But I remembered Leo beneath the oxygen tent.
I remembered her ordering me to leave him.
And I remembered the way she threatened me when I refused.
“I won’t lie to protect you.”
She began to cry.
At first, the sound was almost convincing.
Then she whispered the sentence that revealed everything.
“After all I’ve sacrificed, you’re choosing him over me.”
I looked toward the intensive care hallway.
“Yes.”
Her crying stopped.
“What?”
“I’m choosing my son.”
“You selfish girl.”
I felt the final thread between us snap.
“Goodbye, Mother.”
I ended the call.
Then I blocked her number.
My hands trembled afterward.
I had imagined that breaking free would feel triumphant.
Instead, I felt grief for the mother I had spent my childhood believing might someday appear.
David found me sitting alone several minutes later.
He didn’t ask whether I wanted him to punish Eleanor.
