Caught My Dad Cheating & Told Me to Keep My Mouth Shut or He Would Cut My Inheritance, but I Told...

Caught my dad cheating and told me to keep my mouth shut, or he would cut my inheritance. But I told my stepmom anyway. Now she got half his money in the divorce, and his mistress left him.

I have had the absolute misfortune of being born in a literal movie. My family is the most dysfunctional family in the history of families, and even the toxicity shown in movies is no match for what I have been born into. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, but it is what it is, and I can only live through it.

I had thought that things would get better, but I think some people enjoy toxicity, and if they don't find it, they cannot thrive. My dad is one of those people; he likes being a victim, and if he is not on the receiving end of poor treatment that allows him to victimize himself, he goes on and creates situations that disrupt peace. My parents divorced when I was three years old.

Apparently, as my dad says, he and Mom were never compatible, and the marriage was the biggest mistake of their lives. They got married young and had me within a year of their wedding, so initially, it was the honeymoon phase, and things were looking fine. It all went south later when my mom realized that she was just not cut out for parenthood and that a child was not just a doll you play dress-up with, but a big responsibility you have to shoulder for the rest of your life.

She freaked out and ran. This is the short version of the story; the long version is that my biological mom was stunning. Every guy would fall madly in love with her and pursue her to the ends of time.

Somehow, she got together with Dad, and they had me. However, Mom realized that she was not satisfied. She did not like being a wife or a mother; she hated the fact that she was committed to somebody in any capacity, and she wanted her freedom back.

So she did what any mature person would do: she cheated. Kindly note the sarcasm. And not just once; she cheated multiple times.

Every single time she got caught, she apologized but started the same thing again. Dad thinks it was actually on purpose—her getting caught. She didn't want to leave herself, so she created a situation that would force Dad to leave her.

But Dad was crazy about her, so he kept tolerating everything. It was toxic, and I don't know how he managed to live with her for so long, but ultimately she had had enough. She abandoned us for one of her partners.

No one knows which one, and she ran off. We have had no news of her since. Dad tried his hardest to look for her, to reach out, but she just vanished like a phantom.

I was just three, and that's why I have no memory of her. To me, she is just a figure from my dad's past. She is in no way my mother; she doesn't deserve that title.

Once she left, Dad drowned himself in work. He started a business that became hugely successful, and he has minted a lot of money since then. I think if my bio mom knew what Dad had created in his net worth, she would come running back.

But thank God she didn't, because Dad met an amazing woman soon after, and she is the person who is my real mother and my real family. I love her more than I love my dad, and she is the best stepmother—or rather, parent—that anyone could ever ask for. Dad met my stepmom when I was six, and they got married when I was eight.

She was always, always nice to me. I remember that I was very apprehensive about her initially, but she took things nice and slow with me, and I warmed up to her very soon to the extent that I used to be attached at her hip. She took me out for movies, to the arcade, and all this before they got married.

When I asked her why she put in so much effort into me as an adult, she said that she wanted to create a family with me rather than just be my dad's wife. She knew what she was getting into, and she wanted to do full justice to that role, and it is safe to say that she did. After all these years, I can confidently say that I couldn't have asked for a better mother.

Dad and she got married, and two years later, she gave birth to twins, my brothers Arthur and Alex. I was a little worried when they were born because I thought that they were Mom's real family and now she wouldn't see me as her own, but I was wrong. Right after they were born and she came back home, she called me and told me that I was her first kid, and nothing on Earth could change that.

I remember hugging her and weeping like an infant. I love my brothers and was very hands-on with them, and even though raising twins was difficult, Mom made sure to make time for me. We still had our weekly movie nights, even though I said no because I knew how taxing it would get for her.

But I think more than me, she was worried that I would feel neglected, and she wanted me to realize that she was still my mother and the twins didn't change anything. We have been a happy family for as long as I can remember. Dad got really busy with his business, so it was mostly the four of us—Mom, me, Alex, and Arthur—in our little world together.

We thought Dad was busy making. . .

Money for the family, but we found out recently that Dad was busy doing something entirely different. When I went to college, I got a full scholarship. Dad had a college fund for me, but I didn't need it, and he said that he would give it to me later because I had no use for it at that point.

I agreed with him; I could use that money to maybe buy a house or invest. I was sure I didn't need it for college. I graduated from college and got a job in a different state.

I stayed in touch with my family, and I am still close to Arthur and Alex, and I know all about their lives. A month ago, on my way to work, I spotted Dad with someone—a woman I didn't know. I knew for sure that she wasn't family.

