I Worked Three Jobs To Support My Paralyzed Mother-in-law. I Came Home Early And Found Her Dancing While My Husband Filmed Her. How Should I Get Revenge?

Plan B: The Cliff

During the days of bed rest, I felt like a prisoner in my own home, but a prisoner with eyes and ears everywhere. Through the synced tablet, I knew Amber was getting desperate with Kevin’s delays. She bombarded him with ultrasound pictures, baby shopping bills, and threats to go to my company. Kevin was cornered, trying to be the perfect husband to me to secure the inheritance while trying to placate his mistress.

That afternoon, Kevin came home from work earlier than usual, his face haggard. He brought a bouquet of red roses, the same kind he used to give me when we were dating, but now I only saw a garish, fake red in them. He put the flowers in a vase and sat beside me.

“Honey, I heard something interesting and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

I pretended to be tired.

“What is it, honey? My head hurts. I just want to sleep.”

Kevin started to massage my temples.

“It’s important. It has to do with our son’s future. Mom told me that a cousin from back home is selling a piece of land on the main road to pay off his son’s debt who’s going to work abroad. It’s a bargain, half price. If we buy it now, in a few months we can sell it for double or triple. It’s our golden opportunity.”

I smiled to myself. What land? It was all a lie. Amber was probably asking him for money for a house, and he had made up this story to get it from me. I sighed.

“I’d like to, but where do we get the money? Our savings are in a fixed-term deposit. If we take it out now, we’ll lose all the interest.”

“And what does bank interest matter compared to this? Why don’t you ask your parents for an advance? Tell them it’s for a business. I’m sure they’ll do it for their grandson.” Kevin insisted.

I looked into his eyes and saw the greed in them. He not only wanted my money but also my parents’. I shook my head, crying.

“No, honey. My parents hate loans. Besides, with my pregnancy, they just want me to rest. If I ask them for money, they’ll worry and it could affect my health. Why don’t you ask your mother?”

At the mention of Helen, Kevin fell silent. He knew his mother was a bottomless pit. He looked thoughtful, frustrated. I turned away pretending to sleep to hide my cold smile.

The next morning, I took advantage of Kevin being gone and Helen gossiping with the neighbors to get up. I went to Kevin’s home office looking for any paper about that phantom land. The drawer was locked, but it wasn’t hard to find the spare key hidden under a cactus. Inside there were no deeds, just a thick envelope from an insurance company.

I opened it. It was a life insurance policy. Insured: Chloe Garcia. Beneficiary: Kevin Ruiz. Sum insured: $500,000. My hands were shaking. I read the clauses. One was underlined in red: In case of accidental death, 200% of the sum would be paid. That is, if I died in an accident, Kevin would receive $1 million. The policy had come into effect two weeks earlier, just when my suspicions began.

I sank into the chair frozen. It turned out my value to him was not that of a wife but of a $1 million contract. He had bought a life insurance policy for me with him as the sole beneficiary. What did that mean? Was he waiting for, or even planning, an accident? I cried with rage and for my own stupidity. I thought they only wanted my money, but they wanted my life. They wanted me to die so they could live a life of luxury on my grave.

I quickly photographed every page of the contract, then I put everything back as it was. I had to stay calm. If I made a scene, they would destroy the evidence and my life would be in real danger. I went back to bed trembling. I stared at the ceiling with dry eyes. Kevin, if you want to play this game of life and death, I’ll indulge you, but the one who falls won’t be me.

At noon, Helen came back with a thermos of soup. In my room, I put on the headphones connected to the living room camera. I knew that around this time Kevin usually called his mother. And so he did. Helen’s phone rang. She put it on speaker, her voice echoing through the apartment.

“Hello, son. How’s it going? Is Amber leaving you alone?”

Kevin’s voice came through clearly.

“She’s going crazy, Mom. She says if I don’t give her $30,000 for a down payment on an apartment this weekend she’s going to spill everything. I’m desperate. Chloe is a cheapskate, she won’t give up a cent.”

“So what are you going to do?” Helen asked. “Let Amber make a scene? If Chloe finds out and files for divorce, we lose everything, including her parents’ house.”

Kevin was silent for a moment and then his voice turned cold and cruel.

“Relax, Mom. I have a plan B. Remember that life insurance policy I took out on her? In 2 weeks the waiting period for accidents is over. This weekend I’ll take her on a trip pretending it’s to relax before the baby is born. I’ve found a resort in the Catskills, an isolated place with lots of cliffs and fog.”

“You mean…?” Helen hesitated but there was no fear in her voice, only a sick excitement.

“And Mom,” Kevin replied with a dry laugh, “a pregnant woman, a moment of carelessness, a slip and she falls off a cliff… it’s something that happens. That way we’ll have the insurance money, a million dollars, and we can bring Amber and the baby here. And since I’ll be her sole heir, her parents’ house will be ours too.”

“But is it safe? What if the police investigate?” Helen worried.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll do it without a trace. No witnesses. Besides, we have her medical history, her dizzy spells, her low blood pressure. No one will suspect a thing. You just take good care of her, make sure she trusts me. That way when we go on the trip she won’t be on her guard.”

I took off the headphones shaking with rage. Plan B. Accident. Cliff. Those words repeated in my head. They didn’t see me as a person but as a sacrifice for their greed. I looked out the window. The sky was gray, threatening a storm. I knew there was no turning back. If I didn’t act first, I would die, and my death would be the springboard for their wealth. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my skin until it bled.

All right. A trip. I’ll go, but it will be a one-way trip just for you, Kevin.