- 15 hours ago
The AI Told My Mom I’m a Monster
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:01I'm dying, and it's all because I blinked.
00:05The A I said,
00:07Detected! Joy rolled her eyes at her mother.
00:10It docked 22 points from my good daughter score.
00:13In the living room, my mom is laughing with Chloe.
00:16Chloe's peeling an apple.
00:18The machine gave her a 100.
00:22Sincere care.
00:23Perfect affection.
00:25Score plus 100.
00:27My asthma is attacking.
00:29Now I'm locked in the basement.
00:31My lungs are closing.
00:32No inhaler.
00:33No one coming.
00:34All because I'm a bad daughter.
00:37Three weeks ago, Mom brought home the scoring machine.
00:40It's AI.
00:41It measures how much you really love me.
00:46Mom, that's amazing!
00:48Let me find you something.
00:49I saw this TikTok about heart health.
00:50He says green smoothies reverse heart disease.
00:53Sincere care.
00:54Perfect affection.
00:56Score plus 100.
00:57Mom pulled out a $50 bill.
01:00That's my thoughtful girl.
01:02That's my baby.
01:04I was in my room.
01:05SAT mock tomorrow.
01:06Through the thin wall, I could hear everything.
01:09The chime.
01:10The score.
01:10My mother's wet kiss on Chloe's cheek.
01:13That's incredible!
01:14Send me that video!
01:14It's reverse heart.
01:16Mom, that TikTok?
01:17The guy isn't a doctor.
01:19He's self-
01:19Doctor's care.
01:20Underbinding family harmony ends.
01:22Mom stood.
01:23Her smile vanished.
01:25Your sister is trying to help me.
01:29You sit in your room all day.
01:31And when you finally come out, is to tear her down?!
01:37I gripped my phone tight, struggling to explain.
01:41I'm not tearing her down!
01:42I'm telling you he's not-
01:43Go!
01:43Stand there!
01:44Until I say so!
01:46Chloe didn't look at me.
01:48She leaned into Mom's shoulder, scrolling, that faint smile in the corner of her mouth.
01:55I faced the wall.
01:58Behind me, they laughed at another video.
02:02Chloe yawned, went to bed.
02:04Mom walked past me like I wasn't even there.
02:08Not a word.
02:10House went dark.
02:12That night, I heard Mom rummaging in the bathroom cabinet.
02:16The rattle of bottles.
02:19A low swear.
02:21Her blood pressure medication was out.
02:25I didn't say anything to anyone.
02:27Three pharmacies across town.
02:30My lungs were burning by the time I found a box I got home.
02:36Shirt soaked through.
02:38Measured her dose.
02:40Poured a glass of water.
02:42Knocked on her-
02:42Mom?
02:44She was propped against the headboard.
02:46Face pale.
02:47I got your medication.
02:49You ran out.
02:51High-intensity performatal behavior detected.
02:54Score MICE-5.
02:57Joy, do you really think buying a few pills makes you a worthy daughter?
03:00You think that's enough?
03:02You can't compare to your sister.
03:05Not even close.
03:07My hand, still holding the glass, froze.
03:10A few seconds passed.
03:14I kept my head down and walked away.
03:21I didn't eat that night.
03:23The next day, Mom needed a follow-up with her cardiologist.
03:26Mom, I'll go with you to the cardiologist today.
03:29You have school.
03:30I already called the school.
03:31I'm going with you.
03:33I skipped my school scholarship panel interview.
03:38I sat with Mom for three hours, holding her hand through the EKG and the blood draws.
03:44But Mom never once looked at me.
03:45Her eyes were fixed on her phone.
03:47The screen was hard-linked to that AI monitor back home, scrolling through the scoring interface.
03:54Procedural companionship.
03:55No emotional investment detected.
03:57Base score plus 05.
04:00Three hours, Chloe showed up.
04:03Mom, I came as soon as I heard.
04:08I brought your favorite.
04:11Let me take a photo for Instagram.
04:14Fifteen minutes later, her Instagram story was live.
04:17Most important day.
04:18Always by your side.
04:21Mom's phone screen flashed.
04:24The app.
04:25Genuine affection detected.
04:30My mother took Chloe's hand.
04:32You're my thoughtful girl.
