All Chapters of A Mother's Hand: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Stella's POVI walked into the classroom holding my midterm exam paper. My right cheek was swollen like a bun, with a trace of blood at the corner of my mouth.The classmates around me whispered, “Stella got hit again, just because she didn’t get a perfect score in math. How awful...”Layla Sweeney rolled her eyes.“What’s so awful about that? Her mom’s the homeroom teacher.“She has all the best resources and still couldn’t get a perfect score. Who else should get beaten if not her?”I paused for a moment as I swallowed the sting in my nose. Then, I walked into the classroom.Just a moment ago in the teachers’ lounge, my mom, Sophie, had slapped my face until it swelled up, right in front of all the teachers and students.“148 points? Should you have lost those two points? Tell me!”Sophie’s furious shout still rang in my ears. My right ear was ringing nonstop from the slap. I could barely hear anything.But Sophie did not stop punishing me.“If you make another low-level m

Chapter 2

That night, as I pushed open the front door, I caught the familiar scent of dinner.The living room was lit by a warm yellow light. Sophie was sitting at the dining table, with two servings of food in front of her.I took off my shoes as quietly as possible and tried to hide my swollen right cheek and the bloodstain at the corner of my mouth in the shadows.The moment I took a step, Sophie looked up.“You’re back?”Her voice was still stern, yet it carried a hint of barely perceptible concern.“Does your face still hurt?”I lowered my eyes, shook my head, walked to the other end of the table. Then, I sat down, and began eating small bites of the food.The dishes, so appealing in color, aroma, and flavor, felt like torture once they reached my mouth. Every chew tugged at my facial muscles.It hurt so much.I decided to just swallow it whole.Suddenly, Mom put down her cutlery and walked over.My body stiffened instinctively, and the muscles in my back tensed.But she simply

Chapter 3

The next day, at school, after the lunch break bell rang, I pressed my face against the desk. I rested my right cheek against the cool surface in an attempt to ease the pain.Layla suddenly walked in with her head held high. Then, she leaned close to my ear, and spoke with undisguised glee at my misfortune.“You’re done for.”I lowered my eyes indifferently as I got lost in thought.If I died, Sophie would probably adopt Layla as her daughter, would she not? After all, she loved Layla the most.I just wondered if Layla could handle Sophie’s strict discipline.Just then, the door was suddenly kicked open with such force that everyone looked up in shock.Sophie stood in the doorway. Her chest heaved violently as her face turned ashen.She walked to the center of the classroom. Her gaze was like poison-tipped probes, as she slowly and coldly pierced each panicked face one by one.Finally, that gaze fixed firmly on me.My heart suddenly sank. It felt like it was plunged into an i

Chapter 4

My world turned upside down in an instant, accompanied by a deafening roar.An excruciating pain exploded. It spread instantly from my cheek to my entire skull.My vision went dark. Warm liquid gushed from my nostrils and the corners of my mouth at the same time. A metallic, sweet-and-salty taste of blood filled my mouth.“You dare talk back?! In fact, you even dare lie?!”Sophie’s voice was so shrill it had gone off-key. She grabbed a handful of hair from my forehead and dragged me like a dead dog as we stumbled toward the front.A tearing pain shot through my scalp, but I could no longer feel it. I could only feel the searing burn on my face and the overwhelming shame.“Everyone, take a good look!”She slammed me hard against the hard edge of the teacher’s desk. The side of my hips hit it with such force that I let out a muffled groan of pain and curled up into a ball.She kept a tight grip on my hair as she forced my blood-soaked, rapidly swelling face into full view of the

Chapter 5

Sophie did not look at me again.She smoothed out her hair, which had become slightly disheveled from the violent outburst. Then, she smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes and regained the solemn expression that belonged to “Ms. Nash”.She turned and walked toward the vice principal, Mr. Lennon’s, office.I was shaking like a leaf. My heart ached like it was being torn apart.I did not understand why I had to endure all this.Why was my dignity merely a tool to assert authority?I did not know how long it took. Maybe it was just a few minutes, maybe it was a century.My left arm could still move.I excruciatingly slowly picked up my trembling hand and reached into the pocket of my school pants. My pocket notebook.Summoning every last ounce of strength left in my body, I tremblingly wrote.[Falsely accused of underaged romance. Stripped and humiliated in public, -1.]Closing the notebook, I leaned against the wall, inch by inch. I propped myself up in a body that felt a