Alarm bells started ringing in my head. Why was he in my city without informing me? There was something shady going on for sure.

I called him up, and I saw him receive my call. I tried to talk as normally as possible and asked him what he was up to. He lied to me through his teeth and said that he was busy and that he would talk to me later.

I knew what was up—he was having an affair. I decided to follow him and see what he was up to. I followed him, and I saw that they checked into a hotel.

I booked a room there and followed them. I could faintly make out his room number and went and knocked on his door, pretending to be housekeeping. He fell for it and opened the door.

When he saw me, it felt as though someone had put a gun to his head. I pushed my way inside and saw a woman that I hadn't seen before. I just sat on the bed shamelessly and asked him to explain.

He tried to be dismissive and deflect the blame, saying that I had no business interfering in his personal matters. I told him that if he did not tell me what the hell he was up to, I would call Mom up right now and expose him. I think that scared him, and he admitted that he had been having an affair with this woman for the past ten years now and that she was the love of his life.

I looked at him in disbelief. I couldn't even imagine that he would cheat on someone like Mom. She was the kindest and best woman in the world, and you had to be a different kind of evil to cheat on her.

I asked him what was the need to cheat on her, and he said that he did not have the heart to divorce her and that she would have nowhere to go if he left her. I was stunned and told him that he was a disgraceful man for cheating on Mom and that I would tell her anyway. He then changed his entire defense and tried to say that after the kids were born, Mom and he degraded into a roommate kind of situation in a few years, and that's why they opened their relationship.

I told him that open relationships do not work this way at all; they do not entail having a stable partner of ten years outside the marriage, so he did not need to be an ass and lie to me. I told him that I was not buying these lies and that he could do whatever he wanted, but I was going to talk to Mom. He kept on saying that it was an open relationship, and my whole point was that if that were true, I would just call up Mom and confirm.

He was adamant that he didn't want me to call her, and that's how his entire bluff of the open marriage fell through. I had a big fight with him, and I called him and his mistress all sorts of names. I told him that he had done the same thing to Mom that his first wife, my biological mother, had done to him.

He defended himself, saying that these were two completely different things and that I would understand when I was older. I told him that I was already 30 and I didn't need to be older to understand what was really happening. He said that the issue with his first wife was completely different because she was a serial cheater and cheated just for the heck of it.

He was apparently actually in love, which is why, according to him, what he was doing was justified and what my biomom did wasn't. I told him that if these stupid justifications helped him sleep better at night, he was free to buy into them and gaslight himself, but this nonsense would not work on me. I told him that I was going to talk to Mom whether he liked it or not, and there was nothing he could do to stop me.

He physically restrained me from leaving the room and told me that if I exposed him to Mom, he would kick me out of the inheritance and that I would never see a single penny of the wealth he had made. I looked at him in shock, and then I started laughing. I told him that I had never known he could stoop to such levels to save his ass and that I didn't want his dirty money anyway.

I told him to shove his wealth up his ass, and because of this little stunt of his, I was going to involve Arthur and Alex too. Let the world and his kids know what he was really up to. They are 20 years old now, and that is old enough to know these things and have an opinion on them.

He begged me to reconsider. When the ultimatum didn't work, he tried bribing me. He said that he would give me full ownership of his business at the expense of Arthur and Alex.

I could not believe how he was stooping to levels I previously thought never even existed. I told him that if he thought I would sabotage my brother's future for wealth, he did not know me at all. I also told him that I was glad Mom had raised me and not him because, clearly, with his moral compass, I could literally give competition to the devil.

I stormed out of the room, and I couldn't stop crying. It felt as though my world had come crashing down and that I had to shoulder the burden of God knows what. But I knew I had to act fast.

He would try and manipulate Mom and tell her a half-baked story that would make the truth look inconsistent. I booked a ticket to their place immediately, took a week's leave from the office, and left that very night. I knew this was not something that could be done over the phone; I had to be present because I knew Mom would break down, and Arthur and Alex were in college.

With this news, Mom couldn't be left alone. I reached the next day, and Mom was overjoyed to see me. She thought I had come to give her a surprise, and I had to stop myself from crying.

She had devoted her entire life to this man, and he had betrayed her in the worst possible way. He had been living a double life for ten years while all this time she was playing wife and mother to his kids and making his house a home. It was a pity, and I have never felt such rage as I felt at that moment.