04:33My real girl.
04:37That evening, I spent two hours making a heart-healthy meal for Mom.
04:41Bought the ingredients with my tip money from the ice cream shop.
04:45Chloe barged in with piles of junk food and threw her arms around Mom.
04:50Mom!
04:51I got us food!
04:54I made heart-healthy dinner for you, Mom.
04:57Steamed Cod and Kirawan.
05:01Intellectual bullying detected.
05:02Using elite ingredients to show off superiority.
05:06Verdict, emotional black crash.
05:08Score, minus 50.
05:10What is this joy?
05:11Are you mocking me because I can't afford this fancy stuff?
05:14Or are you reminding me that people without college degrees don't deserve to eat?
05:18What?
05:18I was just trying to help.
05:19Mom.
05:20Ignore her.
05:22My followers say happiness is the best medicine.
05:25Calories don't mean a thing.
05:27Instant happiness delivered!
05:29Now this is a real daughter!
05:30That's my girl.
05:32Reward points!
05:32Plus 500!
05:33The machine became our family's supreme court.
05:36My score hovered around 47.
05:39Chloe's was 1,023.
05:44Joe, your sister's follow count is growing.
05:47She needs your room to store her backup outfits and equipment.
05:49What?
05:50My room?
05:53The basement was a nightmare.
05:56Freezing in winter, boiling in summer.
05:59Mom, I need a desk.
06:00I'm studying for my SATs.
06:02The basement is too dark and cold.
06:04You need to stop thinking about yourself for once.
06:07Your sister's follower count is growing.
06:09This is our family's chant.
06:11Chloe didn't say a word.
06:12She just pulled out her phone, took a sobbing selfie right in front of us, and posted it.
06:17I have the best mom, but it's so hard when someone in this house hates my dreams.
06:22Refusal to sacrifice.
06:23Extreme egoism detected.
06:25Joy.
06:25Nyus 100.
06:28The machine sees your ugly soul, Joy.
06:30Numbers don't lie.
06:33Mom's face turned to stone.
06:35Basement.
06:36Now.
06:37She grabbed my arm, digging her nails in.
06:40But, Mom!
06:41I said basement.
06:42Now!
06:48I'm giving your fun to Chloe for her new livestream gear.
06:52Mom, no!
06:53Dad's dying wish was for me to have a future!
06:55That money is the only thing he left me!
06:57You're a parasite.
06:58Chloe is the one who matters.
07:01Starting Monday, you're working double shifts at the diner.
07:03Every cent goes to her.
07:11It's not about the money, sis.
07:13It's your vibe.
07:14You're just... toxic.
07:18Something inside me went cold.
07:20Dead cold.
07:22Two months passed.
07:24My score tanked.
07:26What?!
07:27I got an A!
07:30Chloe's soared.
07:32Oh, honey, that's amazing!
07:38Chloe set up three phone cameras in the living room.
07:41Welcome to the scoring machine results sharing party.
07:44This is going live!
07:46Mom wore a new blouse Chloe had picked out.
07:48Say hi to everyone, Mom!
07:51Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've been waiting for!
07:55The livestream comments were a wall of ridicule.
07:59You see?
08:00Hard work pays off.
08:01Look at these numbers.
08:03They're fair.
08:04They're honest.
08:05Joy thinks doing her homework or cooking dinner is enough to make her a good daughter.
08:09But she's just performing.
08:10She's fake.
08:11You can lie to me, Joy, but the machine sees your rotten heart.
08:14Her hand froze mid-air.
08:15She clutched her chest and crumpled to the floor like a sack of stones.
08:21Mom! Everyone get back! Call 9-1-1!
08:25I lunged toward her.
08:26Oh my god!
08:27What happened?
08:27One, two, three!
08:29Is she breathing?
08:29Someone call 9-1-1!
08:31I'm on it!
08:31Alert!
08:32High-intensity performative behavior detected.
08:34Motive analysis.
08:35Inheritance calculation probability 89%.
08:38Final determination.
08:39Everyone saw that!
08:40The machine doesn't lie!
08:41She's trying to kill Mom!
08:42Look at her pretending to do CPR!
08:44Call 9-1-1!
08:45Please!
08:47Get away from her!
