Let Go Of My Obsession To Save Others

When I divorced, I walked away with absolutely nothing just to secure sole custody of my daughter. To give her a decent life, I worked myself to the bone. I never imagined she would turn on me for a deadbeat.

Even less did I expect her to conspire with him to paralyze me, strip me of my wealth, and eventually kill me.

But now, granted a second chance at life, I decided to give her the exact freedom she begged for. … "Just because your own marriage was a failure, you want to ruin mine too?" I opened my eyes to the sight of my daughter, Amber, violently smashing my favorite clay teapot onto the hardwood floor.

Her eyes were bloodshot, staring at me with a pure, unadulterated venom that made her look more like a mortal enemy than my child. A sharp fragment of the clay sliced across my shin, leaving a thin crimson trail.

I stared at the bleeding cut, utterly dazed. How was this possible? Just a second ago, I was in a hospice room, watching this loveblind girl rip the oxygen tube from my face. How was I suddenly back in my own living room?

Seeing my silence, Amber’s rage only intensified. Vicious words poured from her mouth. "No wonder Dad left you! You deserved it! You deserve to grow old and die alone!

Nobody could ever love a monster like you!" Just as in my memory, she grabbed a glass mug from the coffee table and hurled it down. The shattering sound was incredibly sharp and real. I had actually traveled back in time.

Perhaps even the heavens thought my previous death was too pathetic, granting me a chance to rewrite my fate. This time, I would not walk down the same path of selfdestruction.

I looked up at Amber, the child I carried for nine months and cherished above my own life. Years ago, when her father cheated on me, I sacrificed every penny of our marital assets just to keep her.

In return, she plotted with a parasite to ruin me, ultimately pushing me into an early grave. The sheer coldness of it shivered through my bones. In this timeline, I had locked her inside the house to stop her from moving in with Jared.

That was why she was throwing this tantrum. In my past life, I had refused to let her go. She had grabbed a wooden chair, struck me over the head until I blacked out, and fled.

If the neighbors hadn't found me in time, I would have bled out right there. This time, I was going to hand her the freedom she craved. I pinched the bridge of my nose and said coldly, "Quiet, Amber. Let me ask you one last time.

Are you absolutely determined to be with Jared? Even knowing he is a lazy fraud, a parasite who only wants you for your family money, you still want him?" She shrieked in response. "He is not like that!

You are just a bitter, hateful woman who projects her own misery onto everyone else! I am going to be with him! If you try to stop me, I'll end my life right in front of you!" In my previous life, that threat had terrified me.

I had begged her, pleaded with her to see the truth, but she only spat in my face. "Fine. This is the absolute end of the line, Amber.

If you walk out that door with him, you are willing to cut all ties with me?" A spark of excitement flashed in her eyes, almost disturbingly bright. "Yes! I don't want a suffocating, controlling mother anyway!

Let me go, and whatever happens to me from now on has absolutely nothing to do with you!" My heart had already died in my previous life. Hearing these words again brought nothing but a numb silence. "Very well. Go.

From this day forward, you are no longer my daughter. I believe you already drafted the termination of parental rights agreement? Hand it over.

I'll sign it right now." In my past life, after spending two days in the hospital, I had returned to find a bloodstained agreement lying on the floor where I had collapsed, already signed by Amber.

Hearing my words, Amber snatched the document from her bag and shoved it into my hands. "Sign it! Hurry up!" It was a standard dualcopy agreement. I signed my name without a single second of hesitation. "Go on then. Chase your happily ever after.

You got what you wanted, Amber. You no longer have a mother." "As if I care. I still have my dad."

2 After she slammed the door, I sat on the couch for a long time, slowly digesting the reality of my rebirth. Over the next few days, I put the house on the market. Since it was in a prime neighborhood, it sold quickly at a fair price.

I moved into a smaller apartment close to my company. I had originally bought that apartment as a graduation gift for Amber, intending to hand it over to her along with a share of the company stock once she finished college.

She still had six months until graduation, but she had officially forfeited her right to any of it. Three months later, the security guard from my old building called me.

He said Amber was throwing a massive tantrum at the front gate, screaming that it was her home and demanding that I come down to explain myself. I told the guard simply, "I do not have a daughter." A video of Amber’s scene was posted online.

She looked thinner than when she left, and her long hair had been chopped into a messy bob. Seeing her like that dragged up memories from my past life.

Around this exact time in my previous life, she had run back to me wearing those same clothes, sporting that same hairstyle. She had thrown herself onto my couch, sobbing that Jared was mistreating her. "He refuses to work!

He pawned my designer bags and clothes! He even hit me and forbade me from calling you! I had to sneak out! Mom, I was so wrong! I promise I'll listen to you from now on!" My heart had broken for her.

