Her Money, Her Prison: My Mother’s Control / Chapter 2: The Digital Leash Tightens
Her Money, Her Prison: My Mother’s Control

Her Money, Her Prison: My Mother’s Control

Author: Kristen Chambers

Chapter 2: The Digital Leash Tightens

← Prev
Next →

“Nina, did you get to campus? Is your dorm clean? Remember to use the 100% cotton sheets I packed for you—the others will irritate your skin.”

My mother’s voice through the phone is like an invisible net, instantly tightening around the fleeting freedom I just tasted. There’s always something about her tone, a way she draws out my name that makes me feel like I’m twelve again, sneakers muddy in her freshly mopped kitchen.

“Got it, Mom.”

I answer mechanically, my eyes drifting over the other three girls in the dorm, each busy with her own things—Jamie FaceTiming her boyfriend with a Taylor Swift poster behind her, Megan tossing laundry into a bright red Target hamper, Priya’s laptop glowing with a Friends rerun paused in the corner. They’re laughing about classes and midnight plans, their parents already gone, free from these invisible strings.

Their parents have already left, but my mother insists on “remote guidance” for my every move. She’s got my entire college schedule printed on the fridge at home, highlighted in three colors.

“By the way, about your living expenses.” Her tone suddenly hardens, switching from warm to rigid in a single breath, like she’s flicking off a light.

“I’ve set up a Family Wallet for you. I can see every single purchase you make.”

“There are too many temptations at college. I have to help you stay on the right track.”

My heart sinks. The air in the room gets thinner, like someone opened a window in February. I wonder if Jamie can see the color drain from my face.

A Family Wallet means every cent I spend will be reported to my mother in real time. No Venmo privacy, no sneaky Starbucks runs—just a digital leash tied to her phone. No more late-night snacks. No more secret lattes. Every impulse, every craving, every small taste of independence—audited.

She’ll know what I bought, when, and for how much. Every transaction, a data point in her spreadsheet of my life.

This isn’t support—it’s surveillance. I glance at my pillow, the one she embroidered with my initials in high school. Now it feels like a tag, marking me as property.

“Mom, other students—”

“Other students are other students. You are my daughter.” She cuts me off.

“That’s settled. Remember, don’t spend a single cent on anything unnecessary.”

After I hang up, my roommate Jamie walks over curiously. “Your mom really cares about you, even set up a Family Wallet.” She tries for a friendly smile, but her eyes flicker with something between pity and horror.

I force a smile. I don’t explain the suffocating control that hides behind this so-called ‘care.’ Instead, I pull my hoodie tighter around me, shrinking from her well-meaning gaze.

College life has officially begun—and so has a new level of my nightmare. It’s not homesickness I feel, but a different kind of homesickness: longing for a home that lets me breathe.

Every time I buy something, no matter how small, my mother’s call comes within five minutes. The first week, I timed her—she never misses.

“Nina, did you just buy a Frappuccino?”

“Drinks from outside aren’t healthy. Didn’t I give you those herbal tea bags?”

“What’s this $4.99 charge?”

“Oh, laundry detergent? Doesn’t the dorm have public washing machines? Why buy your own?”

“You bought a book? What book? Is it a textbook? Send me the title.”

Every day, I have to explain, justify, or even apologize for every trivial purchase. My bank account is a confessional, my receipts a string of small sins.

My roommates soon notice my oddness. They shop on Amazon, order takeout, and go out freely, while I live under my mother’s financial surveillance—even a box of tampons needs her approval. Sometimes Jamie offers to split delivery, or Megan suggests an outing, but I always hesitate, calculating the fallout with every dollar.