If Dad were there, I knew I would have bashed his skull open. I tried to control my emotions and asked Mom when Dad would be back. She told me that he had actually gone for a week-long trip but had called her at night saying that he was coming back urgently.

She was even happier because she thought that now I would get to meet Dad as well. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to break this news to her, but I also knew that as her daughter and as a woman, it was my responsibility to tell her, no matter the consequences. I knew that Dad would kick me out of the inheritance, and I knew that Mom would be devastated and heartbroken, but I couldn't just stay quiet.

I had to do this for her, and I decided to do it when Dad was home. He came home that night, and he was stunned to see me. He knew that the inevitable was coming, and he just looked so utterly defeated that for a fraction of a second, I felt sorry for him.

But it was only for a fraction of a second. I sat them down and told Mom that I had something to tell her, and I let everything out. I told her what I saw; I told her I called him and that he lied to me, and then I followed him.

I also told her how he pretended that they were in an open relationship and all that nonsense that he had spouted that day. I didn't miss out on a single detail. Obviously, she was shocked and in complete denial.

Initially, when Dad saw her reluctance to accept the obvious, he pounced at the chance and started to give some lame-ass excuse, but she cut him off in the middle of his speech, and then they fought. They fought like two lions at each other's throats. My mother has always been a gentle person; I have rarely seen her yell, be angry, or react violently.

She has always been the kind to have control over her emotions, but not that day. That day, she was livid. They fought for what I think was an hour or more.

It was just plain yelling and mudslinging from both ends, and I didn't say anything but just sat there and listened to them curse each other out. I don't know what outcome they wanted from the fight because there's no coming back from this. Mom is not someone who will ever condone or tolerate cheating.

She said that they were over and that she was going to go ahead with the divorce, but she wanted to do it gracefully for the sake of the kids. But my dad, I don't know what kind of man he has become, said that he would not let her leave him and that he was calling Arthur and Alex home so they could talk some sense into her. He got their tickets done that night itself, and they arrived two days later.

Those two days were complete hell in the house. I stayed with Mom the entire time, and Dad moved to the spare room. They weren't talking to each other, and I wasn't talking to Dad either.

Dad went to pick the boys up from the airport, and I don't know what he said to them, but when they came back, they were completely brainwashed. Mom tried to be dignified about the entire situation, and both she and I had thought the boys would take her side and kick Dad to the curb, but the exact opposite happened. They took Dad's side and told Mom to suck it up and not break the family.

I wanted to slap them right then. It was Alex speaking, but it looked like Arthur was in full agreement. Dad looked smug about the entire situation, and I knew that he had tempted them with money.

I got up and asked them if Dad had put their college funds over their heads. And they didn't say anything. I kept asking them if that was the truth, but they just refused to budge.

I told them that I would help them get loans and help them repay them as well, and they did not have to be scared and support Dad, because they felt they had no other option. But they didn't say anything; they just kept parroting what Dad said the other night. I didn't even have the guts to look at Mom.

I knew how heartbroken she must have been, and I know she had raised them better than that. Dad couldn't exploit me because he knew that I wasn't financially dependent on him, but this was where he had an edge over Arthur and Alex. He could just choose to cut them off anytime.

He is such a lowly scumbag, and I am disgusted that I am biologically related to him. Mom asked the twins if they genuinely thought she should continue in the marriage with a cheater, and they said yes. She said that she was sorry they felt that way, but she wouldn't oblige their wishes.

She said that she was going to file for divorce, whether anyone liked it or not, and whether she had any support or not. I immediately went to her and told her that she had my full support and that she had no reason to worry about anything. Dad sent the boys to their room and asked Mom to reconsider in a condescending tone.

He was not even ashamed of his behavior and told her that the entire blame for breaking the family would fall on her shoulders if she proceeded with this. She said that was a cross she was willing to bear, but she couldn't stand being married to a cheater. That was the end of the discussion between them, and Dad left in a huff.

I have come back to work now, and I am in regular touch with Mom. I don't know what's going to happen, and I feel so sad that I am not there to support her during this time, but I have my obligations too. I just hope the boys see sense and choose the right thing instead of being scared about the future if Dad takes away their funds.

I know they are in a difficult position, but I just wish they had the guts to stand up to this blatant tyranny and be there for their mom, who needs their support now more than ever. **Update:** Mom has filed for divorce. She tried to do it the nice way, but then she found out that Dad had genuinely kicked me out of the inheritance and I would get nothing if she proceeded with a divorce.