Chapter 6

The calm expression on Sophie’s face froze in an instant.She slowly turned her head. Her pupils dilated slightly, like she did not understand what was said.“You… what did you say?”“Stella… Stella jumped out of the sixth-floor hallway window! Right outside our classroom! There’s so much blood… The ambulance… The ambulance’s already here…”After saying that, the girl finally could not hold back any longer. She covered her face and burst into tears.“Jumped... off the building?”Sophie repeated those words. Each syllable came out with extraordinary difficulty.All the color drained from her face. Her lips trembled uncontrollably and her mind went blank with a sudden buzz.All those words from earlier had been about “establishing authority,” “making an example,” and “it’s for her own good”. At that moment, they echoed sharply in her ears like the most vicious curses.Mr. Lennon sprang to his feet. His expression was grave. “When did this happen?”“J-Just a moment ago... not lo

Chapter 7

In front of the school building was a lush green lawn. A large patch of it was stained a blinding red.Police tape had already been strung up. Medical personnel in white coats were providing emergency treatment. Several pale-faced teachers and school administrators who had rushed to the scene upon hearing the news were gathered around the stretcher.Sophie pushed her way through the crowd and saw that small, familiar figure on the stretcher.Stella lay there motionless. Her school uniform jacket was open, revealing thin clothes underneath covered in dust and bloodstains.The swelling on her face had not yet subsided. Dried blood still clung to the corners of her mouth. Her eyes were tightly closed and her face was as white as paper.A few strands of black hair, dampened by sweat and tears, clung to her temples. It was so quiet. It was frighteningly quiet.“Stella! Stella!!!”Sophie rushed to the stretcher. She wanted to reach out and touch her daughter, but her hand trembled s

Chapter 8

At the Central Hospital, the red light outside the emergency room shone blindingly bright.Sophie slumped on the cold bench in the hallway. She stared unblinkingly at the tightly closed door. It was as if her soul had been sucked out of her body.Mr. Williams went to handle the paperwork, while Ms. Johnson stayed with Sophie. She tried to offer words of comfort, only to find that words were utterly meaningless at that moment.Time ticked by, second by second. Each one was an agonizing ordeal.After what seemed like an eternity, the door to the emergency room opened. A doctor emerged with a grave expression.Sophie sprang up like a coiled spring and rushed over to grab the doctor’s arm.“Doctor, how is my daughter? How is she?!”The doctor looked at the disheveled woman before him, whose eyes were almost wild. Then, he asked in a solemn voice. “Are you the mother of the patient, Stella Nash?”“Yes! I’m her mother!”“The patient is in extremely critical condition.”The doctor’s

Chapter 9

It was not until dawn was breaking that the operating room door finally opened.The lead surgeon walked out exhausted. He said to the people who had gathered around.“The surgery was a success for now. We’ve saved her life. But the prognosis remains very grim.“She has a severe traumatic brain injury. Whether she’ll wake up, and what condition she’ll be in if she does, are all unknowns.“The damage to her other organs will also require a long recovery. Also...”The doctor looked at Sophie, who could barely stand, and said with a touch of sarcasm.“The patient’s will to live is very weak. I don’t know what she’s been through.”Her life had been saved.But phrases like “whether she’ll wake up” and “weak will to live” pierced Sophie’s heart like icicles.“Weak will to live... How could that be...?”She staggered over to the mobile hospital bed that had just been wheeled in. A night of crying had left her eyes bloodshot. Her eyeballs stung as if pricked by needles, yet tears stil

Chapter 10

In the police station, the officers on duty looked at the woman standing before him. She looked like she was in a daze, but her voice’s tone remained resolute. The officers listened patiently as she spoke.“I want to file a report! I’m pressing charges against my student, Layla Sweeney, for defamation and false accusations, which indirectly led to my daughter, Stella Nash, suffering serious injuries!”Sophie numbly recounted the entire sequence of events.Realizing the gravity of the situation, the officers took detailed notes. Then, they immediately retrieved the surveillance footage and began gathering evidence.After leaving the police station, Sophie returned to the school.She walked straight to the principal’s office, placed the resignation letter she had prepared on the desk, and left.After she left the principal’s office, she made her way to her familiar classroom.It was recess, yet an unusual silence hung over the campus.The news of Stella’s fall had already spread.

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