Mom Stole My Future

After spending another year preparing to retake the SAT, I tried to register, only for the system to tell me I couldn't. According to its records, I'd already enrolled at Briarwood University and had been attending college for a full year. But on the day the exam results came out last year, Mom had clearly told me, "Conor, you only scored 1280. You're more than a hundred points short of getting into Briarwood." That same day, Cassidy Vaughn patted me on the shoulder and encouraged me, "Conor, take another year and try again. I'll be waiting for you at Briarwood." My hands shook as I opened Briarwood University's official social media page. The pinned post read: "Meet Conor Hale, Outstanding Freshman Representative of the Class of '25..." But I was Conor Hale! In the photo, the "Conor Hale" standing there was smiling proudly. My own mother stood on his left, while Cassidy had her arm linked through his on the right. So I'd gotten into college all along. My own mother and my childhood sweetheart had joined forces to steal my future. Chapter 1 My homeroom teacher, Grant Sutton's hand froze on the mouse. "Conor..." His voice tightened. He turned to look at me, disbelief filling his eyes behind his glasses, along with a trace of cautious concern. "Something's wrong. I'll contact the Department of Education and Briarwood University's admissions office right now. We'll get to the bottom of this." He sounded genuinely anxious to help. But as I stared at the name "Conor Hale" on the screen, every detail I'd deliberately ignored over the past year came crashing back. The day the SAT results came out last year, my mother, Meredith Hale, had looked at her phone and said coldly, "Conor, you only scored 1280. That's more than a hundred points below your target." I'd been stunned. Even my lowest estimate had been around 1450. How could I have scored only 1280? I cried and demanded to check the results myself, but Mom snatched the phone away and called me immature. She said I'd always thought too highly of myself, and now that I'd done badly, I couldn't even accept it. That night, Cassidy Vaughn came to see me. She patted my shoulder, her voice as gentle as it had been countless times before. "Conor, don't be upset. It was just one bad exam. Take another year and try again. I'll be waiting for you at Briarwood. Once you get in next year, we can always be together." I believed her. I believed my own mother, the person closest to me. I believed the girl I'd grown up with, the girl I'd always given my whole heart to. Branded as the kid who'd failed his SAT, I endured the neighbors' gossip and Mom's growing impatience and gritted my teeth through another year of prep classes. I studied until the early hours every day, all because of that one promise: "I'll be waiting for you at Briarwood." But now I knew I'd never failed at all. I hadn't scored 1280. I'd gotten into Briarwood University. My own mother had taken my score, my enrollment record, my entire future, and handed it all to someone else. And the childhood sweetheart I'd believed was waiting for me had known the truth. Worse, she'd gone with the impostor and stood beside him on Briarwood's campus. "Mr. Sutton." I cut him off, my voice so calm it sounded strange even to me. "There's no need." Grant stared at me. "Conor, this isn't a small matter. Your entire future—" "I know." I looked up at him, not a ripple of emotion in my eyes. "I'll handle this myself." After I supposedly failed the exam, Mom cut off most of my spending money, claiming, "You had it too easy last year. All those material comforts distracted you from studying." She seemed to have forgotten that I'd worn clearance-rack clothes my entire life and always used the cheapest notebooks I could find. Those so-called material comforts were nothing more than an excuse she'd made up for herself. Chapter 2 Now I knew exactly where all her money had gone. But who was that boy? I didn't say anything else to Grant. I quietly withdrew from the prep program. The sunlight was blinding when I walked out of the administrative office, but I felt cold all over. The bright future I'd once thought was waiting for me had been stolen a year ago by the two people I trusted most. I had only $7.30 in my pocket, money Dad had secretly slipped me that morning so I could buy a bottle of water. I took the bus home. The scenery rushed past outside the window as I gripped my phone so tightly my fingertips turned white. I didn't cry. Crying wouldn't solve anything. I needed answers. I needed to find out exactly what had happened. I opened Mom's social media profile. She'd blocked me from seeing her posts three years ago. Then I opened Cassidy's. Her feed was full of everyday life at Briarwood University, with the occasional