasn’t eaten out once. Don’t you wake up at five every morning to make her lunch?”
“What is wrong with you today?”
Tiffany’s voice, low and muffled, drifted from the other end of the line:
“Is your mom causing trouble again?”
“I told you her feelings for you aren’t normal, like some kind of freak. She probably wants to tie you to her hip…”
My grip tightened on the phone. Suddenly, I understood.
All the love and care I’d poured into them, in their eyes, was nothing but a “son complex” or “perverted possessiveness”!
I finally understood why my usually honest and straightforward son, who used to share everything with us, had changed so much since he got married.
He spoke less and less to me and his father, and his attitude grew more distant.
Before I could explain, Daniel’s voice exploded again:
“Mom, are you still mad about not buying Dad’s medicine yesterday?”
“Dad’s asthma attacks aren’t a new thing, do you really have to make a mountain out of a molehill and hold a grudge against me?”
My chest felt squeezed. My tears had long dried up. My voice raspy, I said:
“Dan, your dad… he’s gone…”
“I’m at the hospital. Come, see your dad one last time.”
The other end of the line was silent for two seconds. Then came Daniel’s enraged shout:
“Mom! Can you stop making things up?! Are you trying to use Dad’s name to manipulate me again?”
“I’m married now, and you’re still constantly watching me, making me look bad in front of Tiffany, in front of our relatives! What exactly do you want from me?!”
Just then, a doctor walked in, handing me a paper. He said:
“Mr. Robert Peterson’s death certificate is ready. If the family has no objections, we can contact the crematorium to make arrangements.”
The phone line went silent again.
After a long moment, Daniel’s disbelieving voice finally broke through:
“My dad… my dad is really gone?”
My nose stung. A sliver of hope still lingered in my heart.
Perhaps he’d hear the truth and rush over, to see his father one last time.
But the next second, his words washed over me like ice water, chilling me to the bone:
“Mom, Dad’s senior benefits haven’t been deposited yet this month. Don’t report his death information yet. We can get a few more months’ worth if you delay it, okay?!”
I froze, even forgetting to breathe.
Tiffany, on the other end, kept urging him:
“Stop talking! We’ll be late if we don’t leave now. They’ll deduct two hundred for perfect attendance!”
“Okay, okay, honey.”
Daniel turned, his voice impatient as he yelled at me:
“Mom, did you hear me? Don’t report it yet! I’ll talk to you after work!”
The phone clicked off.
Hearing the news of his father’s death, they showed no grief, only concern for the money.
I felt a profound chill throughout my body, colder than the air in a morgue.
2
I returned home that evening.
Daniel was sprawled on the couch, glued to his phone, not even bothering to look up:
“Mom, hurry up and make dinner. I’m starving.”
Tiffany sat with her legs crossed, cracking nuts. Seeing the urn in my hand, she flinched as if burned, jumping up with a frown:
“Mom, why did you bring that thing home? It’s so morbid! Get it out of here right now!”
I ignored them. I gently placed the urn on top of the cabinet before turning to face them:
“I want to know, where was your father’s asthma medicine? And what happened to the two hundred thousand dollars in our retirement savings account?”
Tiffany’s eyes flickered. She turned and pulled a medicine bottle from a drawer in the coffee table.
She slapped it onto the table with a *thwack*, mocking:
“Mom, you’re getting old and your memory is terrible. The medicine has always been right here, hasn’t it? You couldn’t find it yourself, and now you’re blaming us?”
This morning, I had searched the entire living room, and that drawer was clearly empty!
Before I could speak, Daniel put down his phone and said impatiently:
“Mom, just go make dinner. Don’t worry about the two hundred thousand.”
Their entitled attitude made me tremble with rage:
“That was your father and I’s life savings, our retirement money. It was your dad’s lifeline! You think you can just tell me not to worry about it?”
I reached for my phone:
“I’m calling the police right now! Transferring my money without my permission is theft!”
“What are you doing?!”
Daniel shot up, snatching my phone away.
