I Bled for Mom's Reality Show

"And, we found a shoe next to the airbags."

The director froze for a second, then instinctively looked at Harriet.

Harriet's face was dark as she drank in silence. The moment she heard that, she snatched the walkie-talkie, clearly annoyed.

"A shoe? What's the big deal? He left it there on purpose to scare me. That kid, so now he's trying to get back at me because I tricked him?"

She shouted into the radio, "Keep searching. Expand the area. Even if he dug a hole and buried himself, you dig him out and bring him to me."

She tossed the walkie-talkie aside and angrily loosened the collar of her shirt.

"Kids these days are full of tricks. Look at that. He even took off his shoe just to make me worry."

She complained to Timothy, "This is what happens when a child isn't disciplined properly. When he gets back, I'm locking him in his room for a month."

Timothy tried to calm her down while agreeing, "Seriously, Elliot's being ridiculous. He's not a kid anymore, still playing hide and seek like this. Doesn't he realize how exhausted everyone is?"

The tone in the livestream chat started to shift.

[This kid is so ungrateful. His mom went through all this trouble to teach him, and he's throwing a tantrum?]

[Exactly. He's overdoing it. It's just a show. Why go missing like this?]

[I feel bad for Ms. Lawson. Being a mom is so hard.]

I looked at those comments. Felt nothing.

That shoe fell off while I was struggling in the air. Not far from it, my body lay quietly among the rocks, already cold.

Then it started to rain.

The clear night sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, and heavy drops began crashing down.

The camp fell into chaos. Staff rushed to move equipment out of the rain.

Harriet sat under a large umbrella, watching the storm outside, her expression growing worse by the second.

"That brat really expects the whole crew to stand out there in the rain for him?"

She cut into a medium-cooked steak while replaying the livestream footage on her phone.

The screen was filled with comments like "insane," "amazing acting," and "this mother and son duo really know how to create buzz."

Harriet watched with obvious satisfaction, letting out small, pleased laughs.

"Look at this traffic. The company's stock is definitely hitting the limit up tomorrow." She speared a piece of beef and put it into her mouth, the one that was supposedly bought for me.

Another half hour passed.

The rain kept pouring, and the search team still did not return.

Harriet checked the time again, her fingers tapping impatiently against the table. She took out her phone and dialed my number again.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently powered off."

She threw the phone onto the sofa, frowning as she snapped at the director. "Is this kid seriously this petty? Hiding down there just to scare me?"

The director did not dare respond. He could only keep urging the search team again and again.

Harriet turned back to the camera and complained, "Kids these days are too spoiled. Acting in a show like it's real, making the whole crew stand out in the rain for him."

Right then, the walkie-talkie crackled with static. Then the trembling voice of the search team leader came through.

"We didn't find him. We only found a shoe." This time, his voice was clearly shaking.

"And, the shoe was covered in blood."