08:48No!
08:49She needs CPR!
08:49I was helping!
08:52You ungrateful bitch!
08:54She's been abusing Mom this whole time!
08:56No, please!
08:56I didn't do anything!
09:00The door locked.
09:04That's when I saw it.
09:06A crumpled sheet of paper under the old storage shelf.
09:09I crawled over and smoothed it out.
09:15The user manual for the scoring machine.
09:18Model XF-1000.
09:21Not AI.
09:22Not science.
09:23Just a novelty toy.
09:24Scores randomly generated or manually triggered via app.
09:29It was home.
09:30It was always home.
09:32Chloe's phone.
09:32The app.
09:33Every insult.
09:35Every minus point.
09:37Even the murder alarm.
09:40She was playing God the whole time.
09:44I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I'd saved months ago.
09:50State Child Protective Services Hotline. What's your emergency?
09:55My name is Joy. I'm 16.
09:58My sister faked a murder attempt to frame me.
09:59She live streamed it.
10:00I'm locked in the basement.
10:02Please.
10:03Check her phone.
10:04The scoring app is a scam.
10:07Scoring?
10:08Oh my God.
10:09Joy, listen to me.
10:10I know exactly what you're talking about.
10:11Dozens of kids have been destroyed by that thing.
10:13We've been tracking the bastards behind this for months.
10:15Give me your address.
10:16Now!
10:161422 Oak Street, Pine Valley.
10:18Please hurry!
10:19They're going to kill me!
10:20We're dispatching a team right now.
10:26Joy, stay on the line.
10:28Keep talking to me.
10:29Do not hang up.
10:30We will-
10:30Read this.
10:31The line cut.
10:33Battery.
10:34Zero percent.
10:35I stared at the black screen.
10:37I couldn't wait.
10:38Not for a second.
10:39I threw my shoulder against the basement door.
10:42I stumbled into the hallway, gasping for air, and froze.
10:47Mom, look!
10:47She's out!
10:48She's coming for us!
10:49I can't- I can't look at her.
10:51Get her away from me!
10:52Mom, wait!
10:55Uncle Rob didn't let me finish.
10:57He lunged forward, grabbed my throat, and shoved me backward.
11:05The lock clicked through the door.
11:09You stay in the dark until the police get here to take you to jail.
11:12You aren't part of this family anymore.
11:16I can't believe she would do this.
11:17On the day you almost died!
11:20I know, baby.
11:22I know.
11:23Let's get you to the couch, Margaret.
11:25You shouldn't even be standing.
11:29Someone turned on the TV.
11:31A sitcom laugh track drifted through the basement door.
11:36That was when my breathing went wrong.
11:39I knew this feeling.
11:45I'd known it since I was five, when I first got diagnosed.
11:49The inhaler was in my old room.
11:51Chloe threw it out.
11:52The band around my chest got tighter.
12:02Chloe, you're so funny.
12:05I don't know what I'd do without you.
12:07Don't worry, Mom.
12:09I'm never leaving.
12:10The band cinched tighter.
12:12My lungs were shrinking.
12:13I could feel them closing up like fists.
12:16Air.
12:17I needed air.
12:19I crawled to the door.
12:20Mom.
12:22Mom, I can't breathe.
12:24Laughter from the living room.
12:27I'm going to die in this basement.
12:30And the last thing I'll hear is a laugh track.
12:33Then...
12:35Child Protective Services!
12:37Police!
12:38Hands where I can see them!
12:39We received a call from this address.
12:42A 16-year-old girl locked in the basement.
12:45Her name's Joy.
12:46She's not here!
12:47This was a prank!
12:49My sister ran away hours ago.
12:51She's dramatic.
12:52Dramatic.
12:53She's trying to kill our mother with stress.
12:57I pounded my fist against the door.
13:00Once.
13:01Weak.
13:03Barely a sound.
13:05There's no one here.
13:06Please leave.
13:07Sorry.
13:08I know my rights.
13:09This is private property.
13:11My older daughter.
13:13She lies for attention.
13:14If she called you, she did it just to hurt me.
13:17Now please.
13:18Go.
13:20The words hit me through the wood.
13:22I gather the last atom of my strength.
13:26Swings my foot.