Tiffany, from the side, added fuel to the fire, her voice piercing:
“Mom, are you serious? Your money was going to be ours anyway. Are you really fit to be parents if you’re going to be so petty?”
“Besides, that money wasn’t wasted.”
I stared at them:
“Then tell me, what did you do with the money?”
Backed into a corner, Daniel finally blurted out after a long pause:
“That money was for Kevin, Tiffany’s brother, to get a new car! He’s getting married soon, and he can’t go without a car!”
My vision blurred. I knew the money was gone for good.
Our house was part of a redevelopment plan, so Tiffany hadn’t demanded a marital home when they got married.
She had only asked for three hundred eighty-eight thousand dollars for the wedding.
But not long after, we heard she’d used that wedding money to support her younger brother.
Though I felt uneasy at the time, I didn’t say much, thinking as long as they were happy together.
But I never imagined they would be so greedy, so brazen as to steal my husband’s lifeline!
Tears finally streamed down my face.
“I know! If you hadn’t transferred that money, your father wouldn’t have missed the golden hour for resuscitation, he wouldn’t have died!”
“You two killed your father!”
Tiffany rolled her eyes at Daniel, a look of pure exasperation.
Daniel frowned, not a trace of guilt on his face:
“Mom, don’t talk nonsense!”
“Everyone has to die eventually. Dad’s death is a blessing; being burdened with all those illnesses, living in such constant pain – what’s good about that?”
“It’s just a pity about the money…”
“What did you say?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Looking at this cold, selfish son, the pent-up anger and hurt exploded. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.
“Daniel! You’re not even human, you’re an animal!”
Daniel clutched his face, his eyes wide with shock and fury:
“Mom, you hit me?”
“You’ve never hit me before! Now, for such a trivial matter, you hit me!”
Tiffany immediately rushed forward, pointing a finger at my nose and screaming:
“You old hag! How dare you hit my husband? I think you’ve lost your mind!”
“This house is going to be redeveloped soon. If you dare to cause any more trouble, we’ll kick you out, and you’ll end up on the streets!”
I stared at their distorted faces, and the last shred of familial affection in my heart dissipated.
I looked at Robert’s urn, my voice terrifyingly calm:
“This house belongs to your father and me. If anyone’s leaving, it’s me kicking you out!”
“Both of you, get out of my house, now!”
3
Daniel froze, as if he’d heard a joke:
“Mom, are you senile? This house will be mine when you die. You’re telling me to get out? That’s absurd!”
Tiffany tugged his arm, a mocking smile playing on her lips, and said loudly, deliberately:
“Fine, we’ll go. Who wants to stay in this morbid place anyway!”
“A crazy woman with a son complex like her can’t stand to be separated from her son. She’ll be begging us to come back before tonight’s over!”
Daniel, the idiot, bought her words completely. He scoffed, nose in the air, and walked out without a backward glance.
For the next few days, I didn’t contact them, nor did I answer Daniel’s calls.
It wasn’t until the seventh day that he sent a text message, his tone accusatory:
“Mom, have the senior benefits been paid out this month? Why haven’t they been transferred to my account yet?”
I saw the message and couldn’t help but laugh.
Before, I worried they wouldn’t have enough money, so as soon as Robert and I received our pension, we’d keep two thousand for ourselves and give them the remaining eight thousand.
But the day after they left last time, I went to the bank and canceled the automatic transfer.
On top of that, I went to the redevelopment office and changed my request.
The previous compensation, which was two houses and six million dollars in cash, I changed it all to just cash.
Two days later, after my dance class, I was returning from the grocery store when I saw Daniel and Tiffany standing at my doorstep.
They weren’t as arrogant as last time; their faces held a ingratiating smile.
Seeing me, Daniel immediately stepped forward, his tone fawning:
“Mom, I missed you so much! Um, why did you change the lock?”
I gave them a cold glance:
“It’s my house. I can change it if I want.”
“Do you have a reason to be here? If not, leave now. You’re not welcome.”
Daniel suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud, his eyes red-rimmed.
“Mom, I was wrong.”
