New Year Homecoming: My Mom Doesn't Know Me

I finally get a ticket to return home a few days before New Year's. But when the door opens, an unfamiliar man appears in front of me and asks, "Who are you?" I frown. "This is my house. I'm back for the holidays." His expression is cold. "You're in the wrong house. This is my place." I look at the apartment number. It is Building 3, Unit 901. I'm in the right place. I want to head inside, but he blocks my way. "Hey, don't go crazy right now." I notice the cardboard box by the door and point at it. "You're the crazy one. That's the gift I sent." The man grabs me and makes me look closer. "Take a good look!" The tracking number matches the one on my phone, but the sender's name says Steven Lowe, not mine. "Steven, who's at the door?" My mom, Dahlia Jones, steps out of the kitchen. I call out to her excitedly. "Mom, I'm home!" But the next moment, what she says made my blood run cold. "Who are you? Don't call me that. I'm not your mom." Chapter 1 I stood frozen in place. I exclaimed, "Mom, I'm your son, Will. You were just asking me a few days ago when I'd be back for the holidays!" My mom, Dahlia Jones, walked over and stared at me for a while before speaking. "Hey, watch what you're saying! You can't simply make things up! I've lived here for over 20 years. Everyone knows what my son looks like. I don't know you!" She tugged at the man, Steven Lowe, and pointed at him. "Look. This is my son." I sighed helplessly. "Mom, are you guys messing with me? Please stop it, will you? I couldn't get a high-speed train ticket, so I spent over ten hours on a regular train just to get back here." I craned my neck toward the doorway and called inside, "Dad, I'm home!" My dad, Gordon Lowe, and I had always been close, so if this really was some kind of prank, there was no way he could keep a straight face. Yet there was no response from inside. "What are you doing? Now you're just unreasonable." Steven shoved me away. Impatience crept into Dahlia's voice too. "Kid, I'll tell you again. I'm not your mom! You just showed up at my door, calling me Mom like I’m supposed to know who you are. Are you trying to ruin my reputation?" She looked at me like I was a stranger, and a chill ran down my spine. Mom wasn't faking it. There wasn't even a hint of the woman I knew in her eyes. Just three days ago, Mom had sent me a voice message, and because I wanted to surprise her, I'd lied and told her I hadn't been able to get a ticket home this year and would be spending the holidays away. I opened our chat and played the voice message. "Will, did you get a ticket home? New Year's is almost here. I bought the beef and ribs you like. I'll cook them for you when you get back." Steven looked at Dahlia. "Mom, that's your voice." Dahlia stared at my phone, her expression changing instantly. "How is that possible?" She opened her own chat as she spoke. "I only have a few contacts on my WhatsApp. I don't have anyone with this profile picture." After confirming that my account wasn't in her contacts, Dahlia put her phone away and frowned at me. "You're not some scammer, are you? We don't have any money! Get out of here!" With that, Dahlia grabbed Steven and turned around. She said, "Steven, quickly close the door. I don't know if he's a scammer or just crazy. Don't bother with him!" I quickly reached out to stop Steven, but my arm got caught hard between the door and the frame, and I let out a muffled groan. Steven's eyes flickered slightly as he put a little more force into the door before finally letting go. "Seriously, what the hell do you want?" I took a deep breath and quickly pulled up photos and videos of the three of us on my phone. "Mom, take a good look. These are pictures of the three of us on our trips. You really don't remember? Did you get hurt and lose some of your memories?" Dahlia slapped my hand away, sending my phone crashing to the floor. "I told you, I don't know you. If you keep bothering me, I'm calling the cops!" Panic took over as I turned and hurried to my neighbor Sienna Shaw's door, knocking frantically. "Sienna, it's me, Will. Can you please open the door?" I kept knocking until my hand went numb, but she never came to open the door. Steven glanced at me. "No one lives next door. Who are you calling?" Cold sweat broke out all over my body. I clenched my fists, and the moment he looked away, I quickly turned and rushed inside the house. But the moment I was inside, I stopped dead, unable to take another step. Right in the middle of the room, sitting on top of the cabinet, was Dad's memorial portrait. Chapter 2 "Dad…" I called out, my voice trembling with hoarseness. Then I turned toward Dahlia. "Mom, w-what happened to Dad? Wasn't he perfectly fine when we video-called a week ago?" Dahlia glanced at the photo, her hand tightening into a fist as she spoke. "Are you out of your mind? My husband has been dead for more than ten years. Can't you see that the picture is yellowed? "Why do we have to deal with a lunatic like you during New Year's? What terrible luck. You've been harassing us long enough. Don't blame me if I get nasty!" Dahlia pulled out her phone and was about to call the cops when Steven suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "Mom, don't get worked up." He glanced at me. "I think something must have happened to this guy. I'll just get him to leave. It's New Year's. Let's not get the cops involved." With that, Steven stepped forward, grabbed my arm, and dragged me toward the door. I yanked my arm free, refusing to budge an inch. "No, this is my home! I'm not leaving." Even though I looked calm on the outside, I was completely panicking on the inside. Dad was dead, Mom didn't recognize me, and she had another son who had appeared out of nowhere. Even the decorations in the house had all changed. There wasn't a single trace of anything I remembered. It was as if I had no place in this world at all. Steven yanked me even harder. He was half a head taller than me, with a solid, muscular build, and he was a lot stronger than I was. He shoved me out the door so hard that I stumbled and fell backward down the stairs, the world spinning before my eyes. A sharp pain shot through my entire body, and then everything went black. Half conscious, I heard Steven's voice. "It's your fault