A simple babysitting job turned into my worst nightmare when I came home and found the babysitter and my daughter missing! When I discovered what happened to them, who was involved, and why, I went into a rage!
In the 40 years I’ve been alive, I’ve experienced all kinds of things, but I never expected my life to turn into something out of a suspense novel! Last Friday, that’s exactly what happened! But before I get to that, let me give you some background information.
A happy businesswoman | Source: Midjourney
My ex-husband, Daniel, and I split two years ago, and to say it was messy would be putting it mildly! His mother, Brenda, never liked me, but after the divorce, her resentment turned into something more, something bitter, personal, and relentless.
She saw me as the villain in Daniel’s life, the reason everything went wrong, and she made sure I knew it every chance she got. Since the divorce, things had been better with Brenda because I hardly had to deal with her.
A mean-looking woman | Source: Midjourney
The only time we interacted was because of mine and Daniel’s daughter, Lily. She was five years old, bright, full of energy, and the only thing in my life that truly mattered.
At the beginning of the week of that fateful Friday, my baby girl had come down with a cold. Nothing serious, just enough to make her a little tired and sniffly. I hated leaving her at home, but I couldn’t take more time off work. Little did I know that my decision would land me in the most stressful situation I’ve ever been in!
A sickly little girl | Source: Midjourney
Having no other way out, daycare refused to attend to sickly children, and not wanting to reach out to Daniel or his mother, I had Jessica, my regular babysitter, watch her. Jessica was a sweet college student with impressive references, and she had always been reliable.
She’d been looking after Lily for months, and I trusted her completely. All went well while I was at work until that Friday evening. When I pulled into my driveway, I was already thinking about curling up on the couch with Lily and her favorite blanket to watch one of her beloved movies.
A woman cuddling her daughter | Source: Midjourney
I looked forward to cheering her up and had even picked up some soup for her on my way home. But the moment I stepped inside, something felt off.
The house was quiet. Too quiet.
No usual cartoons in the background. No little giggles. No soft humming from Jessica as she moved around the kitchen, singing along to the radio’s soft background music. Just silence.
My stomach dropped.
A concerned woman | Source: Midjourney
“Lily?” I called out. “Jessica?”
Silence.
I moved quickly, checking the living room, the kitchen, Lily’s bedroom, nothing. My heart pounded harder with every empty space I found!
Maybe they had stepped outside? Gone for a short walk? But Jessica always let me know before taking Lily anywhere.
I pulled out my phone and called her. It rang. And rang. And rang.
No answer.
I tried again. Straight to voicemail.
Now, my hands were shaking. Something wasn’t right.
A distressed woman | Source: Midjourney
Then I noticed it, Lily’s pink backpack was missing! The one she never left home without.
And that’s when I remembered.
The AirTag!
A few months ago, I had slipped the small tracking device inside that very bag. At the time, I had felt a little ridiculous, like I was being paranoid. But now, I was grateful for it!
I opened the tracking app, barely able to breathe as the location loaded.
And there it was.
Lily’s backpack was at the airport!
A woman looking at her phone | Source: Midjourney
My blood ran cold!
And for a second, my mind refused to process what I was seeing. The airport? What the hell was my daughter doing at the airport?!
I didn’t stop to think about it further. I knew I needed to act immediately! So I grabbed my keys and ran out!
The drive was a blur of red lights I barely stopped for and angry honks I ignored. I kept checking the app, refreshing the location over and over.
Still at the airport.
Still there.
A woman driving while holding her phone | Source: Midjourney
As I weaved my way through what little traffic there was, driving through red robots and dodging cars left and right, I couldn’t help the speculations forming in my mind. Was Jessica involved? Had she been tricked? Was my daughter being taken out of the city? Out of the country?
By the time I pulled into the parking lot, my entire body felt numb! I barely parked properly and didn’t even lock my car—I just ran!
I pushed through the crowd, scanning faces frantically. And then I saw it!
The pink backpack!
A pink backpack on the floor at the airport | Source: Midjourney
And standing beside it—Jessica!
But she wasn’t alone.
Lily and Daniel were there. And Brenda!
Rage surged through me so fast it almost blinded me! I stormed toward them, my voice echoing across the terminal.
“What the hell is going on?!”
Jessica turned sharply, her eyes widening with panic. Daniel, on the other hand, barely reacted. And Brenda, she had the nerve to smile!!!
A mean woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, Charlotte,” she said smoothly, like we were old friends. “No need to make a scene, dear.”