“I was so foolish before, I shouldn’t have argued with you, I shouldn’t have said those things about Dad. Please forgive me, okay?”
Tiffany also knelt down, her fingers caressing her belly:
“Mom, I’m pregnant. We’re renting a place outside, it’s expensive and tiny, and the soundproofing is terrible. We can’t sleep well at all.”
Daniel excitedly grabbed my hand:
“Yes, Mom, you’re going to have a grandson! Dad always longed for a grandson, he surely wouldn’t want me and his grandchild to suffer out there.”
“We promise to truly change our ways, to be good and filial to you. Please, let us come back home?”
I stared at Tiffany’s belly, lost in thought.
I remembered how much Robert envied his peers doting on their grandchildren. Against my better judgment, I opened the door.
Daniel immediately rushed to Robert’s photo, kowtowed three times, and tearfully apologized.
Tiffany also acted uncharacteristically. She, who usually never lifted a finger, actually took the groceries from my hand and went to the kitchen to make lunch.
During dinner, they both kept putting food on my plate.
My son even produced an IOU for two hundred thousand dollars, signed with Kevin’s name, saying he’d pay me back as soon as he had the money.
In a daze, I suddenly felt respected, cherished.
I thought they had truly changed.
I was wrong. What happened next dragged me straight into hell.
4
That day, Tiffany cut her finger while cooking.
Seeing how well they’d behaved these past few days, I offered to finish washing Tiffany’s clothes.
After dinner, I had just finished taking down the dried laundry when I heard Daniel call from the bathroom:
“Mom, Tiffany can’t get her finger wet. Can you scrub my back for me?”
I hadn’t bathed Daniel since he was eight.
Now, at over thirty years old, why would he make such a request?
“Scrub your own back, I’m not comfortable with that.”
I said through the door.
“Mom, why are you still acting so distant? I’m your son, what’s there to be uncomfortable about?”
He kept calling from inside:
“I can’t reach my back. Just scrub it a couple of times, it’ll be quick.”
Unable to resist his persistent calls, I finally gave in.
Pushing open the bathroom door, I turned my head away, grabbed the scrub brush, and quickly brushed it over his back twice.
After scrubbing, I hurried out.
The next day, I went to the park for my usual exercise.
As soon as I reached the square, I felt everyone staring at me.
People were pointing and whispering behind my back.
Someone even deliberately raised their voice:
“That’s her! She looks so elegant, how could she do something so disgusting?”
“Unheard of, so inappropriate, it’s terrifying.”
I stood there, bewildered, not knowing what I had done wrong.
Seeing Brenda, a neighbor I used to exercise with, I quickly walked over and took her hand, asking:
“Brenda, what’s wrong with everyone? Why are they saying such things about me?”
Brenda, however, recoiled as if I were something vile, shaking off my hand.
Her eyes were filled with disgust and mockery:
“You still have the nerve to ask?”
“How could you have such perverted thoughts about your own son? Washing his underwear, bathing him, scrubbing his back—those are things a daughter-in-law should do! Why are you, his mother, getting involved?”
“Now the entire neighborhood knows you have a son complex, and you’ve even become an online sensation! It’s absolutely shameful!”
I was utterly dumbfounded.
I quickly pulled out my phone and clicked on the trending video Brenda mentioned.
The video showed me in the bathroom last night, scrubbing Daniel’s back!
The camera was filming from behind me, and even though my head was turned, it wasn’t clear.
Only when I came out did my full face flash across the screen.
The caption read: #FreakMomSonComplexCrazy, #Shameless!
The comment section was filled with insults:
“This kind of mom is terrifying, completely twisted, cut ties and run!”
“She’s not going to try to squeeze between the couple in bed too, is she?”
“My heart goes out to the daughter-in-law for two seconds, what kind of psychological trauma would that cause?”
“This old woman is a pervert, why doesn’t she just die!”
My hands trembled uncontrollably, and I almost dropped my phone.
I immediately called Tiffany, my voice shaking:
“Tiffany, did you film that video online? Why would you do that?”
But what my daughter-in-law said next completely shattered me.
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