13:31It's a weak kick against the basement door.
13:34That was it.
13:35My last breath.
13:36My last move.
13:38Everything goes black.
13:44The door swung open.
13:46And suddenly I was exposed in the light.
13:49Motionless on the cold floor.
13:51Get a medic in here.
13:52Now!
13:52This is exactly what she does.
13:54Drama.
13:55Always drama.
13:56You'll see she's faking.
13:57She's holding her breath just like she did when she was alive.
14:02Negative behavior detected.
14:03Deceptive dying.
14:04MICE 500 points.
14:05Perform until suffering.
14:061000 points.
14:07See?
14:08Even the machine knows.
14:10She's so desperate for attention.
14:11She's trying to treat the computer.
14:13Give it up, Joy.
14:14It's pathetic.
14:16The daughter, Joy.
14:17Final determination.
14:18Beyond redemption.
14:19Classification.
14:20A total drain on this family.
14:22Exactly.
14:23I raised a failure.
14:24I know her better than anyone.
14:25She's been a black hole of attention since she was five.
14:28She'll do anything to-
14:29Shut up!
14:30She has no pulse!
14:32The laugh stopped.
14:34What?
14:36The woman turned.
14:37Her face was stone.
14:39Your daughter has no pulse.
14:41She's not breathing.
14:42She's dying on this floor while you stand there telling me she's faking.
14:47Mom's face went blank.
14:48Like someone had unplugged her.
14:51I...
14:52Move the mother back.
14:53The woman said to the mail officer.
14:55Then she tilted my head, pinched my nose, and covered my mouth with hers.
15:00One breath.
15:01Two.
15:02Then her palms on my chest.
15:04Compressions.
15:04Zero one, zero two, zero three.
15:06I didn't move.
15:08My body jerked with each compression.
15:10But I didn't move.
15:12Mom took a step forward.
15:14Joy?
15:15Chloe grabbed her arm.
15:17Mom, don't!
15:18She did this to herself!
15:20She locked herself in there.
15:21She stopped taking the cation.
15:23She probably planned this thing.
15:25I burrow's whole thing.
15:27But she's-
15:27Mom's voice cracked.
15:28She's not-
15:29Compressions aren't working.
15:31The woman said.
15:31Where's that medic?
15:32But for the first time in 16 years, Mom didn't look at Chloe.
15:36She didn't turn to her golden child for the truth.
15:39She didn't seek comfort in Chloe's fake tears.
15:42Instead, she shook Chloe's hand off like it was a venomous snake.
15:46Mom's eyes were fixed on the basement floor.
15:48On my hollow face.
15:49On my silent body.
15:50On the officer's hands, pounding against my chest.
15:53Trying to jumpstart a heart Mom had spent 16 years breaking.
15:58Joy?
15:59Baby?
16:00Wake up.
16:01Please, just wake up.
16:05Mom!
16:05Listen to me!
16:07I said be quiet, Chloe!
16:09The silence that followed was deafening.
16:11Even the machine upstairs seemed to hold its breath.
16:15Still no pulse.
16:17Get the defibrillator!
16:18Now!
16:20Mom took another step.
16:21Her hand reached out, trembling toward my face.
16:23Chloe yanked her back.
16:25Mom, don't!
16:26Mom, don't!
16:27She tried to kill you, Mom!
16:29The machine saw it!
16:30If she dies, that's her own choice!
16:32It's not on you!
16:33Mom didn't look at her.
16:34She didn't even flinch when Chloe grabbed her.
16:36Her eyes never left my hollow face.
16:38And then the machine on the living room wall made a sound.
16:40A chime.
16:41Soft.
16:41Cheerful.
16:42Everyone turned.
16:43The screen flashed.
16:44Joy.
16:44Affection score minus 10.
16:46Commentary.
16:47No effort detected.
16:48The officer stopped.
16:49Her hands, red from the pressure of the compressions, stayed rested on my chest.
16:53She looked up at the screen.
16:54Then at Chloe.
16:55Then at Mom.
16:55Who stood frozen.
16:56Her hand still reaching for a daughter she couldn't touch.
17:00You're scoring this.
17:02Your daughter is dead on this floor.
17:04The officer said.
17:06Her voice was no longer angry.
