Please ensure the loan repayment, will you? While I was at work, an unexpected email popped up. Upon hastily reaching out to him, Greg calmly began to explain, “Oh, sorry about that. I’ve fallen for someone else and decided to start a new life with her.” Furthermore, he revealed his plan to take the luxury car recently purchased in my name with a loan.
Despite my attempts to dissuade him, my husband ignored me, abruptly ended the call, and became unreachable. In the end, Greg disappeared with his mistress, leaving behind a substantial debt. As a mother to our 10-year-old son, I never envisioned such an unfair situation. I found myself at a loss, unsure of what to do, my mind going blank.
At 35 years old, my name is Hannah, and my husband Greg is the same age. We were a family of three, including our intelligent 10-year-old son, Ryan. Ryan displayed remarkable intelligence from a young age, reading papers on the computer and seeking my opinion on complex topics. In contrast, Greg was unstable, never holding down a steady job.
Despite my full-time job and concerns about our future, Greg had recently maintained a stable income for three years. Lately, Greg spoke of making memories as a family, leading us to decide on buying a $35,000 camper van. However, due to Greg’s inability to pass the finance company’s loan review, I ended up taking the loan for the car. On the eagerly awaited delivery day of the camper van, I received an abrupt email from Greg, stating he would graciously take the delivered van since the loan was in my name, and I would handle the repayments.
Confused, I called my husband immediately, only to hear him confess, “Well, I’ve fallen in love with another woman and decided to date her. I intended it to be just a fling, but it turned serious. So, I’m thinking of starting over my life with her. Bye.” He mentioned the divorce papers we had discussed during a previous fight, declared he would file them, and unilaterally ended the call.
This exchange marked the first time I realized I had been betrayed by Greg, a shocking blow. Subsequent attempts to contact him yielded no response. When I returned home from work and checked the drawer where the divorce papers should have been, they were already gone, leaving me burdened with a significant debt from a $35,000 car loan.
Despite my repeated attempts to reach out to my husband through emails and calls, I never received a reply. Ryan, noticing my unusual behavior, came to check on me with concern after dinner. “Mom, what’s wrong? You haven’t been eating much lately. Are you okay?” “Ah, yeah, maybe. I’m just tired.” “Ah, when people lie, they look up to the right. Lying is bad. I’ve noticed Dad hasn’t been home for three days. Did something happen between you two?”
Startled by Ryan’s sharp words, I took a deep breath to calm myself. Feeling that I could no longer hide the truth, I decided to tell Ryan everything. “I see. It’s just like Dad to do something like that.” “Aren’t you sad?” “No. I kind of understood from how things were going.”
Ryan, seemingly foreseeing the future, appeared unconcerned about our parents’ divorce, but I knew he must feel sad about it in his heart. While silently apologizing to Ryan in my mind, I worked desperately, trying not to think about the dreadful events.
However, my body was honest, and gradually my health deteriorated. There was a training session planned at work that day, but I couldn’t stand up and ended up squatting down. “Sorry, I can’t stand up right now. I need to take a break.” I heard my colleagues’ voices full of concern, but I couldn’t respond and collapsed. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a hospital room.
I received the diagnosis from the doctor that I needed detailed examinations, and I was admitted to the hospital. I thought, “I feel so pathetic. It’s supposed to be just emotional stress.” Looking at the IV drip in my arm and the white ceiling of the hospital room, tears naturally started to flow. At that moment, Ryan, who is usually calm, rushed into the room with an extremely worried look, prompting me to quickly wipe away my tears.
“Mom, what happened? Is it serious? You’re not going to die, right?” “Of course not. I wouldn’t leave my dear son alone.” “Ah, that’s good, really. I was called by the school teacher and told that you were taken to the hospital. I was so shocked. My heart nearly stopped.”
Ryan is usually mature for his age, but he’s still only 10. I felt a strong resolve to get better for his sake, but my condition was worse than I thought. And I was diagnosed with a serious illness. The doctor advised, “You should have surgery as soon as possible. Please make a decision quickly.” Following the doctor’s advice, I underwent surgery, and by the time I was discharged, it had been a month since Greg had left.
When I returned home and opened the mailbox, I found a demand letter for the car loan payment. I thought the repayment should have been automatically deducted from my account. In panic, I checked the account balance with my cash card, and the balance, originally $20,000, was now only $33.90. I thought, “Greg did this. I want to ask him to return the money, but I can’t contact him. What should I do? Since I don’t have the camper van, I can’t sell it.”
After Greg left, everything seemed to be going in a bad direction and my mood sank deeper. Seeing me saddened by my series of misfortunes, Ryan put his hand on my forehead. “You look pale. Are you feeling sick again? You don’t seem to have a fever, though.” “I’m fine physically, but you see, your father not only took the car, but also all the money we had saved. I can’t work yet due to my physical condition, and now we have no money. I’m at a loss.”
