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?
Turning the Tables
The next morning, under the pretext of a client meeting, I escaped the suffocating atmosphere of the office. I met with Sarah, my best friend from college, now a renowned lawyer specializing in divorce and property disputes. The coffee shop, hidden in a quiet and discreet alley, was perfect for a conversation that shouldn’t be overheard.
When Sarah finished looking at the evidence I showed her—from the videos of Helen walking normally to the ultrasounds and the fake promissory note—her face hardened. Her usual professionalism gave way to an expression of anger and concern. Sarah adjusted her glasses and looked me straight in the eye. Her voice was serious.
“Chloe, you are in an extremely dangerous situation. This isn’t just a simple affair. Your husband and his mother have meticulously planned how to throw you out on the street. That $50,000 promissory note… if you can’t prove the signature is forged, you’ll have to take on that debt. And proving a forged signature isn’t something that happens overnight. In the meantime, they can get rid of joint assets at any moment.”
I clutched the hot coffee mug, feeling its warmth, but it couldn’t warm my frozen heart.
“I know, Sarah. It hurts a lot, but I’m not going to give up. I want a divorce now. I want them out of my life.”
Sarah shook her head and took my hand.
“No, absolutely not right now. You’re at a disadvantage. If you file for divorce, they’ll pull out that promissory note and demand a division of assets, deducting the debt from your share. Besides, this Amber person is about to give birth. If you get a divorce, Kevin will have a clear path to bring them into the house. You would lose on all fronts.”
Sarah paused and lowered her voice, but her words carried immense weight.
“And most importantly, Chloe, under no circumstances can you get pregnant right now. If you were to get pregnant, or if you already are, everything would become even more complicated. They could use the child to tie you down, or worse, they might try to harm the child if it interferes with their plans to take everything. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
A shiver ran down my spine as I remembered the notebook with the notes on my ovulation and the voodoo doll in the cookie tin. Sarah’s warning fit frighteningly well with what I had discovered. They wanted me to be unable to have children, or if I did, my child’s fate and mine would be in their hands.
“So what do I do? Just sit and wait for them to destroy me?” I asked in a trembling voice.
Sarah smiled, a sly smile from someone accustomed to legal battles.
“Who said you should just sit still? We’re going to use their own strategy against them. You have to pretend you know nothing. Continue playing the role of the good wife and devoted daughter-in-law. But inside, you need to start moving your assets. I’ll guide you on how to legally transfer your assets, putting them in your parents’ names or someone you trust. At the same time, you need to gather more evidence of Kevin’s money transfers to Amber to prove he’s diverting joint assets for illicit purposes.”
Sarah took out a piece of paper and scribbled some notes, then she passed it to me.
“And above all, try to find their weak spot, their Achilles’ heel. Everyone has one. Greed. And Kevin and his mother’s is insatiable. Use that very greed to set a trap for them.”
I looked at Sarah’s notes, and my determination grew stronger. From being a helpless victim, I felt like I was regaining control. She was right. I couldn’t let my emotions get the best of me. I had to be cold, calculating, and more ruthless than them.
“Thank you, Sarah,” I said in a firm voice. “I understand. I won’t let them get away with this. The game has just begun.”
Leaving the coffee shop, the midday sun beat down on the pavement. I put on my sunglasses to hide my swollen eyes, which now reflected a steely determination. I would go home, continue to cook, wash the dishes, and be a good wife.
