Chapter 1

My Son Ruined His SATs to Label Me a Killer

During the two-and-a-half-hour SAT exam, my son wrote only one essay.

The title was: "My Mother is a Cold-Blooded Killer."

It detailed, step-by-step, how I allegedly murdered my husband ten years ago and bricked his corpse up inside our bedroom wall.

A few days later, the test graders read it and immediately called the cops.

A dozen police cruisers surrounded our house, and officers smashed open the exact wall my son had described in his essay.

But when they finally saw what was hidden inside... I smiled.

And my son completely lost his mind.

When the police surrounded my house, I was in the front yard watering the hydrangeas.

These flowers were planted one by one by Tyler when he was just a little boy. He treasured them. If even one leaf withered, he would be too upset to eat.

Suddenly, the front gate was kicked open. A crowd of police officers rushed in, trampling all over the lush green flowerbeds.

Watching Tyler’s favorite flowers get crushed under heavy boots made my heart ache. But before I could say a word, Tyler rushed out of the house, his eyes wide and burning with excitement.

"You're finally here!" he cried.

I stood there, totally confused. The lead officer stepped forward, flashing his badge right in front of my face.

"I’m Detective Marcus. Ma'am, you’re a prime suspect in a homicide investigation. Please cooperate with us."

With that, he handed me a printed copy of the essay Tyler had written during his exam.

It was only in that exact moment that I realized I had become the most notorious "killer mother" in the country.

Tyler’s essay had caused an absolute media storm across the state.

He was a straight-A student. In every single practice exam, he ranked first by a landslide. Everyone expected him to get a perfect score on the real SATs.

But instead of answering a single multiple-choice question, he spent the entire two and a half hours writing this essay.

The essay read: "Ten years ago, on a dark night, my mother, Grace, murdered my father, Richard. She bricked his body up inside their master bedroom partition wall overnight."

Once the grading board flagged it and called the cops, the story leaked online.

Along with the news, the essay itself was leaked.

Now, the entire internet was buzzing. Everyone was talking about the high school genius who threw away his future just to expose his own mother.

And I was the last one to know.

I stared at the printout for a long time. My hands shook violently.

I recognized the handwriting. It was Tyler’s.

But the words on the page felt like a fever dream.

I looked up at him, my voice trembling. "Did you write this, Tyler?"

Tyler stared back at me, his face devoid of any emotion. "Yes. I’ve been waiting ten years for this day."

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest. "So... for the last ten years, you studied your heart out just to ruin yourself today and stab me in the back?"

Tyler’s gaze was icy. "Exactly. Only by becoming a top student would my essay get this kind of attention. Only then would the whole world know what a monster you are."

Looking at the boy I had raised for eighteen years, he felt like a complete stranger.

Ten years ago, Tyler was in the third grade, and his grades were at rock bottom.

He wasn't stupid.

He just couldn't sit still. His mind was always on the garden, the dirt, and the flowers.

I hired tutors and signed him up for prep classes, but nothing worked.

Until his father disappeared. Then, everything changed.

He became quiet, almost mute. Whether he was eating or lying in bed, he always had a textbook in his hands.

At first, I thought it was just a phase.

But the test papers on his desk piled higher and higher. He did practice sheets from morning till night, all the way from third grade through senior year.