Upon returning home after three weeks away, Anna was overjoyed to be reunited with her son—until she discovered a chilling message in his drawings. Someone had written, “To my new son Leo. With love!” Anna had no idea who this mysterious “mom” was.
I pushed open the front door, my bag sliding off my shoulder to the floor. My body ached with exhaustion, but my heart felt light. After three long weeks of absence, I was finally home.
A happy woman entering her house | Source: Midjourney
“Mom!” Leo’s voice echoed through the house, and a second later, his little feet were thumping on the hardwood floor.
I fell to my knees just in time for his arms to wrap around my neck. I inhaled his familiar scent— soap, crayons, and traces of peanut butter.
“Oh, baby, I missed you so much,” I whispered, hugging him tightly.
A mother hugging her son | Source: Pexels
He walked away, smiling. “I took a lot of pictures! Grandma put them in my bag.”
“That’s wonderful, darling,” I said, brushing her soft curls from her forehead. “I can’t wait to see them.”
I sat in Leo’s room while he played with his stuffed animals. His bag was lying on the floor, half unzipped. I grabbed it, intending to unpack his things.
A child’s backpack in his room | Source: Midjourney
A stack of papers caught my eye. His drawings. I smiled as I pulled them out.
The first was simple—silhouettes of our family, just like he’d always drawn us. I moved on to the next one. A big yellow sun, a blue house, and a crooked tree.
Then I saw a picture of flowers drawn carefully, not with a child’s hand. The caption underneath was written in neat adult handwriting:
A drawing of flowers | Source: Midjourney
“To my new son Leo. With love!”
My breath caught in my throat. A new son?
A tight knot formed in my stomach as I fumbled through the drawings, turning page after page. Then I found another one.
A woman, drawn with simple features. She had long black hair, a red dress, and a smiling face.
A simple drawing of a woman | Source: Midjourney
Below, in shaky but legible letters, was a single word.
“Mom”.
“Leo,” I said, my voice calm but tight. “Come here, darling.”
He jumped onto the bed next to me. His little hands grabbed his favorite stuffed dinosaur, clutching it to his chest.
A boy holding a stuffed dinosaur | Source: Midjourney
“Tell me about these photos,” I said, holding out the one with the flowers. “Who gave these to you?”
He shrugged. “Grandma.”
“Did she draw it?”
“No.” He shook his head, playing with the dinosaur’s tail.
A woman talking to her son in his room | Source: Midjourney
“So who did it?”
Leo looked up at me, his bright blue eyes filled with innocence. “Mom.”
I swallowed hard. “Mom?”
He nodded. “Grandma told me I have two moms now. Dad has a new wife.”
I let out a whisper. “What?”
A shocked woman covering her mouth with her hand | Source: Pexels
Leo swung his legs back and forth. “Grandma said that since you were gone for a long time, Dad took a new wife. And she’s my mom too.”
A heavy silence filled the room. My ears were ringing. My chest felt like it was being crushed.
This couldn’t be true. It must be a mistake.
“Leo, honey,” I said, forcing my voice to remain neutral. “Have you met this new mom?”
A serious woman sitting in her son’s room | Source: Midjourney
He shook his head. “No. But Grandma told me she already loved me. She gave me these drawings so I wouldn’t be sad.”
I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. My mind was racing.
Had Mark been unfaithful? Had he found someone else while I was gone? I clutched the drawings in my trembling hands and waited.
A worried woman | Source: Pexels
After a few hours, the front door opened and Mark walked in, throwing his keys on the hall table. He looked exhausted and ran a hand through his dark hair.
“Hi,” he said, taking off his shoes. “How was your day?”
I didn’t hesitate. The words came out before I could stop them.
A couple arguing | Source: Pexels
“Are you dating someone?” My voice was trembling, but I kept my gaze fixed on his. “Please, tell me the truth!”
Mark froze, his eyebrows furrowed. “What?”
I took the drawings in my hands and took another step. Leo came home with them. My voice was rising now, fear and anger boiling over. “And he told me something crazy. He said your mom told him you had a new wife. That he has two moms now.”
A woman talking to her annoyed husband | Source: Pexels
Mark’s face went pale. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
I pushed the drawings toward him. “Who wrote this? Who told my son I was being replaced?”
Mark’s eyes flickered between me and the paper. “Anna, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have anyone else.”
A man arguing with his wife | Source: Pexels
“Then explain this to me!” I snapped. “Explain to me why Leo thinks you’ve moved on! Why Margaret—your mother—told him you’d remarried!”
He inhaled sharply and ran a hand over his face. “I—I didn’t want to talk about this yet, but I have to now.”
I crossed my arms, waiting.
A couple standing with their hands crossed | Source: Pexels
Mark hesitated, then finally mumbled, “I saw a doctor.” He swallowed hard. “For months. I have a problem. A men’s health problem. I… I couldn’t physically be with anyone else, even if I wanted to.”