17:07It was dead.
17:09And you're still scoring her.
17:11Paramedics burst through the front door.
17:13They lifted me onto a stretcher.
17:15Oxygen mask.
17:16IV line.
17:18One of them was saying words like.
17:20Respiratory failure.
17:21How long?
17:22Possible brain damage.
17:24Mom.
17:25Stood in the hallway.
17:26Backed against the wall.
17:28Watching them wheel me past.
17:30Her mouth was open.
17:31But no words came out.
17:33Her hand still hung in the air.
17:35Frozen in the shape of reaching.
17:36The machine is lying.
17:39It was still deducting points just now.
17:41But it's lying.
17:42No one pays her any attention.
17:45Paramedics rushed the gurney through the living room.
17:47She didn't do anything.
17:48I saw it all.
17:49She can't even move anymore.
17:51She did nothing wrong.
17:54My joy.
17:56She didn't do anything wrong.
17:58Behind her.
18:00Chloe was edging toward the kitchen.
18:01Slow steps.
18:02Shoulders hunched.
18:04Her phone clutched to her chest.
18:06The female officer looked up from where she was still kneeling on the basement floor.
18:10Her eyes found Chloe.
18:12Miss.
18:13Stop right there.
18:15Chloe froze.
18:16I was just...
18:19My mom needs water.
18:21My mom needs water.
18:23She's in shock.
18:24You've been on your phone this whole time.
18:27The officer said.
18:28Rising to her feet.
18:29Every time I turned around.
18:30You were on your phone.
18:33It's my phone.
18:34I can use my phone.
18:37During a medical emergency.
18:39During a CPS call.
18:41While your sister is dying on the floor.
18:44Give it to me.
18:46Chloe stepped back.
18:47You need a warrant.
18:48I'm not asking you for your phone.
18:51I'm not asking you for your phone.
18:51I'm asking you to unlock it.
18:54Unlock it and show me one app.
18:57The one that controls that thing on the wall.
19:00Chloe's face went white.
19:02My God.
19:04There's no...
19:05The male officer stepped up beside her.
19:08Chloe looked at him.
19:09At the door.
19:11At her mother.
19:12Still staring at the empty stretcher.
19:14Mom.
19:15Chloe said.
19:16Tell them I didn't do anything!
19:17Mom didn't turn around.
19:18Mom!
19:20The officer didn't just take the phone.
19:22She ripped it from Chloe's grasp.
19:24Chloe stumbled back.
19:25Her face pale.
19:26The officer looked at the screen.
19:28It wasn't a game.
19:29It was the system's back end.
19:30The parental override portal.
19:32On the screen.
19:33A list of recent manual entries glowed in the dim light of the basement.
19:36Minus 100 points.
19:38Hostile behavior.
19:39Minus 200 points.
19:40Intentional property damage.
19:42Minus 500 points.
19:43Refusing medication.
19:45All of them were time stamped from the last hour.
19:47All of them were marked manual trigger.
19:49You were doing this.
19:51The officer whispered turning the screen toward mom.
19:53While your sister was down here gasping for air.
19:56You were sitting in the living room manually hitting these buttons.
19:59You weren't just watching her score drop.
20:01You were pushing it down.
20:03The officer's words hung in the air like a death sentence.
20:06Chloe's eyes darted between the phone and mom's frozen face.
20:09In a second, the cold arrogance vanished.
20:12Replaced by a flood of frantic practice tears.
20:16Mom! No! It's not what it looks like!
20:18I was just...
20:19I thought she was acting again!
20:20I was trying to discipline her for you!
20:23I did it for us!
20:25She reached out, trying to grab mom's sleeve.
20:27Her voice rising into a hysterical wail.
20:32Mom, look at me!
20:33I'm the good one, remember?
20:35I'm the one who stayed!
20:36She was just trying to stress you out!
20:38I was protecting your...
20:39Get away from me!
20:41Mom shoved Chloe back.
20:42Chloe hit the wooden door frame with a dull thud.
20:44Her fake sobbing cutting off in a gasp of shock.
20:47Mom didn't even check to see if Chloe was okay.
20:49She didn't look back.
20:50She scrambled on her knees toward the chaos.
20:52Her hands hovering uselessly as the medic swarmed me.