I ignored her, my focus on my daughter. Lily turned, her little face lighting up as she saw me.
“Mommy!” she cried, running straight into my arms. She clung to me, her little fingers digging into my jacket. “They said we were going to the beach.”
I froze.
“The beach?” I pulled back slightly, looking down at her. “Who said that?”
She pointed at Brenda.
A little girl pointing | Source: Midjourney
My jaw tightened as I turned back to them. “You were taking her out of state?!” My voice was low, shaking with anger. “Without telling me?!”
Brenda sighed dramatically. “Charlotte, honestly—”
Daniel cut in, his voice cool and dismissive. “We’re taking her for treatment. You’re overreacting.”
“Treatment?” I snapped. “She has a cold!”
A woman shouting | Source: Midjourney
“Sun and ocean air will fix her right up,” Brenda said, waving a hand. “We already booked the resort for two weeks.”
My stomach twisted! They had planned this. They had packed her bag, bought tickets, arranged everything, without saying a word to me!
Jessica let out a strangled gasp. “Wait—what?” She turned to Daniel and Brenda. “You told me she knew. You said she was meeting us here!”
A confused young woman | Source: Midjourney
I looked at her sharply. “They lied to you, Jessica. They tricked you into bringing my daughter here.”
Jessica paled. “Oh my word! I—I didn’t know.”
I turned back to them, fury clawing its way up my throat. “You thought you could just take her?!”
Daniel sighed, rubbing his temples. “We thought she’d be better off with us for a while.”
A man rubbing his head | Source: Midjourney
By now, airport security had started paying attention. I could see them watching, whispering into radios. Good!
I squared my shoulders, my voice steady. “This is kidnapping!”
Brenda’s fake smile wavered. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic. This is just a misunderstanding.”
I laughed, short, humorless. “Dramatic? A misunderstanding? You lied to a babysitter, packed up my daughter’s things, and bought plane tickets. What do you think this is?!”
A woman shouting | Source: Midjourney
That was enough to make them move. Within minutes, airport police were questioning Brenda and Daniel. I clutched Lily to me, my heart still hammering, but she was safe. That was all that mattered.
“You manipulated Jessica into getting involved in your scheme to take my daughter away from me?” I challenged my ex-husband, cutting into what the guard was saying to him.
He shrugged. “We just made sure she didn’t question things too much.”
An unremorseful man | Source: Midjourney
As people started gathering closer to hear what all the drama and shouting was about, Daniel noticed. He knew at that point that they had lost. There was no way he’d take Lily away without explaining to the security guards what had actually happened.
Brenda, on the other hand, tried one last time. “Charlotte, darling, let’s not be rash, we were only trying to help Lily.”
“If you ever try to ‘help’ by doing something like this again,” I cut in, my voice sharp, “you will never see her again!”
Silence.
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
Brenda’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she knew. They had pushed too far this time.
In a desperate attempt, my mother-in-law (MIL) huffed. It was clear she was trying to throw a tantrum. All that remained was for her to stomp her feet and throw herself on the ground!
Instead, she threw Daniel a pleading look, but he was already backing down. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Fine. Whatever. Take her.” He gestured toward Lily as if she were an object one could toss aside without a second thought.
A man waving his hand dismissively | Source: Midjourney
Without another word, I turned and walked away, Lily’s tiny arms still wrapped around my neck. I left them standing there, their grand plan crumbling around them.
Jessica quickly caught up with me, offering more apologies and asking for a second chance. A passing thought occurred to me as we walked, “Why didn’t you answer any of my calls?”
“My phone is in my bag. I didn’t hear it ring. When I got here, Daniel and Brenda were already waiting for us, so I rushed to them instead. I am so sorry, Charlotte. I should’ve known better,” she explained.
An apologetic young woman | Source: Midjourney
I was too drained to deal with her, but I knew she was innocent in all of this. I’d seen how manipulative my ex and MIL could be, so I promised to get in touch with Jessica in a few days. I needed to think.
Understanding my predicament, Jessica waved goodbye to Lily, who gave a small smile and waved back apprehensively. My poor child wasn’t sure who to trust anymore, even her favorite babysitter had betrayed her.
A little girl waving | Source: Midjourney
I hugged her tighter as I carried her to the car and realized that this was far from over.
They thought they could control me. That I’d just accept all this nonsense.
But they had no idea who they were dealing with.