“I see. Then I’ll deliver newspapers, and I’ll search the internet to see if there’s any work I can do.” Encouraged by my 10-year-old son, I told myself that it wasn’t the time to be down. “Sorry for worrying you. I can’t afford to be weak. I’ll change my mindset and try to do whatever I can,” I said, smiling at him. Ryan also smiled back and then said something unexpected.
“Let’s plan how to get the car back from Dad.” “How can we do that?” “The camper van is in your name, right?” “Yes, but what about it?” “Then maybe we can.” Ryan suggested an idea that I couldn’t even imagine. I had never thought such an idea could exist.
“Also, I have no idea where your father is.” “Then let’s check on my phone.” A month ago, once when we went hiking as a family, surprisingly, Ryan, who is usually very reliable, got lost. At that time, we bought a kid’s cell phone on Ryan’s suggestion and installed a GPS app on it, which both Greg and I could access.
“With this app, I can see where Dad is in real time, and he’s been moving around a lot.” “Oh, is that so? But what if we find him and he just says something vague and escapes again?” As I pondered this, Ryan smiled and made an intriguing suggestion. “Don’t worry. I’ve already taken precautions.” “What did you just say?” To my astonishment, Ryan had acted independently while I was in the hospital, achieving something unbelievable.
I thought, “I can’t believe such a smart child came from me.” Understanding Ryan’s words, I was simply amazed. He had even caught wind of Greg’s mistress. “All right. Let’s teach Dad, who betrayed us, a lesson.” “Okay, let’s start the plan right away.” Together, my son and I prepared for that moment.
I thought, “With Ryan by my side, I’m invincible. Bring it on, anywhere, anytime.” Three days later, my phone rang. “Arg, it’s me. Please, I need your help.” “Oh, who might this be?” “Don’t play dumb. It’s your husband. Obviously, I’m being questioned by the police about you. At this rate, they might ask me to come to the police station voluntarily. Help me out.”
“Oh, is that so? Just wait a moment then.” I immediately went with my son to where Greg was, and to my surprise, it was a forest park near our house where camping was possible. Greg was being questioned by the police in front of his car, looking bewildered. Feeling pathetic, I sighed and told the police we needed to have a talk as a couple and asked them to leave for a while.
At that time, Greg seemed uncomfortable being watched by the people around us and urged Ryan and me to get into the car. Inside the car, Greg’s mistress was sitting cross-legged, glaring at us, but that was no longer important. “Sorry about that. Thanks for coming. But why did the police suddenly show up at my place? I don’t get it.” “That’s because I filed a report about the missing camper van.” “What? Why would you do that?” “It’s obvious, isn’t it? My car was stolen.”
Greg, foolishly thinking that actions between spouses can’t be criminal, was saying nonsensical things. But the world isn’t that naive, you know. “You filed for divorce, remember? Forgot? So, we are strangers now. And you’re driving a stranger’s car without permission. That’s a crime.” Ryan figured all this out. Typical, sharp as ever, that kid.
“But I didn’t steal the car. I just borrowed it for a bit.” “Oh, is that so? Well, I’d like to use my car now. So, could you return it? That would be really helpful.” As I reached out my hand, asking Greg to return the keys, he reluctantly handed them over. After confirming it was returned, Ryan quietly started talking.
“Hey, why did you abandon your family and choose to play around with this woman?” Caught off guard by his son’s unexpected question, Greg was flustered and awkwardly scratched his head. Seeing this, Greg’s mistress chuckled smugly and started talking. “It’s because I’m more attractive than your mother. Look at me, you can see it, right? He fell head over heels for me and decided to leave his family.”
“Quiet. I didn’t ask you, old lady. Dad, answer.” Mandy was silenced by Ryan’s stern tone, but Greg remained quiet. “If you can’t explain, that’s fine. I’ll just have the police come back and arrest you.” “Wait, hold on. Okay, okay. I’ll talk.”
Mandy, it turned out, joined Greg’s company three months ago. They were attracted to each other and became involved at the welcome party for new employees. Later, it was discovered that Mandy was pregnant, and Greg decided to start a new life with her, leaving us behind.
“Why did you take the camper van?” “I quit my job and thought about selling the car for money.” “But it seems like you were using it quite a bit, weren’t you?” “I thought it was a waste to sell it right away, so we decided to go on a trip.” “Wait, how do you know all this?”
“Remember when Ryan got lost? After that, as a precaution, we bought him a kid’s cell phone and installed a GPS app. Did you forget? We installed it on your phone, too, so I knew where you were all this time.” By the way, I later found out from Ryan that he had pretended to get lost during our family hike because he wanted a cell phone. I was amazed at Ryan’s ability to think and act so strategically.
“I suspected something was off with Dad, so I came up with this plan to monitor his actions.” “You really are a terrifying child.” “I will never become an adult like you, Dad, who betrays important people without a second thought.”