post about "waiting for Conor," as if she were hopelessly devoted to me. Looking at those words now made me sick. I took a deep breath and checked the accounts they followed. Out of hundreds, only one stood out as someone they both followed. His profile picture was a carefully posed selfie, and his username was "Gavin." It had to be him. I opened his profile. His posts were public. His latest was a selfie taken in the Briarwood University library. He was wearing a limited-edition sweatshirt and a designer watch I'd never been able to afford even after saving for two years. The caption read: [Every day at Briarwood is amazing!] In the corner of the photo, I could just make out a woman's hand wearing the same watch Mom had worn for years. I kept scrolling, my heart sinking lower with every post. He was a year younger than I was. There were pictures of him with Mom, who smiled at him with a tenderness I'd never once received in all eighteen years of my life. There was also a photo of him holding hands with Cassidy. The caption read: [My girlfriend loves me so much!] As I went through the posts one by one, all the pieces came together into an ugly truth. The boy called Gavin was Mom's illegitimate son, and Cassidy had been with him for three years. No wonder she'd suddenly started pushing me to study harder three years ago, insisting I had to get into Briarwood so we could go there together. It had never been about building a future with me. She'd wanted me to clear the path so she could walk it with someone else. When the bus reached my stop, I got off in a daze and walked home. My father, Nathan Hale, was in the kitchen heating up canned soup. A few slices of toast sat on the table. It was the same simple meal the two of us had been eating for the past two weeks. The moment he heard me come in, he wiped his hands and hurried out. His face filled with panic when he saw me. "Conor, what's wrong? Weren't you going to register today? Why are you home so early? Are you feeling sick?" His eyes were full of concern, the fine lines around them deeper than I remembered. He'd spent years cutting every possible expense for this family and for me. When my grandfather, Walter Hale, was alive, Dad had once had every advantage and a promising future of his own. But because Mom had told him, "I love you," he'd given up his career and spent more than a decade as a stay-at-home dad. And this was what he'd gotten in return—a wife who betrayed him and a son's future that had been stolen. Looking at Dad's exhausted face, my nose stung, and my throat tightened. I felt useless. I couldn't even protect him, and now I had to make him suffer through the same ugly truth with me. Chapter 3 I walked over and gently hugged him, my voice painfully hoarse. "Dad." I closed my eyes and forced all the pain down. "Mom's having an affair." Dad went rigid. He stood frozen for a moment, then braced himself against the table and slowly sat down. He stared at me blankly, as if he couldn't understand what I'd just said. I didn't hide anything from him. I told him everything about my stolen enrollment record from beginning to end. With every word, more color drained from his face. By the time I finished, he covered his mouth as tears streamed down his face, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably. "How... how could this happen?" he muttered, his voice filled with pain and disbelief. "Conor, you spent this past year preparing to retake the exam because of them? Because they stole your score and lied to you about failing?" I nodded, and the tears I'd been holding back finally fell. "Yes, Dad. I didn't fail. I got into Briarwood. Mom gave my enrollment record to her illegitimate son. Cassidy knew about it too. She's been lying to me this whole time." "Cassidy..." Dad broke down even harder. "When you were kids, she fell through the ice, and you jumped in without a second thought to save her. You were only eight. You nearly died yourself... "How could she do this to you? How could she?" My chest tightened. I remembered that day. It had been the dead of winter. Cassidy had been fooling around when she fell through the ice, and I'd jumped in after her without thinking. I nearly went into shock from the cold and spent an entire week in the hospital. After that, she always said I'd saved her life. She said she'd love me forever. Was this what she'd meant by "love"? Giving my future to Mom's illegitimate son? Dad sighed and began telling me about things that had happened even earlier. Grandpa had doted on his son. He'd personally put up the money for Mom to start her company and helped her get established. But as soon as Grandpa died three years ago, Mom changed. Claiming the company was struggling, she stopped contributing to the household expenses. Then