At the entrance to the field, I ran straight into Ms. Collins, the class supervisor.
Her face flickered with panic before she plastered on a fake smile.
“Mrs. Foster, what are you doing here?”
“There’s a closed training session going on. You can’t go in.”
I glared at her, my voice cold.
“Where is my son?”
“He has a heart condition. If anything happens to him today, you’ll pay for it!”
Ms. Collins feigned confusion.
“What are you talking about? I know Emma can’t do strenuous activities—I told him to rest in the nap room.”
She reached for my arm, but I yanked free and kept running.
“Mrs. Foster! You’ll disrupt the other children!”
Her tone sharpened, threatening.
“Think about Emma’s reputation—he still has to make friends here!”
I spun around, all the fear and rage inside me boiling over.
My palm cracked across her face.
“If my son gets hurt, none of you will get away with this!”
Ms. Collins stood frozen, clutching her cheek.
I broke free and rushed toward the crowd gathered near the center of the field, craning my neck to see.
The sight made my blood run cold.
In the middle of the field, a temporary circular pen had been set up.
Inside, a massive Rottweiler was chasing Emma, barking furiously.
My son’s face was ghostly pale, his lips turning blue.
His little legs were stumbling, barely holding him upright.
Sweat soaked his clothes, and his tiny chest heaved as he tried to keep running.
The adults surrounding the pen weren’t stopping it.
They were clapping, laughing, recording videos on their phones—like it was a circus show.
“Run faster, kid! Don’t get caught!”
“Look how brave he is! Mrs. Brown’s method really works!”
“You never know your limits until you push yourself—face your fear!”
Even some kids joined in, chanting:
“Let’s bet how long Emma can last! Whoever wins treats everyone to snacks tomorrow!”
The parents actually started placing bets.
“Ten minutes—$10k!”
“Five minutes—$20k!”
“I say he’ll last until the end—$50k!”
Within seconds, the pot had reached half a million dollars.
Emma’s breathing was ragged, tears and sweat mixing on his face, pure terror in his eyes.
He was on the verge of collapse.
“Emma!!”
I screamed, my voice tearing through the air, and charged forward.
But before I could take two steps, a heavy force slammed into me from behind, knocking me to the ground.
Pain shot up my knee as it hit the hard ground.
When I looked back, I recognized her—Mrs. Brown, the wealthy socialite who had stirred up trouble in the chat group.
Her heavy body pinned me down, her face twisted in a triumphant sneer.
“Why are you running? Let your son train! We’re doing this for his own good!”
