Jay was the only child of the two business moguls, Mr. and Mrs. Denis. Jay’s parents were stinky rich and they gave him anything he wanted. But the only thing Jay lacked was the attention of both parents. For them, it was all about business. They were so consumed by chasing after money and wealth that they threw money at Jay’s problems and emotions without thinking twice.
Jay felt invisible to his parents. He worked so hard to be the best in his class, always trying to impress them and hoping for their attention. When the results came out and Jay saw that he had distinctions in all his subjects, he felt like this was finally the moment they would notice him.
“Dad! Mom!” Jay rushed out of his room with his laptop, eager to show his parents. He was the best student in his school, and surely that would impress them.
“What is it, son?” Mrs. Denis asked, barely looking up from her phone.
“My results are out, and I’m the best student in my school,” Jay said excitedly, holding the laptop up in front of his mom's face, hoping she would look even for a second.
But Mrs. Denis had her attention elsewhere. “Sorry hon, I need to take this call. It’s important,” she said, getting up and walking out without even glancing at the screen.
Jay turned to his father, hoping for more. “Wow, that’s impressive,” Mr. Denis said without even looking at him properly. “I’m going to get you the latest phone.”
Jay’s heart sank. He had three of the latest phones already. “I have three latest phones,” he muttered to himself, going back to his room, feeling defeated.
After thinking for a long time, Jay decided that if doing good wasn’t going to get his parents' attention, then he’d try something else. In the next session, Jay had the worst performance in his class, and when he told his parents, his mom barely raised an eyebrow. “The pressure on you must be too much,” she said, without a second thought. His dad, on the other hand, promised him a vacation wherever he wanted.
Even when the school called for a meeting to discuss Jay’s sudden drop in performance, his parents kept postponing it, saying they had very busy schedules.
Feeling even more frustrated, Jay decided to push further. Jay, who had always been quiet and even shy, turned into a total menace at school. Each time there was a report of his bad behavior, his parents found a way to hush the situation by donating large sums of money to the school.
When Jay's behavior started influencing the other students, the school had no choice but to expel him.
Jay's parents were not bothered. Instead, they bought their way into a better and more expensive school. After all, they had the money.
At Jay's new school, Jay was a menace and was welcomed into the bag gang in no time.
He and his group of friends committed all sorts of crimes—bullying, stealing, setting up other students, and even tormenting teachers. Jay’s bad behavior had hit an all-time high.
One day, while Mrs. Denis was in a conference room, pitching a proposal to her board members, her assistant Stacy rushed in with the office phone.
“Stacy, not now,” Mrs. Denis said, clearly annoyed.
“Ma’am, it’s Jay,” Stacy replied, still standing there.
“It can wait,” Mrs. Denis said, rolling her eyes.
Stacy hesitated but then leaned in and whispered, “It’s the police. Some kids who ditched school were arrested for burglary.”
“And that’s why you’re interrupting me?” Mrs. Denis said, getting even more annoyed.
“Jay was one of them,” Stacy added quietly.
“What?!” Mrs. Denis felt her world spin for a moment. She rushed out of the meeting, grabbing her keys and instructing Stacy to handle things while she was gone.
As she sped toward the police station, she called her husband. “Jay’s been arrested. I’m on my way there. I’ll send you the address.”
“What?! How? For what?!” Mr. Denis panicked, but Mrs. Denis hung up; she was already panicked, too, and needed to focus on driving.
When she arrived at the station, Mr. Denis showed up soon after. The police brought Jay out from the holding cell, his hands cuffed behind him. The sight of her son in handcuffs made Mrs. Denis break down in tears. She rushed to hug him as Mr. Denis scolded him furiously. Jay stayed silent the entire time.
Before they took him back, Jay suddenly stopped, turned to his parents, and with a genuine smile on his face, said, “Finally, you can see me.”
His parents were left stunned as the officer led Jay away. His mother sobbed, and tears rolled down Mr. Denis’s face as the weight of what they had done hit them. For the first time, they realized that all the neglect had pushed Jay to this point—a scoundrel. They were wrong all this time—they worked so hard to provide Jay with everything he needed but the only thing he needed was their care and attention.
After getting Jay out on bail, the case was quietly closed through their connections. But this time, it wasn’t just another fix. They had seen what neglect had done, and they vowed to change. From then on, they put Jay first—before business, before money. They finally saw their son.
