On My Promotion Day I Took Mom to Doctor, She Framed Me

The day the company announced I was about to be promoted to lead the new project, my mother had a sudden heart attack, and in a panic I rushed her to the hospital.

By the time we got there she was already better. She handed me a bottle of water and said that without me, she might not have made it today.

I didn't think twice. I unscrewed the cap, took a mouthful, and spat it right back out.

Because it wasn't water. It was liquor.

I was about to ask why she'd handed me a bottle of liquor when the next moment I watched her pull out her phone and call it in.

Officer, I want to report a crime. My daughter drove me to the hospital drunk. To keep her from making a bigger mistake, I have no choice but to turn my own child in!

I stared at her, disbelief written all over my face.

I had never imagined she could do something like this to me.

Ava Dickerson, I'm sorry. Your Uncle Lance said Nora needs this position. You're capable anyway. You'll find a better one down the road!

I looked at her, my eyes full of disappointment. For the sake of her precious favorite daughter, she was actually doing this to me.

Later, after I got out, I ran and I never looked back. Even if she got down on her knees and begged me, I would never go back.

Mom, I'm your own daughter!

I looked at her, a tremor in my voice.

She only stared back with cold eyes, a chill in her tone. Ava, I raised you to know better!

You have to learn to give way!

I told you long ago that Nora needs this position more!

But you wouldn't listen. You insisted on fighting Nora for it!

So now this is all I can do!

I listened to her and laughed in spite of myself.

I knew exactly what Nora was capable of.

Which was nothing.

And back then, if my mother hadn't forced me to hire Nora, she never would have gotten onto our project team at all.

Yet now, for Nora's sake, she was throwing me away.

Mom, do you have any idea? One phone call from you, and I don't just go to jail, I could lose my job too!

And once I'm out, I might never work in this field again for the rest of my life!

I looked at her and said it plainly.

Hearing me, she came right back. Your Uncle Lance already explained it to me!

You'll be held for a few days at most. What could possibly happen?

I just want you in there for a few days. Once the project's done, you'll be out!

Don't worry, your Uncle Lance told me. After you're out, Nora will be the project lead, and by then you can still go back to work at the company!

The moment she said that, I gave up completely.

I knew that the woman in front of me didn't believe a single word I said.

Yet she swallowed everything Lance told her without question.

If that was how it was, what was left for me to argue?

All I could do was wait for the police to come and explain it to them.

Ava, don't make me say it!

Seeing me stay silent, she frowned and went on. If you knew how to give way and let Nora be the project lead!

Would your mother ever have had to do any of this?

Nora calls you big sister. How could you snatch a position away from your little sister?

When she said that, I laughed.

Mom, a project goes to the one with the ability, not to whoever pulls these kinds of tricks!

And besides, do you really think that with me framed and locked up, Nora could actually run the project department?

Her mother's brows drew together, and only then did she speak. "Nora already told me everything!"

"You schemed, you pulled every trick, and that's how you got yourself named project lead!"

"With you out of the way, the project would go to Nora, no question!"

Listening to her, I laughed, furious.

I looked at her, and all that was left in my eyes was disappointment.

I had never imagined this was how my mother saw me.

In her eyes, I was the kind of person who clawed her way up by playing dirty.

And the one who had coaxed her into destroying her own daughter, that one she believed without a shred of doubt.

"Mom, this is a setup!"

I looked at her, my eyes full of disappointment. "I'm your daughter!"

"And yet, for the sake of someone else, you'd frame me!"

I looked at her, and nothing was left but disappointment and cold distance.

The mother who, just days ago, had lovingly promised to cook something nice for me was now, for Nora Gilbert's sake, ready to send me away.

And in that moment, I understood. A few days ago, I'd eaten the food my mother made me, and my stomach had ached.

So there had been something in that food.

If I hadn't taken medicine and pushed through the early work half-sick, I might never have landed the project at all.

But now I had it, and it made no difference.

"Ava, how many times have I told you?"

At my words, her expression only grew angrier. "If you'd just handed over the position, I wouldn't have had to do any of this!"

"Don't worry. You'll be in there a week, and after that week I'll come get you out!"

"During that week, Nora will take over your work!"

"Nora already said it herself. Even after she takes over your work, you'll still have a share in this project!"

"She's far more sensible than you'll ever be!"

Listening to her, all I had left was disappointment.

I was plainly better than Nora Gilbert, yet in my mother's eyes I fell short of her.

And she actually thought the company would still take me back, with a record hanging over me.

Just as I was about to argue with her, several officers arrived, moving fast.

The moment she saw them, she called out loudly, "Officers, we're over here!"

"Officers, this is my daughter!"

"I wasn't feeling well today, so my daughter drove me to the hospital even though she'd been drinking!"

"But I know drunk driving is against the law!"

"My daughter meant well, but I still have to report her!"

"She needs to learn a lesson!"

When she finished, the officers all froze.

None of them had expected a mother to say something like that.

After all, I'd gotten behind the wheel for her sake.

Still, they didn't press for more. They came straight over to me.

In their hands was a breathalyzer.

"Ms. Dickerson, please cooperate."

I nodded helplessly and blew into the device.

The next instant, the light on it flashed red.

I stared at that red light, and nothing was left in me but despair.

"Officers, it's not like that at all!"

"My mother is framing me!"

"I didn't drink. It's just that once we got here, she handed me a bottle of water and told me to drink, so I took one sip!"

I pointed at the water bottle beside us. "Look, the bottle's still right here!"

The words had barely left me when my mother cried out, beside herself, "Ava, how can you lie like this?"