20:55The pulse...
20:56Is there a pulse?
20:58Please...
20:58Tell me she's...
21:00Tell me my baby is coming back!
21:02The officer didn't answer.
21:03She was helping them heave the gurney.
21:05Clear the hallway!
21:06We're losing her!
21:08Keep the compressions going until we hit the rig!
21:10The wheels of the gurney shrieked against the basement floor.
21:13Sing her!
21:13My head lolled to the side.
21:14My eyes half open and glazed, staring at nothing as they rushed me past the doorway.
21:18Come on Joy!
21:20Don't you dare give up now!
21:21Not like this!
21:23Stay with me!
21:24The hospital room was quiet.
21:26Monitors beeped.
21:27Oxygen hummed.
21:28I lay in the bed.
21:29Tubes in my arms.
21:30Machines keeping score now.
21:32The real kind.
21:32The kind that measured heartbeats and oxygen levels and whether I was still alive.
21:37But I wasn't entirely in the bed.
21:39Part of me floated somewhere near the ceiling.
21:41Looking down at a pale girl with tangled hair and bruised ribs.
21:45She looked small.
21:46She looked like someone else.
21:47I watched from somewhere above my own body.
21:49It should have felt strange.
21:51It didn't.
21:51It felt like the first time in weeks I could breathe.
21:54Through the window, across the street, I could see the courthouse.
21:57Juvenile division.
21:58The windows were dark, but I drifted toward it anyway.
22:01Into a room with fluorescent lights and wooden benches.
22:04Through glass, across the cold February air, Chloe sat at a small table.
22:09No makeup.
22:09No phone.
22:10Beside her, a public defender was flipping through papers like they were takeout menus.
22:15Across the aisle, Mom sat in the front row, alone.
22:18Her hands were shaking.
22:19The judge, a woman with gray hair and a voice like gravel, leaned forward.
22:24The court has reviewed the evidence.
22:26The app logs, the live stream footage, the testimony from Child Protective Services.
22:33Before I rule, is there anything the minor respondent wishes to say?
22:40Chloe stood up.
22:41Her lip was already trembling.
22:44I didn't mean for any of this to happen.
22:46Her voice was small, perfectly pitched.
22:49I just wanted my mom to notice me.
22:51Joy was always the smart one.
22:53The good one.
22:54I couldn't compete.
22:56So when Mom bought that machine, I thought...
22:58I thought maybe I could finally win.
23:00Just once.
23:02Mom's face crumpled.
23:03She reached out.
23:03Chloe!
23:04Don't!
23:05Chloe turned on her.
23:06The tears were streaming now.
23:08Real or not, they were falling.
23:11Don't pretend you care.
23:12You never cared about either of us.
23:14You just wanted a machine to tell you who to love because you figure it out yourself.
23:20Because you couldn't figure it out yourself.
23:23Mom recoiled.
23:24That's not true.
23:26You gave me money every time the screen told you to.
23:30You took Joy's room because the screen told you to.
23:32You didn't even check!
23:34You never checked!
23:36You just believed it because believing was easier than actually being a mother!
23:41The public defender put a hand on Chloe's arms.
23:43Chloe, maybe we should...
23:44No.
23:46Let her talk.
23:47The judge's voice cut through.
23:50Her eyes were on Mom now.
23:52Madam, would you like to respond?
23:53Mom stood.
23:55Slowly.
23:56She looked ten years older than she had three weeks ago.
23:59I didn't know the machine was fake.
24:01She said.
24:01Her voice was thin.
24:02Almost a whisper.
24:03I thought it was real.
24:04I thought it was telling me the truth.
24:07Did you ever ask?
24:08Chloe spat.
24:09Did you ever once wondered why I always got perfect scores and Joy always got nothing?
24:15You were good to me.
24:17I was manipulating you!
24:19And you let me!
24:21Because it was easier than loving someone who didn't perform for you!
24:27The courtroom was dead silent.
24:29The court reporter's keys had stopped clicking.
24:31Even the public defender was staring at the table.
24:33Mom opened her mouth.
24:35Nothing came out.
24:36Then she said very quietly.
24:38I was lonely.
24:40Chloe laughed.
24:41A short, ugly sound.