A determined woman | Source: Midjourney
Can You Solve This Tricky Viral Math Problem
We all love a good brain teaser, especially when it involves math—whether we admit it or not. A tricky math problem recently went viral, leaving the internet divided and proving once again that even simple-looking equations can be deceptive.
My Math Struggles & A Challenge
Here’s a quick personal anecdote: I recently started preparing for the GRE and realized that I hadn’t taken a formal math class in nearly nine years. Confidence? Gone. My quantitative reasoning skills? Rusty at best. So, I decided to brush up by taking online high school math courses, starting from the absolute basics.
When I came across this viral math puzzle that was stumping the internet, I thought, “This is my moment! Let’s see if I still have my 9th-grade math chops!” Spoiler: I did not.
The Viral Math Puzzle Taking the Internet by Storm
The problem originally surfaced in Japan, where researchers found that only 60% of people in their 20s managed to solve it correctly. It quickly spread online, turning into yet another viral challenge because, apparently, we love testing our brains with tricky equations (or we just enjoy arguing over the answers).
At first glance, the problem looks simple. But the devil is in the details. My gut told me there was some sort of trick involved—it seemed too easy. However, instead of embarrassing myself by attempting it publicly, I turned to the internet for guidance. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that someone, somewhere, has already tackled your problem and made an instructional video about it. So, I spent my morning watching people do math on YouTube. Exciting stuff.
The Math Problem:
6 ÷ 2(1 + 2) = ?
Go ahead, solve it. I’ll wait.
Video : Viral problem from Japan
Common Wrong Answers
If you got 1 or 9, you’re not alone. Many people arrived at these answers because of a little acronym called PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction).
You may remember PEMDAS from school—or perhaps the mnemonic “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.” The rule dictates that you must solve problems in this specific order:
- Parentheses
- Exponents
- Multiplication & Division (from left to right)
- Addition & Subtraction (from left to right)
So, following PEMDAS, some people calculated it as:
- Solve inside the parentheses: (1 + 2) = 3
- Rewrite the problem: 6 ÷ 2(3)
- Some then treated 2(3) as a single term and multiplied first: 6 ÷ 6 = 1
However, others applied division before multiplication:
- 6 ÷ 2 = 3
- Then, 3 × 3 = 9
Both groups were confident in their logic, but only one approach was correct.
The Correct Answer
The correct answer is 9. Here’s why:
Step 1: Solve the Parentheses First
(1 + 2) = 3
Now the equation is rewritten as:
6 ÷ 2(3)
Step 2: Follow the Order of Operations
According to PEMDAS, division and multiplication are performed from left to right (since they share the same level of priority in the hierarchy).
- 6 ÷ 2 = 3
- 3 × 3 = 9
Wait… Isn’t the Answer 1?
Some people argue that implicit multiplication (like 2(3)) takes precedence over division. However, modern mathematical notation treats multiplication and division equally. Since they appear side by side in the equation, we solve left to right.
If the equation had been written as:
6 ÷ (2 × 3)
Then, you would multiply first and get:
6 ÷ 6 = 1
But because the given equation lacks parentheses around 2(3), the correct answer remains 9.
Why People Get It Wrong
The confusion stems from different ways of interpreting notation and how we were taught order of operations. In some older textbooks, implicit multiplication (like 2(3)) was given higher priority than division, leading to the alternative answer of 1. However, under modern mathematical conventions, division and multiplication hold equal weight and should be solved left to right.
Video : 13 Riddles That Are Trickier Than They Seem
Math Rules Are Not Always Universal
Believe it or not, different countries and academic institutions teach math slightly differently. Some older math textbooks might suggest treating multiplication next to parentheses as having higher priority, while others follow the standard left-to-right rule. This is why debates like this never really die down—people were simply taught different methods!
How to Avoid Future Math Confusion
- Always follow the standard order of operations – PEMDAS (or BODMAS, if you learned it that way).
- If in doubt, add brackets – Parentheses make everything clearer and help prevent confusion.
- Be consistent – If you’re solving problems with others, use the same approach so that everyone gets the same answer.
- Check multiple sources – Sometimes, even textbooks disagree. Looking at different explanations can help clarify tricky concepts.
Final Thoughts
This viral math problem is a perfect example of how simple-looking equations can spark endless debate. The way you approach it depends on how you learned math, but if you apply PEMDAS correctly, the answer is 9—at least according to current conventions.
So, did you get it right, or are you questioning everything you thought you knew about math? Either way, at least we can all agree that math is a lot trickier than it looks!
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