My mother's voice was loud, loud enough to pull in the people around us. In that moment, plenty of them turned to look at the two of us.

Ava, you're the one who drank, you drove drunk, and now you want to pin it on me!

Seeing so many eyes on me, her voice climbed even higher.

There was more nerve behind it when she said that.

People all around me were pointing and muttering, and watching it happen, my heart sank right along with them.

I knew I had no proof.

So in the end, I was taken in.

At the police station, my mother was still watching me. Ava, don't go blaming me for this!

It's your own mistake, so you have to take responsibility for it!

I heard her out with a cold face.

There was nothing left in my eyes but despair.

The person I was now couldn't stand to listen to another word from her.

I knew that from the moment she made that phone call, the two of us could never go back to the way we'd been.

Before I could get a word out, two people came in through the door.

Lance Gilbert and Nora Gilbert.

The second Lance saw my mother, he went straight over and gripped her hand, and at the same time he looked at me. Ava, don't take this the wrong way, but Uncle Lance has to say it!

You've always had it out for Nora. I never imagined your temper could be this vicious!

Drunk driving, on top of that!

Listening to that, I let out a cold laugh and said nothing.

I knew there was no point saying anything to a hypocrite like him.

He was the one who'd sweet-talked my mother into framing me, and he could still stand there and say something that shameless like he had every right.

Nora, off to the side, looked at me. Ava, I've already called the company!

The boss says he'll come in tomorrow morning and announce your punishment at the meeting!

That project of yours, there's no way you can keep it now!

But don't you worry, I'll be sure to manage it well for you!

There was a smugness in her voice when she said it.

I only looked at Nora coldly, then turned my head toward the few officers beside me.

I'd long since stopped holding out any hope for the three of them.

As far as I was concerned, these three had come here to ruin me, plain and simple.

Officers, I really didn't drive drunk. My mother made me drink a bottle!

I said it fast.

I told them the whole thing.

At the same time I turned to look at my mother, still foolishly hoping some part of her conscience might stir.

Only to find her giving me one cold glance.

Then she took Lance's hand, her eyes full of smiles. Nora is so capable, she'll manage all of it just fine!

It's Ava who gives me such headaches!

Watching what my mother did, in that moment, my heart went dead.

I turned my head, glanced at the two officers in front of me, and gave a bitter smile.

Clearly they hadn't expected a mother to treat me like this either.

There was a trace of pity in the way they looked at me now.

For them, by this point, they'd actually seen through some of it.

But no matter what, I had no proof.

So in the end, I was still detained.

Only, as I was being taken in, my mother watched me, her eyes full of smiles. Ava, you just sit tight in there. A week from now, Mom will come get you out!

Don't worry, when the time comes, Mom will cook you a whole table of your favorite dishes!

I didn't answer my mother. I only gave the three of them a cold look, turned, and walked straight into holding.

I knew that from that day on, the mother who had loved me was long gone.

And I would have to face all of it alone.

What she didn't know was that while I was in holding, I'd already requested a phone call, and that call, of course, went to my father.

After I told him where I was and what had happened, he said right away that he would come back immediately.

"Ava, I'm so sorry."

"Back when your mother and I divorced, she promised she'd take good care of you. That's the only reason I left."

"I never imagined she'd treat you like this."

His words came fast down the line.

He told me he would come get me the moment he could.

"Dad, I don't even have a job anymore."

I said it into the phone.

When he heard that, he told me not to worry.

He told me that over the years he'd built a company, and everything he had was mine.

"Ava, the truth is, I reached out to your mother a few years ago."

"She told me back then that you were doing well, and asked me not to disturb you."

"But every month, I sent your mother money."

At that, I froze.

My mother had never told me any of this.

In that moment, I just stood there, stunned.

"Sweetheart, don't worry. I'm coming home right now."

With that, he hung up.

And once the call ended, I finally felt calmer.

It was only a week of administrative detention, so all I had to do was sit quietly in holding for a week.

What I didn't expect was that the very next day, I'd see my boss.

He came to holding, and he brought a termination agreement.

"Ava, the company has no choice. You made a mistake, so you have to be let go."

"As for all the results you brought in before, those are voided too."

I nodded and said, "Understood, sir."

I knew this was Nora and my boss's doing.

I'd closed the deal, and the company was supposed to give me a decent share. Now that I was the one at fault, there was no chance they'd pay me a single commission.

He'd saved himself a large sum.

And Nora had walked away with the project lead position.

I said nothing more and signed the agreement.

Then I went back into holding.

Over the next few days, my mother came to see me almost every day, but I refused to see her every time.

As for her, I was done. Completely.

My father arrived at holding on the third day. He told me he'd be waiting outside, and the moment I was released, he'd take me away.

I gladly accepted.

Finally, on the day I got out, my father was there to take me the moment I walked free.

I brought him straight home, packed everything up, and left with him.

At the airport, I opened my phone and happened to see it on the screen: my mother having a meal with Nora and Lance.

I smiled and gave the post a like.

When it came to my mother, I couldn't be bothered anymore.

But I hadn't expected that the moment I liked her post, her call came through.

"Ava, you're out?"

"I'm having lunch with your Uncle Lance. Go home and think about what you've done. I've already spoken to Nora. She'll arrange for you to come back to work at the company."

I smiled and said, "No need."

"Ava, what's that supposed to mean? Are you still angry?"

"Wait till I get home. I'll set you straight."

My mother shouted at me, furious.

I only said, cold and flat, "By the time you get home, I won't be there for you to see."