A Son Appeared on My Records; I Made the Forger Regret It

Single and past the age everyone thinks a woman should be married, I went to the records office to update my household file and discovered I had a son.

A little quiet digging told me who did it. My cousin.

She'd had her own son pose as mine so she could use my address in the district and get him into the best elementary school in town. And it worked. He got in.

When I confronted her about it.

She just shrugged and said, "Letitia Fox, it's not like you're ever getting married anyway. That school slot was just sitting there doing nothing."

But later.

She was on her knees, crying, begging me to forgive her.

1.

When the clerk handed my household records back to me.

I froze.

There was an extra page.

Name: Justin Smith. Male. Six years old.

Relationship to head of household: mother and son.

I didn't even have a boyfriend, and somehow I had a son.

The clerk noticed my face and asked what was wrong.

"There's been a mistake. I've never been married. Where would I get a son?"

"So you're saying this is our fault?" The clerk's face turned mocking. She pulled out a file and tossed it across to me. "See for yourself."

I took it, confused.

Then my eyes landed on the page, and everything in me went still.

It was the paperwork for registering the boy.

A medical birth certificate. Photocopies of my ID and my household records.

And a birth-out-of-wedlock statement, with my signature and my thumbprint on it.

"Once a child is born, you're responsible for that child. Anything less is one more thing you did wrong."

The clerk's face was stern, her tone all lecture.

Heat rushed into my face.

"No! None of this happened! I don't know anything about this. Who did this? I want it investigated!"

Now it was the clerk's turn to look shocked.

"What, you didn't submit these documents yourself?"

"Absolutely not, I swear. I don't know anything about it."

The clerk's expression sobered.

"It's been too long. The security footage from back then is already gone. If someone really tampered with this, you can go to the police."

The police?

Right. I should go to the police.

But there was no rush.

Better to get the whole picture first.

Back home, I posted a message in the family group chat.

"Does anyone know the name Justin Smith?"

A reply came fast.

It was my cousin, Miriam Estes.

"Oh, sweetie, Justin's our son."

Our son?

Before I could even wrap my head around it, she called.

"Cousin, you're home, right? Wait there. I'm coming over right now to explain."

She showed up fast, a bag in her hand.

Grinning ear to ear.

"Last year a fortune teller said my boy should have a godmother, so I had someone check the birth charts, and you came out the best match. I settled it on the spot."

"I meant to tell you back then, but things got busy and it slipped my mind."

"I knew you wouldn't mind being Justin's godmother. Justin's smart and quick, you know. Plenty of people would kill for the chance to be his godmother."

She pulled a piece of clothing out of the bag.

"I bought this for Justin's godmother ages ago and just never got around to dropping it off. Take it now. Letitia, from now on you're Justin's godmother, and we're one family."

My head buzzed with rage.

Somehow I'd been made a godmother without knowing a thing about it.

And from her tone, I was supposed to feel honored.

My chest heaved.

I spoke through the anger.

"You're the one who put Justin Smith on my household records, aren't you?"

"And that birth-out-of-wedlock statement, that was you too, wasn't it?"

She smiled.

"Letitia, don't blow up yet. Hear me out first. Once you do, you won't be angry at all. You'll thank me."

"Fine. Go ahead. I'm listening."

I forced the anger down.

"Justin's about to start elementary school, right? Lincoln Elementary is the best school in the city, and this place you live in is one of the only homes in the district. The slot was just sitting there, so I thought I'd let our son use it."

"You wouldn't have any objection, because you're Justin Smith's godmother, and a godmother helping her own son get into the best school is only right."

"And when Justin makes something of himself someday, could he ever forget his godmother? Of course not. He'll take good care of you."

My face went white with fury.

The most shameless thing imaginable, out of her mouth, became a duty I owed.

Then something came back to me.

Six months ago, this cousin who never contacted me suddenly showed up at my door selling insurance.

The amount was small, and I didn't want to seem rude, so I signed my name on the agreement.

She asked to borrow my household records book and my ID to make copies, said she needed them for the paperwork.

I didn't think twice. I handed them over.

Only now do I understand. She'd used them to commit forgery.

I was shaking with rage.

I wanted to tear her apart and could barely stop myself.

Just as I was about to, I caught a flicker of cunning in her eyes.

Something clicked in my head, and I forced myself to hold back.

For her to pull something like this, she must have been planning it for a long time, doing all her homework.

Did she really take me for a fool?

Of course not.

She knew perfectly well that a cheap trick like making me a godmother wouldn't fool me, and she'd done it anyway.

Which meant she'd already set a trap for me.

Yes, a trap.

A woman who could forge a birth-out-of-wedlock statement was capable of anything.

Maybe what she wanted was exactly this, for me to fight her tooth and nail.

I worked to steady my breathing.

"Miriam, I'm not even married, and you went and made me a birth-out-of-wedlock statement. Do you really think that's okay?"

"What's wrong with it? It's all for Justin's schooling, and nobody outside will ever know."

"And what if someone does find out? What if word gets around? Did you ever once think about what that would do to me?"

The words came out before she could stop them. "It's not like you'll ever get married anyway, so what does it matter?"

