From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent

Chapter 6

Anthea looked at Carole, her eyes softening. “Mom, I’m home.”

“What… what did you just call me?” Tears welled up in Carole’s eyes.

Carole went to see Anthea just the day before, but Anthea refused to reunite with her. Worse still, Anthea had lashed out, shaming her, saying she could never have such a pathetic mother. Heartbroken and powerless, Carole had left. Anthea was unwilling to be her daughter, and the Morris family was happy to keep her, so Carole could only give up on her daughter.

But Carole never expected that just one day later, Anthea would return, even calling her “Mom“! Was that a dream?

Carole had quite a story. At the tender age of nineteen, Carole fell in love and got pregnant with twins. But during childbirth, she was told one was stillborn.

After her daughter was born, her once–devoted lover vanished without a trace, not to be seen for the next eighteen years.

It was only after reporting him missing at the police station that she discovered the truth. Everything about him had been a lie. His family, his address, and his name were all fake. He was a con artist, a smooth–talking Casanova.

a child out of wedlock was a scandal. After the birth, Carole’s

Carole.

part with her infant daughter. Defying her parents, she

and left home.

the years, Carole worked odd jobs while raising her daughter alone. Life as a single mother was tough, but

embraced Carole gently, saying, “Mom, I’m sorry for the way I acted before. Please forgive me. From

streaming down her face as she led Anthea inside. “Ann, come in. It’s modest here.

the Yeager family’s dim basement was more than modest. It was downright shabby.

peeling, yellowed wallpaper and a concrete floor cracked and damp. A three–legged

of this ancient cabinet –

Chapter 6

it was still around in this

it was clean, revealing

Carole