Chapter 5 - The Social Fallout
The explosion was immediate and absolute.
The same extended family members who had offered Kara sympathy were now furious and horrified.
My aunt commented, "Denise, tell me this document is a fake. Tell me you didn't leave that baby behind."
Denise did not reply.
Kara hastily deleted her original post, but it was too late; the internet never forgets.
Several of Kara's friends, who had children of their own, publicly unfriended her after reading the official report.
My phone rang, displaying my father’s number.
I let it go to voicemail, but he called back three times in rapid succession.
Finally, I answered, putting him on speakerphone.
"Take that post down right now!" Ray yelled, his voice laced with panic rather than authority.
"Your mother is humiliated, she can't even show her face at her book club today!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," I replied smoothly. "Is it inconvenient for people to know the truth?"
"You are ruining our reputation over a lapse in judgment!" he pleaded, changing tactics.
"No, Dad," I corrected him firmly. "You ruined your own reputation the moment you walked out of those gates without my son."
I hung up and blocked his number.
I then proceeded to block Denise and Kara across all social media platforms and my phone contacts.
The silence that followed was incredibly peaceful.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't managing their emotions or smoothing over their toxic behavior.
I was simply protecting my child.
Elliot came down the stairs rubbing his eyes, completely unaware of the digital war that had just been fought for his honor.
May you like
I made him pancakes and sat across from him, watching him smile as he covered them in syrup.
He was my priority, and the rest of them were nothing but ghosts.
