All Chapters of The Day Mom Cut My Last Lifeline: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Family gatherings at my uncle Pete Anderson's house were always lively.I sat on a small stool in the corner. The welts across my back rubbed against my shirt. Every slight movement sent a sharp stab of pain through me.Pete's wife, Beatrice Stone, came over with a cup of water. "How's college? Getting the hang of it?"I had barely opened my mouth when Mom cut in. "All she does is cause trouble every day. Yesterday, she made such a scene over a stray cat that the whole neighborhood heard about it."My youngest aunt, Claire Anderson, frowned. "It was only a cat. How did it turn into something that big?"Dad lounged at the head of the table with one leg crossed over the other. "'Cause she was spoiled rotten. Back in senior year, she said she was under too much pressure, so we let her keep the cat."Now that she's gotten into college, she's still acting like a child."My oldest aunt, Donna Anderson, chimed in. "Kids these days are too calculating. They're always using some illness

I was taken to the counselor's office. The door was left slightly open, and a crowd of students gathered outside to watch. They lowered their voices, but not enough that I couldn't hear them.Mark poured me a cup of water. He set it on the far corner of the desk, well out of my reach. Only after sitting back down did he open his laptop."Avery, your mother has sent over your medical records."A document filled the screen. It read, "Severe depression with schizophrenic tendencies", though I remembered clearly that I had only ever been diagnosed with moderate depression.I stared at the report as the warmth slowly drained from my fingertips. "I've never been to this hospital.""Your mother did say that you tend to forget things when you're having an episode," he said gently, though he still kept his distance from me. "She also mentioned that you've refused treatment, which has put a great deal of strain on your family."A bitter laugh escaped me.Mom had even rewritten my illness

My death was first spread through the campus group chat. Not long after, someone dug up screenshots of what Mom had posted in the grade-wide group before.Except this time, people online didn't believe her right away.One asked, "What if she really was violent?"The other argued, "Why would a student who just came back to campus take her own life right after leaving the counselor's office?"Others pulled out videos Mom had posted on short video platforms. In those clips, I was a child, crying so hard I was shaking, while she forced the camera on me.She stood beside it, saying, "Look at her. She's doing it again. The camera's right here, Avery. Weren't you just talking about dying? Go on, then."The comment section slowly shifted."That's her mother? She was straight-up abusing her.""How could she still film when her child was crying her heart out?""Could she have used a fake medical record to control her daughter?"Police soon retrieved the campus' surveillance footage. In

My personal effects were sealed in a transparent evidence bag. The phone was shattered, the student ID was bent, and half the feathers on the cat teaser were gone.The half bag of cat food had been something I bought at the convenience store. I had planned to go home during the Independence Day holiday and secretly feed Tangy a little extra.When Mom saw the cat food, her fingers curled slightly. She didn't reach out to take it."Take it away," she said softly. "I don't want to see this."Still, the police placed everything on the table. "These need to be signed by the family."Dad picked up the pen. His hand shook as he signed. By the end of his signature, he tore slightly through the paper.Suddenly, Mom asked, "Where's the cat?"Everyone turned to look at her. She seemed startled by her own question and quickly added, "I'm just curious. Sure, it was a stray, but I didn't actually want it dead."No one spoke. The officer simply opened another folder. "The property management

Three months later, the investigation results were announced. The college administration disciplined Mark.The notice stated that he had failed to initiate proper protective procedures despite the student clearly expressing that she was experiencing domestic violence and refusing to return home, constituting serious negligence of duty.The videos and medical records Mom had posted online were officially determined to involve fabrication, exaggeration, and malicious dissemination.She and Dad were placed under investigation for long-term abuse and humiliation, and deprivation of liberty.On the day the verdict came down, Mom nearly fainted in court from crying. She no longer accused me of faking depression. Instead, she knelt in front of the gallery and repeatedly expressed her remorse."I'm sorry. I only wanted her to succeed. I'm so, so sorry."No one spoke for her anymore—not Aunt Donna, who had always been the first to try to keep the peace. Now, she sat in the back row with h