24:43So was she.
24:45But she didn't buy a machine to replace us.
24:48I floated above them, weightless, breathing.
24:50Watching my mother crumble and my sister burn.
24:52And the fluorescent lights flickering overhead like they couldn't decide whether to stay on.
24:56The love in that family had been running on a battery.
24:58And the battery had finally died.
25:00The judge didn't speak for a long moment.
25:02She looked at Chloe.
25:03Then at Mom.
25:04Then at the folder in front of her.
25:05Thick with screenshots and logs and testimony.
25:08The court has seen many things.
25:10She said finally.
25:11Many things.
25:13But a child using a toy to systematically destroy her sister.
25:19And a mother who let it happen.
25:21This is new.
25:22She turned to Chloe.
25:23You are 14 years old.
25:24You knew exactly what you were doing.
25:26You opened an app.
25:28You pressed buttons.
25:29For months.
25:30You publicly accused your sister of attempted murder while she was performing CPR.
25:35That is not a mistake.
25:36That is a pattern.
25:38Chloe's face was wet.
25:39I'm sorry.
25:41You're sorry you got caught.
25:43The judge's voice was cold.
25:45The court finds the minor guilty of emotional abuse, defamation, and obstruction of emergency medical aid.
25:5212 months June Isle detention.
25:56Counseling.
25:57No social media.
25:59No internet.
26:00No contact with the victim.
26:02Chloe's mouth opened.
26:03No sound came out.
26:05The judge turned to Mom.
26:06As for you.
26:08No criminal charges.
26:10But CPS requires a full psych evaluation.
26:1312 weeks of parenting courses.
26:16Chloe stays in state custody until you prove you can protect both your children.
26:20Mom's face was gray.
26:22She didn't speak.
26:23Do you understand, madam?
26:25Mom nodded.
26:26Once.
26:26A small, broken motion.
26:28The gavel came down.
26:29I drifted back through the window.
26:31Through the cold air.
26:32Back into the hospital room where my body still lay.
26:35Machine still beeping.
26:37Oxygen still humming.
26:38The door opened.
26:39A nurse came in.
26:41Checked my vitals.
26:42Wrote something on a clipboard.
26:44Left.
26:44The fluorescent lights flickered overhead.
26:46And in the silence.
26:47The machine beside my bed.
26:49The real one.
26:50The medical one.
26:51Beeped once.
26:52A steady.
26:52Stubborn.
26:53Beep.
26:54I was still alive.
26:56Three days passed.
26:58Or maybe four.
26:59The doctor said my lungs were healing.
27:02My ribs would take longer.
27:04The bruises on my arms from where Uncle Rob grabbed me.
27:07Had turned from purple to yellow.
27:10Mom came on the fifth day.
27:12I heard her before I saw her.
27:14Her footsteps in the hallway.
27:16The murmur of a nurse.
27:18Then her voice.
27:19Thin.
27:20Uncertain.
27:21I just want to see her.
27:23Please.
27:26I'm her mother.
27:28The monitor beside my bed started beeping faster.
27:31The nurse turned.
27:33Looked at the screen.
27:34Then at me.
27:35Her heart rate is spiking.
27:37Ma'am, I need you to step back.
27:39But I haven't even-
27:40Now!
27:40Now!
27:42The beeping got faster.
27:43A doctor appeared.
27:45Then another.
27:46She's crashing!
27:49Get the mother out of here.
27:50I just wanted to see her!
27:52It's gonna explode.
27:54Ma'am, you're making it worse.
27:55You need to leave.
27:56Now!
27:58Through the window, I saw Mom's face crumple.
28:01She pressed her palm against the glass.
28:04Her mouth formed words I couldn't hear over the alarms.
28:08Then an orderly was guiding her away.
28:11The window went empty.
28:13The machines screamed.
28:14The doctors worked.
28:15And I lay there,
28:17wondering if my body had learned something my brain was still refusing to admit.
28:21Even now.
28:22Even after everything.
28:24Even after everything.
28:24The sound of her voice could still almost kill me.
28:27And I'm waiting for her to be more the middleman.
28:28But I'm waiting for her to get home.
28:28That's good.
28:28You need to see the door for nothing, but I'm waiting for you.
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