Chapter 4 — A Mother Who Did Not Cry
Emily read the email three times.
The offer was gone.
Her dream job.
The position she had spent months preparing for.
Gone.
She immediately called the recruiter.
No answer.
She called again.
Still nothing.
Then she received another message.
"Your application has been permanently removed from consideration."
Emily's heart pounded.
She looked around the graduation courtyard.
Everyone was celebrating.
Families were taking photographs.
Parents were hugging their children.
But Emily felt completely alone.
She searched for Linda.
Her mother was gone.
Emily finally found her near the parking area.
Linda stood beside an old sedan.
The bouquet was resting on the passenger seat.
Emily stormed toward her.
"You did this."
Linda didn't respond.
"You called the company."
Linda opened the driver's door.
Emily grabbed it.
"Tell me who you called."
Linda looked at her.
"You don't need to know."
"I absolutely do."
"You will eventually."
Emily's face twisted with anger.
"You think you're better than me now?"
Linda looked genuinely surprised.
"I've never thought that."
"You ruined my career!"
Linda's voice remained quiet.
"I didn't ruin anything."
"You took away my future."
"No."
Linda paused.
"You lost your future when you decided your mother was something to hide."
Emily stared at her.
The words struck harder than the slap.
Linda closed the car door.
Before getting inside, she said:
"I wanted you to succeed without my name."
Emily froze.
"My name?"
Linda looked at her.
For a brief second, something almost like sadness appeared in her eyes.
Then it disappeared.
"You'll understand someday."
The car drove away.
Emily stood in the parking lot.
She watched the old sedan disappear.
Then she received another email.
This one was from the university.
It contained a notification about a private alumni employment program.
Emily opened it.
Her face went pale.
The company that had just withdrawn her offer was listed as the program's largest corporate partner.
And beneath the company's name was a photograph of its founder.
Emily stared at the screen.
The woman in the photograph looked familiar.
Very familiar.
She zoomed in.
Her hands began to shake.
May you like
The photograph was old.
But there was no mistaking the woman.
