My heart stopped when I heard those words.
I was in the hallway, about to knock on his bedroom door to tell him dinner was ready, but the moment I heard, “Hi, Mom!” my blood ran cold.
I pressed my ear against the door, barely breathing.
“Yeah, I miss you too. I’ll come over tomorrow instead of going to school. I just wanna see you.”
I felt dizzy. My son was skipping school to visit… another mom?
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Who was this woman? Was he being manipulated? Was there something sinister going on?
There was only one way to find out.
I decided to follow him.
The Next Morning
I acted normal at breakfast, though my hands shook as I handed him his plate.
“Big day at school?” I asked casually.
He barely looked at me, just muttering, “Yeah.”
At 8 AM, he grabbed his backpack and left—but not for school.
I waited a few minutes before slipping out behind him.
From a distance, I watched as he walked past the school gates and turned down an unfamiliar street. He didn’t hesitate—he knew exactly where he was going.
My heart pounded. I followed him for nearly twenty minutes until we reached an old house on the outskirts of town.
He walked up the porch steps and knocked.
A few seconds later… the door opened.
And standing there—smiling warmly—was a woman I had never seen before.
“Hey, sweetie! You made it!” she said, pulling him into a hug.
I nearly gasped out loud.
My son hugged her back, so naturally. Like he’d done it a hundred times before.
Who was she?
And why…
Why did she look so much like me?
The Truth Unfolds
I was frozen, my mind racing. Was this some kind of scam? Was she trying to replace me?
Then, she said something that sent a shiver down my spine.
“Come in, baby. I made your favorite pancakes—just like before.”
Before?
I couldn’t take it anymore. I stepped forward.
“Who are you?” My voice trembled.
The woman’s face went pale. My son spun around, eyes wide with horror.
“Mom?! What are you doing here?”
I ignored him. “Who is she?”
The woman swallowed hard, looking between me and my son.
Then, finally… she spoke.
“I’m his mother, too.”
A Secret No One Told Me
The world tilted.
I heard my own voice whisper, “What?”
She took a deep breath, eyes glossy with unshed tears. “I gave birth to him. But I wasn’t supposed to be in his life.”
I shook my head violently. “That’s impossible. I adopted him as a baby—his birth mother disappeared!”
She nodded slowly, her lips pressing into a trembling line. “They told me to stay away. But he found me.”
I turned to my son, who wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Is that true?” I whispered.
He hesitated. Then, he nodded.
“I just wanted to know her, Mom. But I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Tears blurred my vision. My son had been keeping this from me.
I didn’t know whether to feel angry, betrayed, or heartbroken.
All I knew was that everything I thought I knew… had just changed forever.