Chapter 4Mom Stole My Future

"We need to gather evidence and take back everything that belongs to us."

Dad paused, then understood what I meant and nodded firmly. "Okay. I'll follow your lead. Whatever you say we need to do, we'll do it."

Just then, my phone buzzed.

Gavin had updated his secondary account.

It was a short video. He grinned into the camera with one of Briarwood University's academic buildings behind him.

He waved an award certificate in front of the camera, his voice overflowing with pride.

"I'm going up onstage to accept an award next week! The two most important people in my life will be there with me: my mom and my girlfriend! They'll both be there cheering me on!"

I stared at the screen, my nails digging so hard into my palms that the pain made me tremble.

The two most important people in his life.

My mother. My childhood sweetheart.

They were with the man who had stolen my life, getting ready to stand beside him on Briarwood's stage and bask in everyone's praise and congratulations.

The irony was sickening.

I stared at the video, rage surging through my chest.

I took a deep breath, forced my emotions down, and called Cassidy. The phone rang a few times before she answered.

"Conor?" Her voice was as gentle as ever, exactly the way it had always been. Now it only made me nauseous. "Why are you calling all of a sudden? Did registration go okay?"

I deliberately made my voice sound panicked. "Cassidy, I can't register for the SAT. I logged into my College Board account, but it won't let me finish the registration. It says there's an issue with my information. What am I supposed to do? What if I can't take the SAT this year?"

I made sure I sounded completely helpless.

There was silence on the other end for several seconds before she gave me a perfunctory reassurance.

"It's okay, Conor. It's probably just a system glitch. Give it some time. Don't worry. I'm kind of busy right now, so I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

She sounded rushed, as if she were in a hurry to get somewhere.

Then I clearly heard a young man on her end call out affectionately, "Cassidy." His voice was identical to Gavin's in the video.

My stomach churned.

Just six months ago, Cassidy had held my hand and flirted with me, telling me we'd be together once I got into Briarwood. She'd already been with Gavin by then.

She'd kept me hanging on while enjoying everything I did for her, all while staying beside the man who had taken my place.

I'd always gotten better grades than Cassidy. Her competition entries, her essays, and even most of her college application materials had been done with my help. My hard work had helped her get into Briarwood, one step at a time.

And then she'd turned around and stabbed me in the back.

I'd been an idiot too. It had never occurred to me that my score might have been fake.

I'd simply believed I'd failed the SAT and scored only 1280. After all, who would ever imagine his own mother stabbing him in the back?

"Cassidy, are you really busy?" I asked softly.

"Of course. I'm studying at the library. I have to go." She hung up without the slightest hesitation.

I stared at my phone and let out a cold laugh.

Fine.

Then I called Mom. The phone rang for a long time, but she didn't answer.

Only after the call disconnected automatically did I receive a dismissive text from her.

[Busy with work. Stop bothering me.]

Busy?

More like busy with her precious son, helping him get ready for his award ceremony.