A 45-year-old mother of three found herself torn between her children after a painful betrayal. Her daughters, Kyra and Mattie, both in their 20s, moved back home after college when their father cut them off. They carried long-held resentment toward her and their half-brother Jacob, a sweet 7-year-old boy from her second marriage. Despite the tension, she welcomed them back into her home, hoping time would heal old wounds.

Jacob, however, remained largely ignored by his sisters. They offered polite greetings but little warmth, leaving him hurt and confused. The mother tried to smooth things over, telling herself that grief over their father’s absence might be the cause. But everything fell apart the day she asked them to watch Jacob, who was sick with a fever, while she handled a work emergency.

Not long after leaving, she received a desperate text from Jacob saying he was sick, scared, and no one was answering him. When she rushed home, she found him crying and soiled, ignored by his sisters who had read his texts but chose not to respond. Their cold dismissal enraged her, and she confronted them, realizing their neglect stemmed from resentment rather than accident.

Furious and heartbroken, she told her daughters they had one week to leave. Though filled with doubt, she knew she had to protect Jacob, who had already lost his father and didn’t deserve more pain. Choosing her son’s well-being over her daughters’ bitterness, she stood firm, even as guilt tugged at her. She wasn’t sure if she had overreacted, but one thing was clear: she would not allow her son to feel unwanted in his own home.