Chapter 3

They were all from Ethan. I could easily picture his furious, veins-popping face right now.

With a smirk, I blocked his number and all his social media accounts.

I was sixty years old. I was going to live the rest of my days entirely for myself.

A few days later, Ethan managed to track me down. He showed up at the retirement community lobby, and he had brought Lily with him.

I knew he wouldn't let this go easily, but I never expected this disgraceful excuse of a son to bring his deceased father’s funeral urn with him.

Looking at him holding Robert's urn like a prop, I wanted nothing more than to smash my cane over his head!

The residents in this community loved drama. Seeing the commotion, a crowd quickly gathered around us.

And that was exactly what Ethan wanted.

He pulled out a megaphone and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Scam retirement home! Stealing an old lady’s life savings!"

Beside him, Lily held up her phone, recording everything for TikTok.

"Look at this place! They scammed my mother-in-law's money! What kind of place charges thirty thousand dollars a year?”

“They're taking advantage of a confused senior to steal her money! That was the money she saved for her own son's wedding! How can these people sleep at night?"

Some of the onlookers whispered, thinking we were staging a scene.

"This must be a scam. They're trying to blackmail the retirement home. I've seen this online before."

But others looked at Ethan with disgust.

"If the elderly lady wants to live here, let her. What kind of son makes a scene like this over his mother's money? How embarrassing!"

Clutching my cane, I walked over to Lily with a freezing expression and spat right in her face.

"Get lost! Who are you calling your mother-in-law?"

I slapped the phone out of her hand. "Stop recording me!"

She had been so used to me being submissive and quiet in the past. My sudden ferocity terrified her.

"Ethan! Your mother just spit on me and broke my phone! Do something!"

"Mom!" Ethan yelled, holding up the urn. "When Dad died, what did you promise him? You said you would do whatever it takes to see me married and settled! And now?”

“You’d rather throw thirty thousand dollars at a retirement home than give it to me? What kind of mother are you?"

When Robert passed away, I indeed had promised to help Ethan build a family. And I had tried my best. But what about Ethan?

When I was having a life-threatening heart attack, all he cared about was squeezing $500 out of me.

Even if Robert were alive today, he wouldn't tolerate such a heartless monster!

"Ethan, how have I ever failed you as a mother?

Since you were a child, did you ever lack food or clothes? Did you ever have less than the other kids?"

"And look at you! What kind of son charges his own mother for an emergency ride to the hospital?

If I hadn't transferred that five hundred dollars to you that night, would you have just sat there and watched me die?"

The moment those words left my mouth, the crowd gasped.

"Oh my god, what an absolute monster. Charging his own mother for an emergency ride? I've never heard of such filth!"

"If that were my son, I would have broken both his legs!"

"Breaking his legs is too gentle. I would cut him off completely!"

Seeing the security guards approaching and the crowd turning against them, Ethan’s face paled. He grabbed Lily's arm, preparing to flee.

"Wait a minute," I called out.

Ethan stopped and turned around, a smug look returning to his face as if he thought I was backing down.