This chapter is VIP-only. Activate membership to continue.
← Prev
Next →

You may also like

Cut Off: My Mom Controls My Wallet
Cut Off: My Mom Controls My Wallet
4.7
Rachel’s college life shatters when her mom slashes her allowance to $65 a month—meticulously tracked, penny by penny. Humiliated, hungry, and desperate, she’s forced to fake a wild romance on Instagram just to trigger her mother’s jealousy. But when her rebellion backfires, Rachel must choose: beg for scraps, or finally break free from her mother’s chokehold—even if it means losing everything she’s ever known.
Her Mother’s Love Was a Lie
Her Mother’s Love Was a Lie
4.7
Shellie brags about a perfect home and a loving mother, but her frayed clothes and empty lunch tray tell another story. When her secret unravels in a brutal, public betrayal, even her desperate loyalty can't save her from the truth: the only thing more painful than hunger is a mother’s rejection. Now, as her former classmate, I can’t stop chasing the ghost of the girl we all broke, even if it means facing what I did to her.
My Mother’s Love Went Viral—and Destroyed Me
My Mother’s Love Went Viral—and Destroyed Me
4.9
She was the internet’s favorite mom—and my personal nightmare. In the glow of her viral breakfast videos, my life was staged for strangers, every emotion twisted for likes, every private moment a new performance. Behind the camera, I was trapped in a cage of love so tight I could barely breathe. My father fled, my classmates turned away, and my secret crush became Mom’s next headline. When her obsession with online validation ruined my last hope for normalcy, I was forced to choose: keep playing her perfect daughter, or risk everything for freedom. But even after I broke away, her betrayal followed me across the internet, and the world had to decide who to believe. Can I reclaim my story before her version goes viral forever?
Banned by My Own Son
Banned by My Own Son
4.9
After sacrificing everything for her ungrateful family, a devoted mother is blindsided when her son tries to sabotage her one dream: taking her eighty-year-old mom to D.C. for Memorial Day. Family loyalty turns to betrayal in a flurry of accusations, ultimatums, and a viral group chat war—forcing her to choose between her son and her mother, and to finally stand up for herself before it’s too late.
She Jumped—But I Wouldn’t Let Go
She Jumped—But I Wouldn’t Let Go
4.8
She jumped, and the world froze. My mother’s fight for survival began on a rooftop, but the real battle was inside our home—against a father who broke us, a grandmother who cursed us, and a town that wanted us to fail. I was the daughter they called worthless, the girl nobody wanted. Yet every time Mom nearly let go, I pulled her back. Together, we endured betrayal, violence, and humiliation, clinging to hope in the darkest nights. When Dad’s mistress arrived with his ‘perfect’ son, we risked everything for freedom. But the past isn’t so easily escaped—and justice has a long memory. Will our love and defiance be enough to break the cycle, or will old ghosts drag us down again? What does it take for a mother and daughter to claim a life that’s truly their own?
Beating the Jinx: My Mother’s Curse
Beating the Jinx: My Mother’s Curse
4.7
Every time someone hurt Mom, fortune rained down on them—money, love, success. But beneath her bruises, I saw something inhuman: she wasn’t just a hard-luck woman, but a creature who fed on the pain, quietly draining the lives of those who tormented her. Now, as my family’s cruelty spirals, I’m forced to choose—save Mom, or save myself before her curse devours us all.
He Killed Me, But I Won’t Stay Gone
He Killed Me, But I Won’t Stay Gone
4.9
My own father strangled me to death—but that’s not where my story truly begins. Emily Walker spent her whole life as the family scapegoat, blamed for her father’s failures and haunted by the loss of the only person who loved her: her mother. After years of tiptoeing around Leonard’s rage, Emily claws her way out with nothing but determination and her mother’s last words echoing in her heart. But freedom comes with a price, and Leonard isn’t done with her—not when there’s money on the line, and not when the past refuses to stay buried. When your own blood is your biggest threat, how far would you go to break the cycle? And what if the only way to survive is to become the villain in your own family’s story?
Drowning in Calls: My Mother, My Boss, My Breakdown
Drowning in Calls: My Mother, My Boss, My Breakdown
4.6
Natalie’s dream job is slipping through her fingers, thanks to her mother’s relentless calls and impossible demands. Every buzz of her phone risks exposing her deepest shame to her boss and colleagues, while her son’s needs and her mother’s stubborn love leave her torn in two. When her mother finds her boss’s number and calls during a critical meeting, Natalie must choose: her career, her family, or herself—before she loses everything.
Broken Daughters, Burning Hearts
Broken Daughters, Burning Hearts
4.9
After being lured to a remote mountain town by a fake reality show casting, Charity finds herself trafficked and forced into a violent captivity. She endures brutal treatment, witnesses the fates of other victims, and clings to small acts of resistance and hope. Through the desperate intervention of her mother, who risks everything to set a fire and orchestrate Charity’s escape, Charity finally reaches safety—though her mother disappears in the process. The story explores cycles of abuse, survival, and the transcendent, sacrificial power of a mother’s love.
Mother Ate My Future
Mother Ate My Future
5.0
Emily’s greedy, shameless mother steals her allowance, ruins her reputation, and eats her beloved pets—while the whole town buys her lies. With her family’s survival and her own future at stake, Emily must decide if she’ll keep playing the victim or finally break free. But in a house where hope is never safe, will she ever taste justice?
She Refused to Save Her Dying Mother
She Refused to Save Her Dying Mother
4.7
When Rachel’s mother lands in the ER, her daughter won’t lift a finger—unless her own wedding fund is paid back in full. Family bonds shatter as IOUs replace compassion, and Rachel’s cold refusal sparks a war that exposes every ugly secret. In one night, love turns to violence and betrayal, and the price of a life is set in dollars and blood.
He Sold Me—Now I Own Myself
He Sold Me—Now I Own Myself
5.0
He called me worthless, then sold me to save my brother. My name is Jessie, and my family traded me for a dowry—no love, no regret. Forced into a marriage with a cruel, dangerous man, I learned that survival means more than silence; it means fighting for every scrap of dignity they tried to take. In a town where girls are currency and justice is just a rumor, I turned secrets into power and betrayal into a weapon. But when exposing my husband's darkest crimes sets the whole town against me, I must decide: will I save the family that broke me, or let them drown in the world they made? If justice means standing alone, is it worth everything I’ve lost?