When Annie’s son fell ill, she took a week off from work to care for him. But when she returned to the office, she was met with a shocking surprise: a police officer and a pair of handcuffs.
You might assume that ten years of dedicated service would make you indispensable to a company, right? Well, that wasn’t the case for me.
Let me explain.
I had been with the company for a decade, starting as a marketing intern straight out of college and gradually climbing the corporate ladder—albeit with only modest pay increases.
One day, my five-year-old son, Kenny, fell seriously ill. His fever spiked, and he was continuously vomiting. Naturally, I was deeply concerned.
There was no way I could leave him with a babysitter. I needed to be there for him, monitoring his condition and taking him to the doctor if necessary.
So, I decided to call my boss and explain the situation. I hadn’t used any of my leave for the year, so I figured it wouldn’t be an issue.
I left Kenny resting in his bed and made the call.
“Hi, Mr. Williams,” I said when he answered on the first ring. “My son is very sick, and I need to take a week off to care for him. I haven’t used any of my leave yet.”
There was a pause on the line, then he exploded.
“Are you serious, Annie?” he shouted. “We have our annual general meeting in two days, and you’re leaving me in the lurch? I need those marketing reports!”
“I’m sorry, Sir,” I replied. “But I can’t come in. The reports are already done—I emailed them to you yesterday morning.”
Without another word, he hung up.
I didn’t dwell on it too much; Mr. Williams had a tendency to be impulsive and rude.
The next week was focused on caring for Kenny. After a few days, he started to recover and was back at school.
When I returned to the office, I was greeted by an unsettling sight. Mr. Williams was sitting in my chair, clapping his hands slowly with a chilling smile on his face.
“Welcome back, Annie,” he said. “I have a surprise for you.”
Before I could react, a uniformed police officer entered the room, handcuffs in hand.
“Annie Mills,” the officer said sternly. “You have the right to remain silent…”
My heart raced, and my body went limp as he read me my rights.
“What’s going on?” I gasped, struggling to catch my breath.
“Annie, it turns out you don’t have a son,” Mr. Williams declared. “You’re going to be punished for your deception. Well played, but you’ve been caught.”
My mind was spinning. I had no idea what Mr. Williams was talking about. Of course, I had a son. I was a single mother because Kenny’s father had left when he learned of the pregnancy.
