I told my son I lost my job he kicked me out. But he didn’t know I had just received $8M. So I…

Ethan wasn’t trying to reconcile anymore. He was trying to control me, press me, break me down completely. It became obvious.

If he couldn’t get what he wanted he’d rather see me destroyed. One afternoon my phone rang. It was Richard.

We hadn’t spoken in over 20 years. I had no idea how he even got my number. I just thought I’d give you a heads up, he said casually.

Ethan came to see me. He cried and begged me to talk you into going back home. I don’t know what happened between you two and frankly I told him that’s not my business.

I just reminded him I’m not his biological father. I even added that whatever’s going on between the two of you has nothing to do with me. I’m an outsider.

But he insisted I was lying, he even showed up at my office making a scene. I had no choice but to take a paternity test to shut him up. I didn’t tell him the full truth though.

I kept my promise from all those years ago. I didn’t reveal his real background. So bottom line is he now knows I’m not his father.

But you, you’re still his one and only mother. I hung up already bracing myself. I knew it was only a matter of time before Ethan came knocking on my door again.

When he did I’d be ready. I’d tell him everything. The truth he was so desperate to avoid.

I’d tell him to go find the mother who abandoned him in a dumpster and stop trying to tear my life apart. But that confrontation never came. Instead Ethan took a darker turn.

A turn I hadn’t anticipated. Roughly a week later I noticed something strange. The way people in the neighborhood looked at me had changed.

Their glances lingered longer, their smiles grew thinner, more forced. I brushed it off at first, until Monica called me one afternoon. Margaret, I just wanted to say I know you’re a good person.

Please don’t let what people are saying upset you. I was confused. What are people saying? That’s when I learned what had really been happening.

I’d become an internet sensation. But not the good kind. Ethan had started live streaming daily on a popular social media platform.

His channel title? How My Mother Abandoned Me. I clicked in and saw the full picture. He hadn’t outright accused me of being a mistress or anything scandalous.

No, he’d gone for something much more insidious. He’d crafted a manipulative sob story, painting himself as a heartbroken, abandoned son, while twisting me into the cold, ruthless, money-hungry villain. In his streams he said things like, My mother never really loved me.

I worked so hard, studied so hard, and she wouldn’t even support me in the smallest ways. The year I got into college, she left for another city to work as a live-in assistant for rich people, leaving me to live alone in a tiny rental apartment. When I got married, she didn’t contribute a single dollar.

Even when my wife got pregnant, she never offered a shred of help. Now that she’s suddenly rich, she’s cut me off completely, like I never existed. I don’t even want money.

I just want her to acknowledge me as her son. But she won’t even say my name. She lives in a mansion now, rides in luxury cars, and enjoys an upper-class life, while I get judged and humiliated on the streets.

The comments section exploded. People split into two camps. Some sympathized with him, others called me heartless.

And of course there were the instigators. A mother like that doesn’t deserve to be called one. She should be ashamed.

He’s so pitiful. I’d do anything to give him the love he never had. His livestream blew up.

His follower count skyrocketed. He even started selling merchandise and products on his channel, riding the wave of pity donations from his so-called supporters. Will be the warmth your mother never gave you.

You deserve better, sweet boy. She doesn’t deserve happiness. And then things turned even uglier.

People began digging into my personal life. My name. My photo.

My address. All of it started circulating in comment sections and reposts. I had officially become the face of a social media villain, the most heartless mother on the internet.

And then that evening my phone rang again. This time it was my lawyer. Margaret, we can proceed with legal action right away, my lawyer said.

We can file for removal of defamatory content, demand a public apology and pursue compensation for damages. I paused for a few seconds then smiled calmly. No rush.

Let him perform a little longer. I planned to take this into my own hands first. That same night I registered my own account on StreamNet and launched my own live channel.

I titled it, So This Is The Mom Who Abandoned Ethan. First, I dropped into Ethan’s stream and sent several thousand dollars in donations, instantly grabbing attention and spiking the live chat feed. Then I sent a message across the screen for everyone to see.

Hi everyone, I’m the heartless mother Ethan’s been talking about. He’s been crying for weeks saying I cut off his financial support. Come over to my channel, I’ll show you the truth…