I stared at him. “What?”
A woman talking to her tired husband on their couch | Source: Pexels
“I was diagnosed two months ago,” he said calmly. “It’s treatable, but it’s going to take time. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want you to worry.”
A wave of emotions washed over me—relief, guilt, confusion.
He took out his phone, tapped a few times, and handed it to me. A thread of messages with his doctor, with prescriptions and appointment dates.
A serious woman with a phone in her hands | Source: Pexels
It was true.
My knees nearly buckled as I sank into the couch.
“Mark, I…” I pressed a hand to my forehead. “I thought you…”
“I know,” he said softly. “And I’m really sorry you had to think that.”
Silence stretched between us. Then my anger took another direction.
A serious and thoughtful woman | Source: Pexels
It wasn’t about Mark at all. It was about Margaret.
She had lied to my son. She had made him believe something terrible. Now I needed proof.
The next morning, I sat across from Margaret at her kitchen table. She was sipping her tea, pretending nothing had happened.
“How is Leo?” she asked me kindly.
A woman drinking tea | Source: Pexels
I forced a smile. “He misses you, of course. He’s talked about you a lot.”
Margaret’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. “He’s such a nice boy.”
I rummaged in my bag and pulled out a notepad and pen. “Oh, by the way, I was at the store earlier and I couldn’t remember if you still use that special tea. Can you write it down for me? I’ll get some next time.”
A woman writing on a notepad | Source: Pexels
She didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the pen and scribbled down a brand name and a few other details.
“Thank you,” I said, slipping the paper into my bag.
Later that evening, I took out the note and compared it to the writing on Leo’s drawings.
The handwriting was identical. Margaret had written them. I had the proof I needed.
A woman looks at a drawing | Source: Midjourney
Mark came in from the kitchen, his face still tired from our conversation the day before. I took a deep breath and held up the papers.
“She wrote them,” I said.
Mark frowned and moved closer. “What?”
A serious man with crossed hands | Source: Pexels
I handed her the note Margaret had written earlier that day and placed Leo’s drawings next to it. “Look at the handwriting. It matches perfectly.”
He scanned the papers, his jaw tightening. A muscle in his cheek twitched as his eyes scanned the words over and over again.
Then, without a word, he took out his phone and dialed a number.
A serious man on the phone | Source: Pexels
I watched him pace the room, his white fingers around the phone.
“Mom,” he said abruptly when she answered. “What did you do?”
I could hear Margaret’s voice on the other end of the line, her usual sweet, innocent tone. “Mark? What are you talking about?”
A smiling woman talking on the phone | Source: Pexels
Mark didn’t believe it. “Don’t be silly. I have proof. You wrote those messages to Leo. You lied to him. You made him think I had a new wife!”
A long silence. Then Margaret snickered. “I don’t know what that woman is telling you, but…”
“That’s enough!” Mark’s voice echoed through the room. “I saw it with my own eyes, Mom! You tried to turn my son against his own mother!”
An angry man talking on the phone | Source: Pexels
Margaret’s voice hardened. “I did what had to be done.”
My stomach collapsed.
Mark clenched his jaw. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” she snapped, “that Anna isn’t the right woman for you. She’s made you weak. You’re blind to your own potential. I just helped you see that you deserve better!”
Angry woman on the phone | Source: Pexels
Mark’s face twisted in shock. “You tried to destroy my family,” he said through gritted teeth. “Do you even realize what you’ve done? And you used my son—your grandson—for your twisted little game.”
Margaret snickered again. “You’ll thank me one day.”
“No,” Mark said coldly. “I won’t.”
A serious man talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
He ended the call without another word.
He stood there, his shoulders rising and falling with each heavy breath. Then he turned to me, his expression pained. “I can’t believe this.”
I swallowed. “I can.”
He nodded slowly, then sat down next to me, staring at the drawings still spread out on the table.
A serious man looking at drawings | Source: Midjourney
“She crossed a line,” he said. “And I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive her for it.”
From that moment on, everything changed.
Mark significantly reduced contact with his mother. He didn’t completely block her, but he no longer returned her calls immediately, and visits became rare.
As for me, I completely cut ties with her.
An angry woman in a red sweater | Source: Pexels
Still, I felt relieved. My marriage was intact. Mark had supported me. And now I knew who I could truly trust.
Leo would grow up in a home free from manipulation, surrounded by love. That was all that mattered.
A boy hugging his mother | Source: Pexels
If you liked this story, you might like this one : Our 22nd wedding anniversary should have been a night of celebration, but an offhand remark from my sister-in-law ruined everything. The truth about my husband’s betrayal was unexpectedly revealed, and what left me speechless was finding out who he was cheating on me with.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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