Realizing what she'd let slip, she rushed to backpedal.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I mean this will never get out. Nobody will ever know, I promise."

It's not like I'll ever get married anyway?

I watched her eyes suddenly slide away from mine.

My stomach dropped.

These past two years I'd dated several men, and every time things were almost serious, they'd suddenly blocked me.

When I asked why.

They almost all said the same thing. "I never imagined you were that kind of woman."

Push any harder and they'd just stop answering.

I'd been confused all this time. Now it was starting to make sense.

It had to have something to do with this woman.

Let me take a wild guess.

She was afraid that once I found someone, registering the marriage would mean using my household records, and her filthy little scheme would come to light.

So she deliberately wrecked my relationships.

Could anyone really be that vile? I had to confirm it, and soon.

But right now I needed to keep her calm.

I drew a slow breath and said it on purpose.

"Actually, Justin's a smart kid. I like him a lot."

The moment she heard it, her face lit up.

"See? I knew I picked the right godmother."

She immediately posted my words, word for word, to the family group chat.

And made her solemn announcement.

From today on, Letitia is Justin's godmother.

Letitia says she'll treat Justin as her own son, and that she'd make any sacrifice for him.

A neat way to pull the rug out from under me, leaving me no room to turn things around.

Having finally worn me down, my cousin left with a look of triumph on her face, head held high.

I picked up the clothes she'd brought and gave them a glance.

Cheap fabric, a fake logo printed on it.

I tossed them straight into the trash.

Only someone who'd made a habit of faking everything could hand clothes like that to me and keep her face so composed.

I sent a message to Kent Head, the last boyfriend I'd broken up with.

Let's meet. Something urgent's come up and I need you.

I had a feeling he'd come, because his face had been so pained when he said that last thing to me, and there'd been that reluctance in it.

Sure enough, he showed up.

The moment we met, I got straight to the point.

Did someone tell you I was a loose woman?

Kent hesitated.

Yes.

I took out a photo of my cousin.

Was it her?

Kent froze, then nodded.

It was.

My guess was confirmed, and my breath stopped cold.

Kent was an accomplished corporate executive, not a man easily fooled, yet he'd still believed her. She must have given him fake photos and videos convincing enough to pass for real.

Through Kent, my suspicion was confirmed again.

I felt like I was about to explode.

Every relationship I'd ever had, every one of them, just as it was about to work out, had been destroyed by my cousin this exact same way.

And I'd been kept completely in the dark.

How could a person be this rotten!!

Report her to the police?

No!

That would let her off too easy.

I wanted her to learn what it meant to be paid back in her own coin.

I made the call.

Miriam, what day is Justin's first-day celebration?

September first. That's the first day of school for every elementary in the city.

As his godmother, I absolutely have to be there. And honestly, I think every relative should come, everyone should witness it. Lincoln Elementary is the best elementary in the city, after all. Getting into that school is such a point of pride.

Oh, you're so right. That's exactly what I was thinking.

On the other end, my cousin was thrilled.

The celebration's a week away. I'll post the announcement in the family group chat right now.

The moment I hung up, I took the household records straight to the admissions office at Lincoln Elementary.

I found the person in charge.

Justin Smith is my son. I want to transfer his enrollment out of your school.

She looked at me, baffled.

Are you serious? So many kids can't get into this school no matter how hard they try, and you want to pull him out?

That's my own business. You don't need to worry about it.

Oh, I get it. You're moving abroad, right?

Abroad?

Yes, it has to be a job overseas, and your son's going with you. It happens.

Let's just say that's it.

I gave a faint smile.

I knew it.

She canceled Justin Smith's enrollment without any fuss.

I left Lincoln Elementary and took Justin's file straight to Franklin Elementary.

Faculty, facilities, teaching environment, Franklin Elementary ranked dead last among every elementary in the city, the worst school in everyone's mind.

Every year Franklin struggled to fill its classes, so transferring Justin's enrollment there was easy.

Meanwhile.

My cousin made a big production of it in the family group chat.

On September first, Justin Smith reports to Lincoln Elementary, the best school in the whole city. This is an honor for our family. Everyone has to come to the first-day celebration!

The replies came pouring in.

The pride of the family, absolutely.

Congrats, Justin.

Justin's amazing.

And everyone was surprised too.

Miriam, you're incredible. How did you get your son into Lincoln Elementary?

Right, Lincoln takes so few kids every year, getting in is harder than climbing to the sky. What'd you do?

Miriam, you've really got the touch.

My cousin replied without a shred of shame Where there's a will, there's a way. Hehe.

Where there's a will, there's a way, huh.

I smiled coldly to myself. Any minute now, you'll be crying.

The day of the celebration came quickly.

Since there were so many relatives, my cousin suggested renting a big bus to make it feel more like an occasion.

I said Isn't that making a bit too much of a spectacle? You don't want a mess you can't clean up later.

She couldn't hear the double meaning in that at all.

She insisted.

A spectacle is exactly what I want. This is my glory, and even more, the glory of the whole family.

And so it went.

Everyone piled onto a luxury bus.

The whole grand procession rolled up to the gate of Lincoln Elementary.

Only to be stopped by a security guard.

Stop! What are you people here for?