she pressured Dad to give up his entire social life and focus solely on being a stay-at-home husband, leaving him without even a little spending money of his own. Dad hadn't wanted me to worry, so he'd kept it from me. He'd secretly taken odd jobs to help cover our expenses. It wasn't that he'd never noticed anything strange about Mom: coming home late, guarding her phone constantly, and growing more irritable by the day. He'd assumed it was work stress, maybe even a temporary flirtation. He'd never imagined she'd had an illegitimate son all along, much less that she'd conspired with outsiders to destroy my future. I helped Dad sit down and showed him Gavin's posts. His life was dazzling in the worst possible way. Designer watches, limited-edition sneakers, expensive restaurants, trips around the world… Mom showered him with money, yet she was so stingy with her own husband and son that she wouldn't even buy us a carton of milk. Dad and I had been living on canned soup and toast, unable to justify even buying new clothes. Meanwhile, she was spending our family's money to treat another boy like a prince. The more Dad saw, the more determined his expression became. He wiped away his tears and took my hand. His palm was cold, but his grip was firm. "Conor, I'm divorcing her. I have to. We can't keep putting up with this. If we do, they'll only keep taking more from us." I tightened my hand around his and lowered my voice. "Divorce her, yes. But we can't let them know what we've discovered yet. They stole my enrollment record. They stole the assets Grandpa left behind. They stole our lives. We can't let them get away with it this easily." Chapter 4 "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. Chapter 5 I tossed my phone aside. I already knew what was going on. The two of them were completely focused on Gavin's award ceremony. It would never occur to them that I'd already learned the truth, much less that I'd discovered my enrollment record had been stolen. Dad had been watching me from the side, his brow furrowed with worry. "Conor, can they fix your student record? If someone else is enrolled at Briarwood under your identity, what happens to you? How are you supposed to apply to college?" My identity. The words hit me like lightning. I shot to my feet, an idea suddenly clicking into place. There was a way to expose them in front of everyone—and give the police everything they needed. I grabbed my jacket and rushed toward the door. Dad jumped and hurried after me. "Conor, what are you doing? Where are you going?" I stopped and turned back to him, determination filling my eyes. "I know what to do!" I spoke slowly and clearly, "Dad, just wait. I'll make sure we get the justice we're owed." A week later, at Briarwood University, the auditorium was packed for the award ceremony. Bright lights illuminated the stage as applause thundered through the room. Dad and I sat quietly in the last row, both wearing masks as we watched the stage. The host stood at the microphone, his voice carrying across the auditorium. "Next, we'll recognize this year's recipient of the President's Scholarship: Conor Hale, Class of '25!" The auditorium erupted in applause. I saw Mom sitting in the front row, grinning proudly as she looked toward the stage. Beside her, Cassidy applauded softly, her expression affectionate and her gaze fixed on the impostor. Gavin—the illegitimate son using my name, "Conor Hale"—slowly rose from his seat. Dressed in an expensive suit, he walked confidently onto the stage and accepted the trophy and certificate. Then he took the microphone and began his acceptance speech, his voice almost sugary with self-satisfaction. "First, I want to thank my mom. Thank you for always loving and supporting me. And I want to thank my girlfriend for always being there for me..." As he continued thanking them, Mom's and Cassidy's smiles grew wider. People around them began offering congratulations. "Mrs. Hale, your son is incredible!" "Cassidy, your boyfriend is amazing!" Mom couldn't stop smiling, and Cassidy clearly enjoyed the attention. Mom and Cassidy straightened their clothes, preparing to join "Conor" onstage for the scheduled photos with his guests. Mom stood. Cassidy rose beside her. Just as they were about to walk toward the stage, the auditorium doors were thrown open. Several uniformed police officers strode inside, their expressions serious as they swept their eyes across the room. The applause stopped instantly. Everyone froze, and the murmuring died away. Onstage, Gavin hadn't even finished speaking when his face went pale. The smiles on Mom's and Cassidy's faces froze. The lead officer, Dylan Griffin, stepped forward, his firm voice carrying through the silent auditorium. "Which one of you is Conor Hale?"