It had been twenty years since my husband left. Twenty years of scraped-together meals, late-night shifts, and those weeks when I’d count down to payday like it was some sort of lifeline.

I should’ve been used to the constant balancing act of being a single mother, but it still felt like I was one misstep from everything crashing down.

Jake was my life, though. No matter how hard things got, my bright-eyed, creative son was the reason I kept going. But there was a problem, a big one.

At twenty-five, Jake still hadn’t found his footing.

He had no job and no income. His art was everything to him, but it wasn’t enough to pay the bills. And trust me, there were so many bills. The financial pressure got worse when someone broke in and stole all my savings from my lockbox.

“Mom, you just have to trust me. I’ll figure out who stole your money. It’s all gonna work out,” Jake had said last week after my house was broken into.

But his voice had been too calm. Maybe I was too used to things going wrong. Still, the pit in my stomach only grew as I thought about that night. All the cash I’d saved for years, gone in an instant.

Then came the day when everything changed. Jake had gone out, probably off working on some new project that wouldn’t pay a dime.

I was at the corner store when I saw the shiny, red sports car gleaming in the sun. It screamed money. Flashy, expensive, and out of place in our neighborhood. I was about to climb into my beaten-up sedan when a familiar figure caught my eye: Jake.

He walked over to the sports car and climbed into the driver’s seat. My jaw dropped.

My mind raced with possibilities as I headed home, each more impossible than the last. When I got inside, Jake was leaning against the kitchen counter, twirling the keys to the sports car parked in my driveway like they were nothing.

“Where did you get that car?” I demanded, barely able to keep my voice steady.

He glanced up, shrugging. “Oh, that? It’s nothing, Mom. I’ve got a new job.”

“A job?” I scoffed, crossing my arms. “Doing what? You’ve never held down a job in your life, Jake.”

Jake rolled his eyes, pushing past me to grab a soda from the fridge. “I’m not doing some minimum-wage labor if that’s what you’re asking. It’s legit.”

“Legit?” I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up.

His jaw tightened. “I’m not stealing, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Oh, really? So where did you get the money for the car then? Or do you expect me to believe you just… stumbled into it?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” he snapped. “You wouldn’t get it anyway.”

My chest constricted. There was no way around it now. The horrible suspicion that had been gnawing at me since the robbery suddenly had teeth.

“You didn’t… take my money, did you?”

He turned on me so fast. “How could you even ask me that? I can’t believe you’d think that of me. I’ve done nothing but try to make things better, and this is what I get?”

Without another word, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

I didn’t want to believe my son was a thief but I needed answers. I grabbed my keys and followed him. If he was up to something, I had to know.

His new car was easy to tail. I followed him across town to some high-end beauty salon. My eyes narrowed as I watched him step out and wait by the curb. And then, she appeared.

A woman, older than Jake, maybe in her mid-forties, stepped out of the salon. I watched, frozen, as she wrapped her arms around Jake and kissed him. It wasn’t just a quick peck either. This was… intimate.

My throat tightened as I sank lower in my seat. Who was this woman? And what the hell was Jake doing with her?

When they pulled away and got into the car together, I decided to keep following. They drove to the outskirts of town, where the houses turned into mansions. My stomach churned as Jake’s car pulled into the driveway of a sprawling estate.

My heart raced. This wasn’t just strange — it was wrong. Everything in me screamed that I had to stop this.

I didn’t wait for a second thought. I was out of the car and at the front door, pounding on it so hard I thought it might crack.

The door swung open, and there she was: the woman from the salon. Jake appeared behind her, his face immediately paling when he saw me.

“Mom?”

“Oh, you bet it’s your mom,” I spat. “What the hell is going on, Jake?”

The woman’s smile never faltered. “You must be Karen. Jake’s told me so much about you.”

“And you are?” I snapped, not bothering to hide the venom in my voice.

She extended her hand as though this was all perfectly normal. “Lydia. Jake’s girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” I nearly choked on the word. “What is going on here, Jake? How long has this been happening?”

“Three months,” Jake muttered, not meeting my eyes. “Mom, please, just calm down.”

Calm down? Was he kidding me?

“Calm down?” I repeated. “My house gets broken into, you show up in a sports car, and now I find out you’ve been shacked up with some rich woman for months?”

Lydia’s smile faltered a bit. “Karen, I think you’re misunderstanding—”

“No, I understand perfectly,” I said, eyes narrowing at Jake. “You’re using her. For her money, for this lifestyle. And that car — was that part of the deal too? Is this what you’ve been doing, Jake?”

Jake’s face darkened.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like?” I shot back. “Because I can’t see anything else.”

Jake’s eyes flashed with anger, but behind it, I saw something else: hurt.

“I love Lydia, Mom,” he said. “Even if you find that hard to believe. I’m not going to argue with you about my relationship. We’ll speak later.”

And with that, he shut the door in my face.

When Jake came home later, I was sitting in the dark, waiting. I didn’t turn the light on when he walked in.

“Mom, we need to talk,” he said quietly. He wasn’t angry anymore. Instead, he just sounded tired.

I took a deep breath. “You’re right. We do.”

He sat across from me, rubbing his hands together like he was trying to find the words. I didn’t make it easier for him.

“Lydia isn’t just some rich woman I’m using,” he said softly. “She’s been helping me. You know how hard I’ve worked on my art, but no one ever took me seriously. Except her. She pushed me to show my work and introduced me to people in the industry who saw what I could do.”

I blinked at him, the weight of his words slowly sinking in. “Jake…”

“I know I should’ve told you about her earlier, but I was scared,” he admitted, his voice cracking a little.

“You’ve been through so much, and I didn’t want you to think I was doing something shady. Lydia’s helped me get my first real exhibition. I’ve already sold enough to pay off your debts, Mom. All of it.”

I stared at him, unable to speak for a moment. “You… what?“

“The money and the car didn’t come from anything illegal. It was from my art. Lydia helped me organize everything, and the exhibition is in two days. I’ve worked so hard for this, and I wanted to surprise you.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” I whispered.

Jake looked at me, and for the first time in a long while, I saw my little boy who always had big dreams, even when they seemed impossible.

Two days later, I walked into a gallery filled with people admiring Jake’s work. My son, who’d spent so many years lost in his art, was finally being seen for the talent he was.

During the event, Jake stood up to give a speech.

“Thank you all for coming. This night means everything to me. But I have to say, none of this would’ve happened without my mom. She’s the reason I kept going, even when things got tough. So, Mom, this is all for you.”

Jake smiled at me from the stage, and then, to my absolute shock, he held up the keys to the car. “I wanted to give you something to make life a little easier. You’ve earned it. Thank you, Mom.”