The Night I Learned I Wasn't the Only Son‑in‑Law

The child looked about four years old. That meant Natalia had given birth to this child in the first year of our marriage.

My stomach churned violently.

Vincent suddenly stepped out. "Natalia! How could Daphne… She's too young to hear any of this."

Daphne seemed frightened and started crying.

Liliana immediately pulled Daphne and Vincent to her side. She said to Daphne, "Don't cry. I'm right here. I'll drive this bad guy away right now!"

The moment Liliana finished speaking, she rushed over and shoved me. I lost my footing and stumbled backward as the gift bag slipped from my hand and hit the ground. The fine wine, gourmet chocolates, and skincare products inside were scattered all over the floor.

A relative peeked out. "Well, he really brought quite a lot of things."

Liliana kicked the gift bag aside. "Who'd want his stuff? It's filthy!"

Liliana kept shoving me while Natalia just stood there, letting her parents humiliate me. They treated me like a complete outsider.

With one final push, I was shoved out of the house. The door slammed shut in my face.

I sat there for a long time before a door on the floor above opened. An old man who appeared to be in his 60s came downstairs carrying a trash bag. When he noticed me, he crouched down and pretended to tie his shoelace.

He kept his voice low and spoke quickly. "A few years ago, another man showed up and caused a scene, claiming to be Natalia's boyfriend. Her parents called him crazy. I don't know how it was settled afterward."

He stood up and headed downstairs with his trash bag. When he reached the corner, he turned back and added, "Young man, this family is not as simple as they seem."

I stood outside the door, thinking about everything that had happened for a long time. I wanted to see for myself just how complicated Natalia really was.

I pulled out my phone and opened my banking app to check the transfer records. On the first day of every month, three thousand dollars was automatically transferred to an account listed under Arthur's name.

I opened the transaction details, where the memo read, "Living expenses for Mom and Dad."

When I looked closer at the account information, I saw that Vincent was the actual recipient of the money.

It turned out that they had been using my money to raise their child. Over five years, a total of 60 months, I had transferred them 180 thousand dollars. That didn't even include Christmas gifts and everything else I'd sent over the years.

All those gifts had gone to this household, and I had been completely unaware of it. I had even felt guilty before, thinking I was letting them down.

My stomach twisted again. I hurried downstairs and doubled over, retching beside the flower bed.

After wiping my mouth, I returned to my car. Then I called my friend, Levi Emerson. He was a lawyer.

"Marcus? It's late. What's going on?" he asked.

I gave him a brief rundown of what had happened.

Levi went silent for a moment, then let out a curse. "Marcus, don't do anything reckless," he said. "I'll catch the earliest flight tomorrow. Right now, you need to stay calm and gather evidence. Don't tip them off."

"Got it," I replied.

After hanging up, I drove to find a hotel. The town wasn't big, and there were only two chain hotels. I chose the one farther away from Natalia's house.

I sat on the bed and began sorting through the evidence. After a while, I called Levi again. "Levi, I need your help."

"You… That child is around four years old, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"So, that means, in the first year of your marriage, she already… Maybe the reason she always went back for Christmas was that…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but we both understood what he meant.

After ending the call, I did exactly what Levi had said. I took screenshots of the evidence as a backup and emailed them to him.

By the time I finished, it was already 1:00 am. Natalia never contacted me. She didn't even send me a single message.

I stared at the screen for a long time before closing my inbox and opening a new document. I started drafting a list of our marriage certificate, financial records, proof of her bigamy, and anyone else she might have deceived.

By the time I finished writing, it was nearly dawn.

Just then, my phone buzzed. Levi sent me a message. "I contacted the man who had previously shown up at the Lane residence. His name is Theodore Bennett. I shared your Snapchat with him. You can judge for yourself."

"Okay," I replied.

A few minutes later, a voice message popped up. The profile picture showed an ordinary-looking young man, and the username was Theo.