I had held her close, cried with her, and immediately wired her fifteen thousand dollars to buy new clothes and get back on her feet. But the moment the money hit her account, she vanished again. I had panicked, thinking she had been kidnapped.

I searched the entire city, calling her repeatedly, nearly dialing the police. Then a colleague called to say they spotted Amber at a highend club.

I drove through a torrential downpour to find her, only to open a private booth door and see her wrapped around Jared, kissing him passionately on a velvet sofa.

Furious, I slapped Jared across the face and tried to drag Amber out, warning him to stay away from her. But Amber, seeing me strike her precious boyfriend, spun around and lunged at me.

Her nails tore across my cheek, leaving three deep, bleeding gashes. She shoved me away and threw herself back into Jared's arms, caressing his cheek with tearful eyes. "Jared, baby, are you okay? She is insane, just a crazy woman.

Ignore her." My blood had run cold. I had spent twentyfour hours without sleep searching for her, only to be branded a lunatic and physically assaulted by my own child for the sake of a deadbeat.

Jared had smirked at me then, his eyes dripping with calculated malice. Yet, fool that I was, I still worried about her future. I practically begged her, "Amber, please come home with me. I only want what is best for you.

This man will destroy you." But she behaved as if she were under a spell, clinging to his neck and screaming at me. "You are so annoying! Get lost!

Are you just jealous because I'm happy?" Dizzy with shock, I had stumbled back, barely keeping my footing. Jared had pulled her close, offering me a greasy smile. "Ma'am, Amber and I are deeply in love.

Just let us be happy." Unable to tear them apart, I had capitulated. Hoping Jared would at least treat her decently if he had a career, I gave him a job at my firm.

Despite his lack of qualifications, I paid him a generous salary, hoping he would learn the ropes and eventually help Amber run the business. I had grossly underestimated the depth of human greed.

In the video from the security guard, Amber was desperately trying to force her old key into the lock of my former home, sobbing at the top of her lungs. "Mom! Mom, open the door! It’s Amber! How could you change the locks?

Have you abandoned me?" A neighbor passing by spoke up. "Amber, your mother sold this place weeks ago. Didn't you know?" Amber shrieked, "Impossible! This is my house! She has no right to sell it!" I let out a cold laugh. Her house?

I had worked eighteenhour days, drank myself to stomach ulcers during client dinners, and collapsed in my office multiple times to afford that home. It had absolutely nothing to do with her. It was my property, and I could sell it whenever I pleased.

Because she refused to leave, the new owner eventually called the police, and she was forced to slink away in embarrassment. I hired a private investigator to keep tabs on her. It turned out she went straight back to Jared.

The investigator sent me a video clip, adding a brief note, "Ma'am, you raised a viper." A viper indeed. If she had even a shred of decency, she wouldn't be plotting with her boyfriend on how to bleed me dry.

The video showed Amber returning to Jared's dingy, singleroom rental. It was a filthy space with a tiny bed and a peeling desk cluttered with greasy takeout boxes and empty beer cans.

Amber kicked the side of the bed where Jared lay scrolling through his phone. "That old witch sold the house," she muttered, clearly frustrated. "Her number is blocked too.

Your plan isn't working." A flicker of annoyance crossed Jared's face, quickly masked by greed. "Your mother is heartless. What kind of mother does that to her own child?

That place was huge, it must have fetched millions." Amber flopped onto the bed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Of course. It's prime real estate. Easily three million." The greed in Jared’s eyes became almost palpable.

He wrapped his arm around her, his voice dripping with false warmth. "You poor little fool. Her money is supposed to be your money. Selling the place without your permission proves she doesn't care about you at all.

She probably has some guy on the side, maybe even had another kid. Amber, I'm the only one who actually looks out for you. You can't let her walk all over you.

That wealth belongs to you, you have to claim it." "She's just a bitter, menopausal old woman. No man would ever want her," Amber scoffed. "My dad has the patience of a saint and even he couldn't stand her. Her things are mine.

When she dies, everything comes to me anyway." Jared licked his lips, casually asking, "Your mom is only in her forties, right?

By the time she dies, you'll be an old lady yourself." "Please," Amber laughed. "She ruined her health giving birth to me, and then she practically drank her liver to death running that company. She won't last long.

Soon enough, her business, her money, her cars, they'll all be ours." She sighed with anticipation, as if visualizing a glorious future. "I honestly can't wait for that day." A chill crept down my spine. She had been wishing for my death all along.

What a wonderful daughter I had raised. It was true that during my pregnancy, her father had been sleeping with my best friend. When I caught them, a physical altercation ensued, and he pushed me to the floor.

