I disappeared my son to protect him from a psychopath

Warning: long post and contains abuse. <br><br>I never thought I would be “that mom” when I became a mom. I never believed I was capable of being reckless in the way a disappeared my son. But nothing could have been further from the truth.<br><br>My son and I just returned home after nearly a year of living in hiding. We were relocated by police to a new city with all new identities. <br><br>My ex was a monster. It started with the way he looked at me. He was always jealous and accusatory, something I originally mistook for love. As our relationship went on, his delusions intensified to the point where he believed I was unfaithful to him with men, women, my cousin and my best friend. He would just erupt at random and beat me until I nearly lost consciousness. <br><br>Two years into our relationship, I found out I was pregnant with our child. I knew staying was putting my unborn child in danger. My friends and family would beg me to leave him, but I was stupid and in love with him. I remember his brother tried to talk to him and my ex beat him up in front of me and then nearly beat me to death. <br><br>I never called the police on him; afraid of what he would do to me if they showed up. I decided to make a run for it and disappear. I took nothing but my passport, my son and a small bag of clothes. I did it all alone and didn’t tell anyone until I was safely away. I only told my mom because she needed to know and I didn’t want her filing a missing person’s report on me. I knew I had to protect my son, and if that meant living in hiding, then I was prepared to do anything. I took my husband’s name and when my son was born, I gave him the same last name of mine.<br><br>I was so stupid. I thought I could just leave, move to a new city and that would be it. But he tracked me down after only one month. He was enraged when he found out I had named my son after him. He beat me for hours until I thought I was going to die. He fell asleep on the couch and while my son was sleeping, I packed my bag and left again. <br><br>I didn’t stop running for over a year. I lived in four different cities and changed my phone number and email address every few weeks. He always tracking me down and I was always terrified. After ten months of running, I called police and reported him. When I got the restraining order, I was afraid to leave my house out of fear I’d run into him. One day, he smashed my windshield while my son was in the car. I freaked out and called 911 again. <br><br>The same police officer who took my report was there again. He sat on my porch with me for hours and we talked. He told me I had two options: stay and fight or disappear or a third: relocate with police. <br><br>I didn’t think they would take a single mom seriously, but after sitting in an interview room telling them everything for three hours, they told me I was accepted into the program. <br><br>I never thought it would be so hard. I had to leave my entire life behind. I deleted my social media, cancelled my credit cards and gave my Lewin puppy back to the breeder. I cut ties with everyone, even my mother. I didn’t follow the rules out of spite, I followed them out of fear of being caught. I was only allowed to make one phone call to anyone I wanted. <br><br>I was given a new identity with a new driver’s license, passport and SIN. I was given $10,000 to start over and a plane ticket to my new city. I was given three weeks to close my bank account and remove my name from everything. I didn’t know where we were going until we were in the taxi taking us to the airport. <br><br>We’ve been living in hiding for a year now and we will continue living here until he is either caught or sentenced. I will never tell my son the truth until he is old enough to understand. <br><br>After everything I went through, I am so grateful to have my son safe and sound. Never in a million years did I think I’d be capable of living in hiding, but I would do anything to keep my son safe.<br><br>EDIT: wow, this blew up! Thank you for all the awards. I didn’t expect this kind of response. I just wanted to tell my story. <br><br>EDIT: I updated my post to include more details. Please note I am not permitted to discuss the details of the program publicly, so some answers may be vague. If you have questions, ask me anything. I’m not being purposefully elusive, I’m just protecting myself. <br><br>I am not comfortable sharing the name of the program, where we are or my real identity. I also did not hire a PI. Please know I am not comfortable sharing more than what I have out of concerns for my safety. I would be happy to answer any questions you have, but please respect my boundaries. <br><br>Also, for clarification, I will no longer be active on this account after today. Just to be extra safe, I have deleted my chambers history and this account will be deleted. <br><br>Thanks again for the kind words. I appreciate it.