Chapter 3

The police arrived quickly.

While I was giving my statement, Martha was still rambling on. “We were just disciplining our grandchild for our son. What family doesn’t hit their kids?”

“He’s greedy and doesn’t follow rules. He wanted to ride the carousel again. That’s a matter of principle!”

“Five years old, a matter of principle?” Officer Miller, the female police officer taking the report, looked up at her. “A five-year-old child with a fractured sacrum. You call that discipline? That’s abuse!”

Martha choked on her words.

Robert stood to the side, his face darker than thunder.

In the mediation room, I looked at Leo, who was huddled in the corner, trembling in fear. I told my parents, “Leo will never go to your house again. If you want to see him, you’ll go through the approval process!”

Robert suddenly erupted in rage, raising his hand to strike me. “You’ve gone too far!”

Officer Jenkins, the mediation officer, immediately stood up and grabbed Robert’s arm. “Sir, please control yourself. If you hit him, the nature of the situation will change.”

Robert’s hand froze in mid-air.

In the end, they signed the mediation agreement.

By the time I left the police station with the mediation order, it was already dark.

Back at the hospital, after I tucked Leo into bed, I sat alone on the balcony. My phone showed May 30th.

Normally, on this day, I would have promptly transferred twenty thousand dollars to my parents’ account.

But now, thinking of Leo, unable to even sit up from the beating, my chest ached as if being ground by a dull knife.

I clenched my fists, pressing my nails so hard they almost dug into my palms.

Soon after, I drafted a form, with "Allowance Spending Request Form" at the top. It included sections for applicant, reason for request, and amount requested.

Once it was ready, I sent it to Robert.

My parents didn’t have a pension, and my sister Sarah’s family lived on her three-thousand-dollar monthly salary.

My parents used the allowance I gave them to subsidize Sarah. I had always turned a blind eye.

But now, for the sake of my son, I would not tolerate it any longer.

The next morning, I woke up to dozens of missed calls. Martha had called twelve times, Robert seven, and Sarah fifteen.

Robert had even sent dozens of messages:

[Ethan, what kind of joke is this? Why are you being so formal with your own parents?]

[Any expense over two dollars needs approval? Do we have to report to you even to buy an onion?]

[Hurry up and send the money!]

Before I could finish reading the messages, Martha called. She sounded like she’d been bottling up her anger and finally found an outlet. “Ethan, I gave birth to you and raised you! You’re setting up some approval system to cut down on our allowance? Have you no shame? I advise you to send the twenty thousand dollars over right away. Brandon’s extracurricular classes need their tuition paid.”

I didn’t speak, just listened in silence.

“Are you deaf?!”

I cleared my throat and said, word by word, “Martha, to set a good example for Leo, we adults naturally need to lead by example.”

“Besides, I’m not refusing to give you money. It just needs approval. As long as your handwriting is neat and your reasons are solid, I’ll still give you your allowance!”

There was a long silence on the other end. After a while, Martha gritted her teeth and said, “Ethan, Ethan, you’re something else. Your wings have grown strong, haven’t they? Fine, approval it is!”

The call ended. Three minutes later, Robert sent an application form.

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