Part 2Live Stream Lies, Undercover Ties

The next day, I planned to go to my office and explain everything to my boss. But before I could even rehearse my speech, I got a call from Dahlia's school.

"Mrs. Dalton, we need you to come to the school immediately."

The principal's grim tone told me it was serious.

When I arrived, I found out that Dahlia had accused me of collecting "inappropriate materials" that were having a "negative impact on her mental and emotional well-being."

The teachers in the office stared at me, their eyes like daggers.

I walked up to my daughter, my voice shaking with disbelief. "I'm your mother!" I almost screamed. "Why are you doing this to me? What inappropriate materials? Show them to me!"

Dahlia's expression was unnervingly calm. She reached into her backpack and pulled out my old physiology textbook from when I was studying for my medical license, along with a few copies of a women's magazine I liked.

The textbook had been on my desk for years. The magazines were a guilty pleasure, a bit of nostalgia.

She flipped through the textbook to the chapter on the reproductive system, the pages filled with detailed anatomical diagrams. She handed it to the school administrators, her voice ringing with the authority of a prosecutor.

"Mom, can you honestly say this is a normal book? It has explicit drawings of private body parts."

The administrators, despite their education, flushed with embarrassment.

She wasn't done. She opened the magazines. I had to admit, the headlines were a bit sensationalized, but I kept them tucked away, out of sight.

Dahlia, like a triumphant rooster, continued to list my crimes. "Mom, because of your promiscuous lifestyle, I've decided to post your professional license and your ID online. As a warning to others."

The school administrators tried to intervene. "Dahlia, I'm sure your mother didn't mean any harm."

"She knows she was wrong now. Let's just let it go, okay? Let her go home and reflect."

"Mrs. Dalton, what do you say? We can just forget about posting your information online."

Until now, the humiliation had been mostly anonymous. The pictures she'd posted were blurry, and not everyone was terminally online.

But this... posting my official documents, my professional license, my ID... it would be social suicide. Every parent at her school, everyone at my job... they would all know. It would be like walking around naked.

Before I could answer, my phone rang. It was my niece.

"Auntie, why is Dahlia at my office? She's demanding they fire me!"

The world went black for a second. My niece had just passed her probationary period at her new government job.

"How did you even find your cousin's office?" I demanded.

Dahlia sneered. "Last month, I saw her holding hands with a man on the street. It was disgusting. A person like that has no place working in public service."

I was shaking with rage. My niece was a grown woman. It was perfectly normal for her to be dating.

"Dahlia, your cousin is in a perfectly normal relationship! Holding hands is not a crime!" I shouted. "You're going to ruin her life!"

She just tilted her head back. "Improper conduct is a serious matter. I don't care what she does, but if I see it, I will report it. I have zero tolerance for immorality."

I was so angry I could barely breathe. I had to spend the rest of the day smoothing things over with my niece's boss, promising it would never happen again. After that incident, my brother and his wife cut off all contact with us.