Chapter 1: The Day She Cut Me Off

After my daughter secured guaranteed admission to Stanford, she didn’t hesitate to announce she was cutting all ties with me as her mother. The words hit harder than the car that would come later.

I can still see her face, sharp with disdain, her voice slicing through the kitchen like a cold wind sneaking under the back door. "I have my real mom. You’re just the homewrecker who wrecked my family."

I was thrown out of her graduation party. Every porch light felt like an accusation. I kept my eyes on the cracks in the sidewalk, pretending I didn’t hear my name in the dark. Humiliation clung to me like sweat as I wandered the streets of Maple Heights, only to be hit by a car and sent flying.

Even as I lay there on the warm asphalt, the scent of cut grass and exhaust fumes mixing in the air, blood tasted metallic in my mouth. The world spun, but her voice cut through, cold and sharp. I heard her telling her father:

"Don’t save her. If she dies, our family can get a huge settlement."

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the year my daughter had just finished her high school entrance exams.