The severe hemorrhaging nearly cost me my life. Though I survived to deliver Amber, my health was permanently damaged. To ensure my daughter grew up like a princess, I had worked myself to the bone, only to have her eagerly await my demise.

I had still held a tiny sliver of hope in my heart, telling myself she was merely brainwashed by Jared. But no, she was inherently rotten. In the video, they began planning to corner me at my office.

Their goal was simple: extort enough money to buy themselves a house.

3 The next morning, the receptionist called to inform me that Amber was downstairs making a scene. I had already instructed my staff that she was no longer associated with me, so no one was letting her up.

I sent my assistant down to handle it, telling her to have security throw Amber out if she became too disruptive. Then, I quietly signed off on a charitable scholarship program.

A few minutes later, my assistant rushed back into my office, pale and breathless. "Ma'am, Amber pulled out a pocket knife and slashed one of the guards across the arm.

How should we proceed?" "Call the police," I replied, my voice flat. "Do I really need to teach you how to handle a violent trespasser?" Startled by my coldness, the assistant didn't ask further and immediately went to place the call.

As the police escorted Amber out in handcuffs, she shrieked like a maniac. "I am Valerie's daughter! This company is mine! Those guards are my employees! I can do whatever I want to them! Let go of me!" Fool.

Because she was causing such a massive scene, I finally walked down to the lobby. She tried to lunge at me the moment she saw me, but the officers held her firmly. "Mom! Mom, save me!

They're trying to arrest me!" I looked at her as if she were a complete stranger. My gaze drifted to the plastic evidence bag containing the pocket knife. I remembered her conversation with Jared from the video. "I'll bring a knife tomorrow.

If she doesn't give me the money, I'll hold it to my throat and force her." And Jared had fondly replied, "Smart girl." "Mom, what are you standing there for? Tell them to let me go!" Amber demanded.

I offered a polite, apologetic smile to the officers. "I am sorry for the trouble, officers. Please handle this strictly by the book. This girl signed an agreement severing our relationship weeks ago.

Even if she were still my daughter, no one is above the law." Amber panicked. When she panicked, she lost all filter, just like her father. "Valerie! You bitter old hag! You just hate seeing me happy! You're trying to force me to crawl back to you!

I would rather die than call you my mother!

Even when you're on your deathbed, I won't come to see you!" Her venomous words no longer had any power over me. "Don't worry," I said softly. "You won't have to." Shortly after she was taken away, my private investigator sent a photograph.

It showed Jared lurking in the shadows outside my building, recording a video of the arrest on his phone. I sneered. They were playing the exact same card as in my past life. Did they honestly think I would yield to public pressure this time?

In my previous life, there had been no arrest, so there was no video. Instead, Amber had posted a fabricated sob story online along with a few carefully staged photos, accusing me of extreme maternal abuse.

She had claimed that I controlled her entire life, from what she ate to what she wore, and that I denied her basic personal freedom even as an adult.

She wrote that when she fell in love, I went into a psychotic rage, beat her, locked her in a room without food, and tried to force a breakup. She labeled me a monster, a lunatic, a woman unfit to be a mother.

She declared that she hated me more than anyone on earth, and that she would have been infinitely happier living with her father. With a few pictures of selfinflicted bruises, she painted me as the ultimate villain.

I couldn't remember how viciously the internet had torn me apart back then. All I remembered was the crushing, suffocating pain in my chest when I read her words. I had genuinely believed she was being held hostage and coerced by Jared.

So I had called her, begging to know if she was in danger. The moment the call connected, Jared snatched the phone. He told me that if I wanted my daughter back in one piece, I needed to wire him two million dollars. I hadn't hesitated.

As long as my daughter was safe, I would have given him everything. He warned me not to involve the police, threatening her life. Terrified for her safety, I kept transferring funds.

Every time I heard her weeping on the phone, begging me to save her, my heart broke into a million pieces. Eventually, Jared demanded that I transfer the ownership of my company to his name before he would release her.

I agreed, believing that as long as we were alive, we could always rebuild. I gathered the legal documents and went to meet Jared. Just as I was about to sign, I spotted Amber hiding behind a pillar.

Blinded by maternal instinct, I hadn't noticed how relaxed she looked. I ran to her, weeping, pulling her into my arms. "Amber, thank God you're safe. Mommy is here." She had shoved me away with a look of pure disgust. "You smell like sweat.

Get away from me. Just sign the papers, we're in a hurry." I froze. "What?" Jared dropped his act, chuckling as he stepped forward. "Ma'am, Amber and I are getting married. You want her to be happy, don't you?

