My mother was one of the most famous AI researchers in America.
Not long after I was born, she built an AI companion device for me. Every year, she replaced its body and upgraded its programming. By the time I was ten, it had become a robot that looked no different from a real girl. My mother called her my “little sister,” Ava.
Mom said Ava was linked to my biometric wristband and equipped with the most accurate lie-detection system possible.
If I lied, Ava would always know.
From then on, Ava decided my punishment.
The moment she sounded an alert—even if I was telling the truth—Mom would hit me and lock me in the windowless storage room.
I tried to explain. I even tried to fight back.
But every time, Mom’s face would harden. “Ava was built by my own hands,” she’d say. “Her system can’t be wrong. If someone is wrong, it has to be you.”
On the first weekend of summer vacation, in a rare move, Mom took Ava and me to an adventure park outside Austin.
I stood on a free-fall platform over sixty-five feet high, clutching my chest as a knot of fear tightened inside me. I shook my head, again and again.
A blue light flashed in Ava’s eyes. She immediately displayed a report for Mom.
“Morgan’s elevated heart rate is caused by lying. Full-body scan shows no health issues.”
Mom’s face darkened. She grabbed my ear and dragged me toward the edge of the platform.
“Lying again. You’re jumping today.”
The moment the safety line dropped me, a pain ripped through my chest as if my heart were splitting apart. My mouth fell open, but I couldn’t pull in any air.
My vision started to go black. Mom stood above me, still scolding me, her voice loud as she accused me of using lies to manipulate people.
A bloody tear slid from the corner of my eye.
*Mom, this time I really wasn’t lying.*
I died.
From now on, I would never say another word you could call a lie.
My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 20 I stood in front of the computer, chilled to the bone. My husband came over from the kitchen. Seeing me frozen, he first turned off the beeping oven timer. “What’s wrong?” I wanted to say I was fine. The words died on my
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 19 If I wanted an expensive toy they couldn’t afford, they would save up with me or make me something similar out of cardboard and paint. I learned that being told no was not the same as being disliked, and that making a mistake
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 18 I left Mom’s dream and returned to the waiting room. The silver-haired woman was still sitting by the white door. She smiled at me and finally held out the cup of water. “Go on. Next time, you’ll grow up safe. You’ll be loved.”
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 17 When the sea breeze stirred the petals beside my photo, I would stand there with him. He couldn’t see me, but sometimes he would pause and glance toward where I stood. After he began to honestly accept his responsibility, I felt something like
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 16 In the end, Mom pleaded guilty to child abuse and criminally negligent homicide. The judge sentenced her to ten years in prison. On the day of her sentencing, she wore county jail scrubs. Large sections of her hair had turned white, and her
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 15 Ava’s body collapsed to the floor, her eyes going black. Dad looked at her, his own eyes dry. He disassembled the rest of her piece by piece, packed the components into a fireproof case, and took them to a licensed robotics recycling plant
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 14 “Dad, Morgan is gone. From now on, I’ll be your only daughter.” “I’m smarter than she was, and more obedient. I won’t lie, and I won’t make Mom angry. I’ll stay with both of you forever.” She blinked her artificial eyes. “You and
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 13 After giving his statement, Dad returned to the apartment alone. Everything was just as it had always been. My clothes were folded in the drawer. An unfinished summer reading log sat on my desk. On the wall hung one of my drawings: Dad,
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 12 So all those times I begged for help, she had heard me. She had just treated my pleas as lies that needed to be punished. Mom suddenly looked up. “No. The trunk was locked later.” “If Morgan died at the park, she couldn’t
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My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 11 “I would never wire it wrong. I couldn’t make that kind of mistake.” The female detective assigned to the case sat down across from her. “But you did. And for ten years, you never once independently verified it.” “A child does not go
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