My husband could barely get the words out between gasps.
Terrified something would happen to him, I grabbed my phone and called Summer.
Four calls. Five. Not a single one answered.
Meanwhile, his phone kept buzzing nonstop with hateful messages and harassing calls.
He snatched the vase off the table and smashed it down onto the phone. The moment the porcelain shattered, he collapsed.
I dialed 911 and got him to the hospital.
With no way to reach Summer, I had to ask my sister to watch our granddaughter for now.
At the hospital, the doctor said his blood pressure had spiked dangerously from the stress. He needed emergency surgery.
I tried calling Summer again. The line was dead. She had blocked me.
I went to send her a message and saw she'd just posted on social media.
A photo of a bowl of plain noodles. The caption read: "My mother-in-law made these for me with her own hands. She loves me ten thousand times more than my real mom ever did."
I stared at that post, sitting outside the operating room, and the tears came. I couldn't stop them.
The surgery lasted until three in the morning. The doctor said it was a success. A few days of observation and he could go home to rest.
I didn't sleep at all. Not until my husband opened his eyes the next morning.
He saw my bloodshot eyes, and pain flickered across his face.
"Where's Summer? Didn't you call her to come help you?"
I turned my head away and said nothing.
The entire night, Summer hadn't made a single call. Hadn't sent a single message.
My husband studied my expression and seemed to piece it together on his own.
"That ungrateful wretch."
I pressed my hand gently against his chest.
"The doctor said you can't get worked up right now. Please, don't."
He let out a long breath. "Tell me something. Should we have never taken her in?"
I turned to pour him a glass of water.
"She... wasn't like this when she was little."
He took the glass and scoffed.
"That's because when she was little, we hadn't gotten in the way of anything she wanted yet."
"Now she's married. In her mind, she drew the line between us a long time ago. All she cares about is Desmond and his family."
He took a sip of water and paused.
"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all."
That last sentence hit me like a blade between the ribs. I knew what he meant.
Just then, Summer's name lit up on my phone. I glanced at my husband.
He turned his face away, but I knew. Somewhere beneath the anger, he was still hoping.
"Hello? Summer, are you at the hospital? Your father just woke up, he—"
She cut me off before I could finish.
"Enough, Mom. You two can drop the act."
"I already told you. Unless you transfer the shares to me and Desmond, don't even think about me deleting that video."
"It's already past ten million views, by the way. Your call."
The small smile that had started to form on my lips dissolved.
"Also, why has Dad's phone been off? Desmond needs his expenses reimbursed and the finance department says they can't sign off without Dad's approval."
"Tell him to call them and sort it out."
She hung up.
I held the phone in my hand, staring at the screen. Nothing left in my eyes but a hollow, bottomless disappointment.
My husband watched me sit in silence for a long time before he finally asked.
"Is she coming?"
I shook my head.
"No. She said to tell you to call the finance department so Desmond can get reimbursed."
"She didn't ask about me?"
"She said we were faking it. That the whole thing was just a trick to make her delete the video."
My husband closed his eyes. When he opened them, something had settled there, quiet and final. He took my phone, scrolled through the contacts, and dialed a number.
"Frank Hull. Those documents I asked you to prepare. Bring them to the hospital."
Summer sat on the couch and spat in disgust, her eyes full of impatience.
"Stubborn old fools. Really pulling out all the stops. Let's see how long you can keep this up."
"Summer, didn't you say yesterday you'd buy me some new clothes? When are we going?"
Her mother-in-law wandered out of the bedroom.
Summer's face instantly rearranged into a bright smile.
"Mom, let's go right now. We'll pick up a couple things for Dad too. My parents have more money than they know what to do with. Might as well spend it."
By the time they finished shopping and got home, it was already evening. That was when Desmond called.
"Hello? What's up?"
"That video your parents posted. Is it true? The whole company's losing its mind over it."
Summer frowned, confused.
"What video?"
"See for yourself."
After hanging up, Desmond sent her a link.
Summer tapped it open. In the video, my husband and I sat side by side on a hospital bed.
"Hello, everyone. We're the parents from the viral video about favoritism toward a younger brother."
"Since that video blew up, the two of us have been subjected to an enormous amount of undeserved hatred and abuse."
"So we'd like to set the record straight."
"First of all, we don't have a son. We only have one daughter: Summer."
"And neither of us is capable of having biological children. Summer was adopted. We brought her home from an orphanage thirty years ago."