for refusing to move. What are we supposed to do now?" Mom sounded a little aggrieved. "How was I supposed to know? He told me he wasn't coming home for New Year's. Do you think he'll believe me if I keep insisting I'm not his mom? With the way he's coming at us now, something's bound to happen sooner or later..." Steven lowered his voice. "He has to believe it, no matter what. And if he still won't, we'll have to deal with him once and for all!" Mom's tense voice rang out. "No way! He's my son. You can't…" Steven sneered. "Things have already come this far. Do you really think we can turn back now?" I clenched the blanket in my hand. Mom clearly knew who I was. So, why was she pretending not to? What were they talking about? What were they planning? I carefully pulled out my phone and started recording. Steven's tone changed. "I'll give him another chance for my dad's sake. Find a way to make him believe it. If not… Don't blame me for showing no mercy. I'll handle the move. You get this done as soon as possible." "Okay." Mom spoke softly. I slowly opened my eyes after Steven left. Mom was sitting beside me, scrolling through her phone, her hands trembling. "Mom…" When she heard my voice, Mom shot to her feet. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm really not your mom!" She turned her phone toward me. "Here's our family record. Your name isn't on it. If my son hadn't been kind enough to stop me, you'd already be in jail. You broke into our house, claiming you were my son, and caused us so much trouble that we ended up in the hospital. You're a bloody lunatic." Mom put her phone away and headed for the door. Suddenly, she paused and glared at me. "I'm warning you. Don't come back. If you come back again, I'll beat the hell out of you!" Even though her words were harsh, I saw the panic in her eyes. I waited until Mom left the hospital room before getting out of bed and following her. Knowing she was only pretending not to recognize me made me feel a little less afraid. But what about Dad? Was he really dead? I hailed a cab and followed behind Mom while calling Dad at the same time. There was no answer. I opened his Facebook. A death announcement suddenly popped up on his feed, which had always been empty. It had been posted four days ago by Mom. She said Dad had died in an accident. As per his wishes, there would be no funeral. The post included a photo of Dad lying in a coffin. But I was absolutely certain I had never seen this post before. My heart kept pounding as I told the driver to stay close. A few minutes later, the car stopped a few dozen yards from the entrance to a neighborhood. I watched Mom get out of the car and quickly followed her out. I had barely closed the car door and turned around when I saw Mom rush into the arms of a man wearing a baseball cap. The man, who had his arm wrapped around Mom, slowly raised his head, revealing a face that was identical to Dad's. Chapter 3 My breath hitched, and I nearly dropped my phone. Dad wasn't dead. Then why were they lying to me? What were they trying to hide? Just a week ago, when we video-called, Mom and Dad had both said, "Will, we've got a surprise waiting for you when you come home for the holidays." But a week later, when I came home, everything had changed. Dad had faked his death and stopped answering my calls, while Mom pretended not to know me, threw me out even though I'd come home for the holidays, and left me injured. Then they suddenly decided to move away. It became obvious to me that they were trying to cut me off. Was this the surprise they had promised me? I really couldn't understand why they were doing this. "Don't worry so much. I'm here. Nothing's going to happen." It wasn't until I heard Dad's voice that I realized they'd already started walking toward me. I clenched my hands and kept my head down, afraid to make a sound. Then I waited until they were a good distance away before following them. A moving truck was parked at the neighborhood entrance. Steven stood nearby, telling the movers where to put things. As soon as he saw Dad, he called out, "Dad, you're finally here!" "How's it going? Are they done loading everything?" "Pretty much. There isn't much left." "Just leave them. We'll have the money soon. We can always buy anything that's not important later." Steven brought out an urn. "What are we going to do with this? Keep it around and let it be an eyesore?" Mom reached out and took it from him, her voice thick with emotion. "I want to lay him to rest. I did wrong by him. I can't deny him peace even in death. If not, I'll never be able to live with myself." Steven rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything, Dad cut him off. "Enough. Let Dahlia decide for herself. You go with the movers to the new place first. I'll go back inside with Dahlia and take one last look around." It felt like an invisible hand had closed around my throat, squeezing so tightly that I could barely breathe. Whose ashes were in the urn? Who was the person Mom said she had wronged? What had happened during these seven days that I didn't know about? It wasn't until the moving truck drove away that I finally snapped out of it. Mom and Dad had already gone back inside the neighborhood, so I followed them. Our neighborhood was an old housing complex built over 20 years ago. Most of the people who lived there rented their homes. With the year coming to an end, there were hardly any people around. Afraid they'd notice me, I became even more careful. I slowed my steps, only moving forward once the hallway lights automatically went out. The door was ajar, and I could hear Mom's voice coming from inside. "I've lived here for more than 20 years. I always thought I'd spend the rest of my life here, but I never expected…" "Dahlia, don't look back. We're about to start a new life together. Trust me. After everything you've done for me, I won't let you down!" I tried my best not to make a sound. Just as I stepped onto the last step, a large hand suddenly reached out of the darkness, clamped over my mouth, and dragged me into the house. The bright light hit me, and I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut. A hoarse voice came from beside me. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. When I saw his face, I started shaking. "You…"