Sign the papers so we can go get our marriage license." "Oh, and she's pregnant," he added. "If I don't marry her, she'll be a ruined woman." I stared at Amber in utter disbelief.

She patted her stomach, looking at me with immense impatience. "Just sign it. It's all going to be mine eventually anyway. What's the difference if you hand it over now?" I hadn't signed.

I took the papers and walked away, utterly shattered, her sharp, demanding voice ringing in my ears. My own daughter, cursing and blaming me for her own choices. It was a tragic joke.

The morning after Amber’s arrest at my office, the familiar smear campaign made its debut online. The edited video of my cold response to the police went viral, accompanied by Amber's sob story.

She also posted photos of fresh cuts and bruises, claiming I had beaten her. I had never raised a hand against her. In reality, she was the one who had physically assaulted me several times for Jared's sake. My investigator sent over another video.

To make the photos look convincing, Jared had physically beaten Amber at her own request. This girl, pampered her entire life, had willingly let a man bruise her just to destroy her own mother.

I began to wonder if there had been a mixup at the hospital. How could a child of mine carry such deep, senseless malice? With my secret assistance behind the scenes, the scandal gained massive traction, topping the trending charts within three days.

Amber and Jared even went on a local talk show, playing the role of tragic young lovers torn apart by an abusive, tyrannical matriarch.

They wept on camera, begging for their freedom. "I couldn't breathe in that house," Amber sobbed to the interviewer. "She treated me like a possession, not a human being.

I just want to escape her shadow and live my life with the man I love." My office phone rang off the hook with angry callers. My welltrained staff remained calm, politely stating, "Please reserve your judgment.

Valerie will address the matter publicly this afternoon." Before the broadcast, I agreed to meet Amber and Jared one last time. I had unblocked her number specifically to receive this invitation.

We met at the same quiet cafe from my previous life, choosing a secluded booth in the corner. The moment they arrived, they ordered nearly half the menu without a hint of courtesy.

Amber didn't even bother calling me Mom. "Valerie," she said, leaning across the table. "I assume you've seen the news?" "I have," I replied calmly. "And what is it you want?" "This scandal is tanking your company’s stock, isn't it?" she sneered. "If you want us to take the videos down and clear your name, you do exactly what I say." "Go on.

I'm listening." "First, wire ten million dollars to my account. Then, sign the company over to me.

As for real estate, you can keep a small condo, but all your other properties must be transferred to my name." Their greed had grown even larger than in my previous life.

I looked at my own reflection in the darkened window, my eyes cold and dead. "And what else, Amber? What else do you want from me?" She turned to consult Jared. He nudged her, whispering urgently, "The cars!

Demand the cars!" "And your cars," Amber parroted. "All of them..." Jared interrupted, his voice hushed but demanding, "We agreed to split it down the middle!

The cars go to you, but the house and the company go under my name!" I watched their frantic calculations, a silent sneer curling inside my chest.

Amber hesitated for a moment, but Jared quickly smoothed it over, coaxing her. "We're getting married anyway, baby. What's mine is yours. Let's just get the assets secured first." Amber turned back to me. "The cars too.

Don't bother keeping them, you won't be able to afford the maintenance anyway. I'm giving you twentyfour hours, Valerie. Have the paperwork ready by tomorrow, or things are going to get very ugly for you." "Ugly? How so, Amber?

Lest you forget, you forced me to sign a parental waiver. Your name has been legally removed from my household registry. In the eyes of the law, you are a stranger to me." She waved her hand dismissively. "Who cares about being your daughter?

I just want the assets." "If you aren't my daughter, what right do you have to demand my life's work? Why should I give you a single cent?" Her face contorted, her voice rising to a screech. "Because it belongs to me!

You should have handed it over years ago! When you die, it's all mine anyway! If you don't want to be utterly ruined online, you'll hand it over.

Trust me, I can make your life a living hell." She leaned in, a malicious grin stretching across her face. "You wouldn't want me to leak the real reason you and Dad divorced, would you?

I know all about your disgusting past, Valerie." I stood up, looking down at her with absolute detachment. "Let's get a DNA test, Amber. I truly doubt you're my flesh and blood.

How can anyone be this vile?" She scoffed, entirely unbothered. "You brought this on yourself by withholding what is rightfully mine. I can ruin you, and I will." I nodded slowly. "Understood.

From this moment on, any remaining shred of affection I held for you is gone. I have no daughter." I turned and walked away. She screamed after me, "You booked this table! Pay the bill!" I kept walking.

People like her didn't deserve a single dime of my money. I stepped into my waiting car and instructed the driver to take me directly to the studio of the city's most influential media outlet. My assistant and investigator were already there waiting.

I was ready for my live interview.