One-Upping Bad Mommy

Kaden looped his arm through my mom's and shot me a smug look. "Want to know the truth? Mom bought this house five years ago for me. She was just waiting for you to pay off the mortgage so she could transfer it to me. We're not here to ask. We're here to tell you."I looked at my mom in disbelief. "Is that true? Was this whole thing just you manipulating me from the start?"After she remarried, I became invisible in that house. My south-facing bedroom went to Kaden. I got moved to the storage room. I walked on eggshells for over a decade. That kind of life eats away at whatever bond a mother and son are supposed to have. Once I started working, I moved out and rented my own place.Then my mom tried to guilt me into handing over my paycheck every month. I said no. I figured she wouldn't let it go that easily.But then, one sunny afternoon, she took me to the property exchange and bought me a house. She said she knew I'd never felt secure, and that this house was the biggest gift she

Two uniformed police officers walked toward us. Eleanor and Kaden immediately let go of me. I struggled to get up off the floor."I'm the one who called the police," I said. "These two not only broke into my house, but they also assaulted me for no reason. Please arrest them right now."The officers looked sternly at Eleanor and Kaden. "You need to come with us to the station."Eleanor quickly tried to explain. "Officers, this is all a misunderstanding. He's my son. He wasn't listening, so I was just disciplining him."Kaden added, "And as for breaking and entering, he's lying. This house belongs to my mom."He turned to Eleanor. "Mom, just show them the deed."Eleanor fumbled through her bag and pulled out the property deed. "Look, officers. It says right here in black and white. This house is mine. My younger son is getting married, so I asked my elder son to move out. He refused. So we had no choice but to take firm action."The two officers took the deed from Eleanor. After

"Try me."I wanted to see exactly how Lesley planned to make me regret.I went back upstairs to work as if nothing had happened.My coworker, Jason Murphy, came over and asked, "What's going on? That guy downstairs is your dad? Family trouble?"I'd never liked talking about my family at work. A mother who played favorites, a stepfather who was always scheming, and a stepbrother who fought me for everything—none of it was worth mentioning.But now that Lesley had started this, I couldn't pretend anymore.So I told Jason the whole story. How my mom bought the house with zero down, then after I finished paying off the mortgage, she wanted me to give it to my stepbrother.Jason's eyes went wide. "What? There are mothers like that? She's helping her stepson screw over her own son? Is she out of her mind?"I said quietly, "Lesley was my mom's first love. After my dad died, they reconnected right away. In her mind, the three of them are the real family."Just then, noise started up a

That's when I noticed Jessica's stomach was slightly protruding. I pulled my hand back."If you care about her that much, you should keep her at home resting, not parading her around outside."Jessica, emboldened by the baby in her belly, pressed on. "I've been married to Kaden for a while now, but we've never had a meal together. No time like the present. How about today?"Nothing good ever comes from someone being this nice for no reason. I didn't feel like wasting my time on strangers.I stepped back to the security booth and told the guard that someone was harassing me. The guard immediately came out and chased the three of them off.I walked right past their angry glares and went upstairs.I thought that would be the end of it. They hadn't gotten what they wanted, so surely, they'd just leave me alone.But I underestimated how rotten they really were. In their eyes, I was nothing more than a high-earning single man—a juicy bone they would gnaw clean no matter what.When I