My Son Lost $620,000 — Then My Daughter-in-Law Slapped

“Mom, you don’t understand. She’s not capable of working some minimum wage job. She’s—”

“She’s what, Terrence? Too good to work? Too special to contribute to her own survival?”

The silence stretched between us. Finally, Terrence spoke, his voice quieter now.

“She says she’ll countersue for emotional distress or something.”

I almost laughed.

“Let her try. I have witnesses to her assaulting me, and I have documentation of every dollar she stole. What does she have?”

More screaming in the background. Then Terrence came back on the line.

“She wants to know why you’re doing this to us.”

“Because you both need to learn that actions have consequences. And, Terrence, there’s something else you need to know about your wife.”

“What?”

I hesitated. This was the moment of truth. The moment when I would either save my son or lose him forever.

“She’s been having an affair.”

The silence that followed was deafening. I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears.

“What did you say?”

“Lennox has been having an affair for at least six months. The man is wealthy and married. She’s been using your money to fund their relationship.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is true. My attorney hired an investigator. We have proof.”

“You hired an investigator to spy on my wife?”

“I hired an investigator to find out where $600,000 went. The affair was just what we discovered in the process.”

More silence. Then, in the background, I heard Lennox’s voice clearly for the first time.

“What is she saying? What lies is she telling you about me?”

“She says you’re having an affair,” Terrence said, his voice hollow.

The explosion that followed was audible even through the phone. Lennox screamed denials, accusations, threats. She called me every name in the book and a few I’d never heard before.

“Terrence,” I said quietly. “Ask her about Richard Hawthorne.”

The screaming stopped abruptly.

“Who is Richard Hawthorne?” Terrence asked.

“Ask your wife.”

I heard muffled conversation. Then Terrence came back on the line.

“She says she doesn’t know anyone by that name.”

“He’s fifty-two years old, owns a construction company, drives a black Mercedes. He’s been paying for her jewelry and spa trips for months. His wife found out about the affair last week and made him end it.”

The phone went quiet again. This time the silence stretched for almost a full minute.

“Terrence, are you there?”

“How do you know all this?” he asked.

“Because I hired professionals to find out where your money went. And what we discovered is that your wife has been systematically destroying your life to fund an affair with a married man who just dumped her.”

“She’s saying it’s not true.”

“Of course she is. What did you expect her to say? She’s crying now, isn’t she?”

“She’s… upset.”