There was a pause. Ma’am, you’ll need to come in with proper identification and authorization from the child’s mother to access any medical records. I hung up, frustrated but not surprised.
Medical records were protected for good reason. I’d have to find another way. I followed them from the doctor’s office to a small park.
Amanda ran straight to the playground while Heather sat on a bench, looking exhausted. I watched from my car as Amanda played, noting how she moved her mannerisms. She had Samuel’s eyes.
How had I never noticed that before? My phone rang. Samuel’s name flashed on the screen. I let it go to voicemail then listened to his message.
Drisa please. I know you’re angry and you have every right to be. But we need to talk about this like adults.
I’m coming home tonight whether you want me to or not. This is my house too. His house.
Our house. The house we’d bought together with dreams of filling it with children. Children that he’d already had with someone else.
I drove home and spent the afternoon going through our financial records. Bank statements, credit card bills, investment accounts. Everything I could find.
Mildred was right, I needed to be thorough. What I found made my blood boil. Cash withdrawals that coincided with Amanda’s birthday and Christmas.
Charges at toy stores and children’s clothing shops that Samuel had explained away as gifts for his business partner’s kids. A recurring monthly payment to something called Sunshine Daycare that I’d never questioned because Samuel handled most of our finances. He’d been supporting his secret family with our money.
My money. Money from the joint account that my salary helped fund. I printed everything out, organizing it into neat folders.
Evidence of financial deception. Proof that he’d been living a double life for years. At six o’clock I heard Samuel’s key in the front door.
I was sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by papers when he walked in. He looked terrible, unshaven, his clothes wrinkled, dark circles under his eyes. Good.
Teresa, he said softly. Thank you for letting me come home. This isn’t your home anymore.
I replied without looking up from the bank statements. I’m just letting you get your things. He sat down across from me, reaching for my hand.
I pulled it away. Please, let me explain. Explain what? That you’ve been cheating on me for four years? That you have a daughter you never told me about? That you’ve been stealing from our joint account to support your other family? Samuel flinched.
It’s not stealing. It’s my money too. Is it? I finally looked at him and he recoiled from whatever he saw in my eyes.
Bez, I’ve been doing some math, Samuel. Some very interesting math. I slid a paper across the table.
This is how much you’ve spent on Amanda and Heather over the past three years. Daycare clothes, toys, medical bills, groceries. Want to guess what the total is? He glanced at the paper and went pale.
Forty-seven thousand dollars, I continued. Money that came out of our joint account. Money that I helped earn.
Money that you spent on your secret family while telling me we needed to be careful with our finances because we were saving for our future children. Teresa. I’m not finished.
My voice was deadly calm. I also found the jewelry receipt. The bracelet you bought for Amanda.
The same week you told me we couldn’t afford to go on vacation because business was slow. Samuel buried his face in his hands. I never meant for this to happen.
Which part? The affair? Getting her pregnant? Lying to me for four years? Or getting caught? All of it, he whispered. I love you, Teresa. I’ve always loved you.
I laughed and the sound was bitter even to my own ears. You have a funny way of showing it. It started as a mistake, he said desperately.
Heather and I, we were both going through rough patches. You and I were fighting about having kids and she was lonely after her ex left. It was just supposed to be one night.
But it wasn’t. No. And when she told me she was pregnant, he looked up at me with pleading eyes.
I wanted to tell you. I tried to end it so many times. But Amanda, she’s my daughter.
I couldn’t just abandon her. So you abandoned me instead. I never abandoned you.
I stayed. I chose you. You chose to lie to me, I corrected.
You chose to let me believe I was your wife when really I was just your cover story. You chose to let me babysit your daughter while pretending to be her aunt. You chose to let me support my best friend through her difficult single motherhood while you were the father all along.
I’m sorry, he choked out. I’m so sorry, Teresa. I know I don’t deserve it, but please, can you forgive me? Can we try to work through this? I stared at him for a long moment.
This man I’d loved for seven years. This man I’d trusted with my heart, my future, my dreams. No, I said simply.
Teresa, please. I want you out of this house by tomorrow night. Take whatever you need, but don’t take anything that’s mine.