Greg, faced with the hard truth Ryan told, was a pitiful adult unable to offer any rebuttal. In contrast, seeing Ryan, only 10 but able to think and speak his mind firmly, gave me a sense of strength as a mother. I felt I couldn’t lose, especially in settling things properly.
“Also, return the $20,000 you withdrew from my account right now.” “That was our joint property as a couple. I don’t have to return it.” “No, it’s not that. The money was what I saved little by little since I was single, after all. You always quit your jobs midway, so we hardly ever saved money together, did we?” I was appalled to hear that the $20,000 had been squandered by Greg and his mistress.
It was the moment I felt relieved about divorcing him. “So, that’s how it is. But if you stole and used the car and my money, that’s going to be a serious crime.” “What? I just sent the police away, so it’s not their business anymore, right?” “I only said we would talk. I have no intention of withdrawing the complaint. I must add the theft of my money to the report.”
“Mom, should I call the police now? I can do it with just one button on my phone.” Mandy, Greg’s mistress, had been watching our conversation, but quickly tried to get out of the camper van. At that moment, she let out a scream that echoed around. The reason was that outside the car door, Mandy’s parents were standing there, faces red with anger, about to explode in fury.
Startled, she stepped back as her parents yelled at her. “Ah, I’m sorry. Don’t be so angry. But why are you here, Mom and Dad?” “I called your parents beforehand.” “What? Why?”
The truth was, during my hospital stay, Ryan had visited Greg’s office and tearfully told them, “My dad left the house with a woman we don’t know, and my mom collapsed.” Seeing Ryan’s sorrowful and frail state, the people at Greg’s office suspected Mandy, who had left the company with Greg, and gave Ryan her parents’ address. Greg and Mandy had been overly friendly at the office, and there were photos showing them together at the welcome party for new employees, looking like a couple.
“After learning from the office people that you commuted from your parents’ house, I went there with your photo, and your parents came out when I visited. Then I told them everything that had happened. So today, I contacted Mandy’s parents and asked them to wait nearby for a while.”
“How could you do this to me? The worst.” “I don’t want to hear that from you. That’s my line. By the way, your stomach seems quite big. When is the baby due?” “In three months.” “What? Wait a minute. That doesn’t add up with when you met my husband. You two met only three months ago, right? What’s going on? It’s not time for the baby to be born yet.”
Greg, hearing this for the first time, stared at Mandy, eyes wide. “Wait. What does that mean?” “Are you stupid? Don’t you get it? It takes about nine months from conception to birth, which means the child she’s carrying isn’t yours. You’re so foolish.” “What do you mean, Mandy? Have you been deceiving me?” “Ah, I almost got away with it. Can’t help it now that I’m caught. You’re so naive. You can’t see through lies at all. Really, a fool.”
“Don’t mock me. My whole life is ruined because of you. What were you thinking?” Greg and Mandy started an ugly argument, but nobody intervened, letting them have it out. Meanwhile, we contacted the police again to explain the situation. As it began to get dark, the forest park was brightly lit by the red lights of the police cars.
“No, really, I was wrong. I was truly wrong. I’m sorry. I’ll work hard and never cheat again, so please just don’t arrest me, Dad.” “People don’t change that easily, especially lazy people like you.” “Exactly, Ryan’s right. I can’t trust you at all. Reflect on your actions and pay for your crimes at the police station.”
“If I get arrested, I won’t be able to pay back the money. Is that okay with you?” “I don’t mind. Pay me back after you’ve atoned for your sins. Take your time. Don’t worry. I’ve already found you a place to work. Let’s see, there’s Ryan’s child support plus the $20,000 you stole from me. I’m not sure how much it will all add up to, but you’ll work and pay it all back.”
I had one last thing to say to Mandy, the mistress. “You might think you’re just an onlooker, but don’t forget you’re an accomplice to Greg’s theft. Be prepared for that.” When I told them that Mandy would have to pay if Greg couldn’t return the stolen money, she shivered in fear.
Mandy asked her parents for help, but they refused, saying, “We disown a daughter who causes trouble for others.” Thus, Greg and Mandy were taken away in a police car together. Thanks to Ryan’s smart strategy, we were able to punish Greg and his mistress, Mandy. Though they were released from detention soon after, they faced a heavy payment to me.
Through a lawyer, I claimed $20,000 in damages. Additionally, I made Greg agree to pay $500 a month in child support for Ryan. I introduced Greg to a subcontracting factory of the company I work for. The support and other charges I claimed from Greg would be deducted from his salary and paid into my account.
I also sold the camper van and was freed from the auto loan. Since then, my health has improved remarkably, and I am now energetically committed to my job. Ryan has been actively helping with household chores and errands. I want to keep moving forward strongly so that Ryan can pursue the path he loves without giving up.