I’ve already changed the locks on my office and the safe. You can’t just kick me out. This is my house too.
Actually, I can. I slid another paper across the table. I called Mildred today.
Did you know that adultery affects property division in this state? Especially when there’s financial deception involved. Samuel’s face went white. You’re divorcing me.
I’m destroying you, I corrected. There’s a difference. He stared at me like he’d never seen me before.
This isn’t you, Teresa. You’re not vindictive. You’re kind and forgiving and stupid, apparently.
Stupid enough to believe your lies for four years. I stood up, gathering my papers. But I’m not stupid anymore.
What are you going to do? I smiled and it felt like ice. I’m going to make sure everyone knows exactly who you really are. Your clients, your business partners, your family.
Everyone who thinks you’re such a good, honest man. You’ll ruin my career. You should have thought of that before you ruined my life.
I walked toward the stairs, then paused. Oh, and Samuel, you might want to call a lawyer. Because when the state finds out you’ve been avoiding child support for three years, you’re going to need one.
I left him sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by the evidence of his betrayal, and went upstairs to pack his bags. The war had officially begun. Samuel was gone by the next evening, just as I’d demanded.
He’d packed his clothes and personal items with the defeated air of a man who knew he’d lost everything. I watched from the upstairs window as he loaded his car, feeling nothing but cold satisfaction. He tried one last time to talk to me, standing in the doorway with tears in his eyes.
I know you hate me right now, he’d said. But someday when you’re not so angry maybe you’ll remember that we were happy once. Maybe you’ll remember that I did love you.
The only thing I’ll remember, I’d replied, is that you’re a liar and a cheat. Everything else was just an act. Now the house was mine again.
Silent and clean and free of his presence. I walked through the rooms, reclaiming my space, planning my next moves. Mildred had filed the divorce papers that morning.
Samuel would be served at his office tomorrow, in front of his colleagues and clients. I’d specifically requested that timing. But the divorce was just the beginning.
I’d spent the day making phone calls, sending emails, planting seeds that would soon grow into Samuel’s professional destruction. It was amazing how quickly people turned when they learned the truth about someone they’d trusted. My first call had been to Samuel’s biggest client, Giovanni Development Corporation.
The irony of the name wasn’t lost on me. They were building a family resort, and their lead architect had been hiding his own family for years. Mr. Giovanni, I’d said to the company president, I thought you should know that my husband Samuel has been living a double life.
He has a three-year-old daughter that he’s never acknowledged publicly, and he’s been using company resources to support his secret family. The silence on the other end had been deafening. Mrs. Giovanni, these are very serious accusations.
I have documentation, I’d assured him. Bank records, receipts, photographs. I thought you’d want to know before it becomes public knowledge.
By the end of the day, Giovanni Development had called an emergency meeting to review Samuel’s contract. My second call had been to the state’s child support enforcement agency. I’d provided them with Amanda’s full name and Samuel’s information.
They’d assured me that an investigation would begin immediately. If paternity is established and he’s been avoiding support obligations, the caseworker had told me, we can pursue back support plus interest and penalties. We can also garnish wages and seize assets.
How long does that usually take? Once we have DNA confirmation, we move fast. The state doesn’t like deadbeat dads. Perfect.
My third call had been to Heather’s boss at the non-profit. I’d been more subtle there, expressing concern about Heather’s personal situation and whether it might affect her ability to represent an organization focused on family values. I just think you should be aware, I’d said carefully, that Heather has been involved in a long-term affair with a married man.
I’m not sure that aligns with your organization’s mission. The conversation had been brief, but I could hear the concern in her boss’s voice. Non-profits lived and died by their reputations.
Any hint of scandal could cost them donors and funding. Now I was preparing for phase two of my plan. I’d invited our entire social circle to a dinner party this weekend.
All the friends who’d been at our anniversary celebration, plus a few others. The invitation had been carefully worded. Join me for an intimate dinner party as I share some important news about recent changes in my life.
Your friendship and support mean everything to me during this difficult time. Everyone had accepted. They were curious, concerned, eager to help their friend through whatever crisis she was facing.