He told her that I was the one who was supporting her, and he tried to blackmail her, saying that if she actually filed, he would kick me out and ensure that I never saw a single penny of the college fund or the family wealth ever again. I think that was his last bargaining chip with her, and he was trying everything in the book to make sure that Mom didn't leave him. He knew that Mom loved me and that she would not agree to anything that would sabotage my life or my future, and he was using this to his advantage.

Too bad for him that now I'm a grown woman and I don't need his scraps. He cannot keep his filthy money over me and manipulate me, and I would not let him do this to Mom either. Mom called me in tears, saying that she was thinking she wouldn't leave him because he had told her that he would not give me anything.

It broke my heart to see that even in a situation like this, where she was so miserable, she was thinking about me. I told her not to worry about me and to go ahead with the divorce. I told her that I was doing really well for myself and that I didn't need his dirty money anyway.

She broke down and thanked me for standing by her, and I reassured her that I will always stand by her. Now comes the interesting part: Mom got in touch with her lawyer, and the lawyer is very smart and shrewd, and he has taken Dad to task. Mom had not given me the details of the divorce, but Dad called me up yesterday and started yelling at me, saying that I was the one who was supporting Mom and ruining him, and that I was no daughter of his if I let this continue.

I had no idea what he was talking about, so I called up Mom, and surprisingly she seemed in a very good mood. She had moved out earlier and was living with a friend, and that is when she gave me the spicy details. I couldn't stop laughing when I heard the story; Karma had come to bite my father in the ass, and now he was too deep in his own mess to do anything about it.

I think that is what arrogance does to a person: it makes him feel that he is invincible and clouds his memory, keeping him away from reality. Too bad he came crashing down to the ground. Years and years ago, when Mom and Dad were married, Mom had sold her jewelry and family heirlooms to fund Dad's business.

None of us knew this. Mom said that she never felt the need to tell us or involve us in these financial matters and that she had given that money to Dad because she trusted him and wanted him to create a name for himself. Never in a million years had she anticipated that he would be the one to turn around and stab her in the back.

When Mom disclosed this to her lawyer. . .

He took Dad to task. Mom has asked for a 50% stake in Dad's business because of the investment she made into it all those years ago. The issue is that the business cannot run in a partnership.

I can't disclose much about his work because I don't want this going public, and now Mom's lawyer says that Dad will either have to buy out her half or just run the business in partnership, which is not practically possible. So essentially, Dad is completely screwed, and now I think this is why he seemed so scared when I caught him and told him that I would be telling Mom. I think he knew that if this went public, Mom would leave him, and since she had invested so much, he would have to give her half the business.

Now he wants to make amends, but Mom is not in the mood, and rightly so. There is no other compromise that she is open to, and it seems that the judge is leaning heavily in her favor. Dad's little affair with the love of his life has ended up being very costly for him; it has cost him his family and now his entire career, and I couldn't be happier.

Men like him, who exploit their wives and take them for granted, deserve this and much worse. Update two: the divorce has been finalized. Mom is a single woman, and she has possession of half of Dad's assets.

Dad is mad about it, and he hasn't stopped ranting about it to anyone who has ears. Everyone is sick of his nonsense, though, and he is losing people who would even be willing to speak to him by the minute. The best part of it all is that the love of his life, his mistress of the last 10 plus years, has left him.

The minute she found out that he had no money left was the minute she left him. So Dad essentially lost his family, his money, and his respect for a woman who left him the minute his net worth faded, and the entire charm of being involved with a rich and married man wore off. He is the biggest loser at the end of it all, and I am so happy about it.

Once the divorce was finalized, I sent him a text that he was dead to me from that day on, and that he had no reason to contact me ever again. I have blocked him since then, and I honestly don't want anything to do with him anymore. He can rot in hell with his filthy morals for all I care.

And now for the most interesting part of it all: Mom has willed the entire share of her property and assets to me because she knew that Dad wasn't going to give me anything and had basically bought Arthur and Alex by keeping their funds and his money over their heads. She didn't want me to lose out, which is why she has publicly declared that she is going to give everything to me. When Arthur and Alex got to know about this, they called me up and demanded that I split my share with them because we are family and family is supposed to look out for each other.

I told them that Mom was their family too, but they did not have these strong opinions when she was sobbing and asking them for support. They had nothing to say to that but were insistent that I split my share with them. I told them that they were behaving like entitled brats, and while I know Dad had them under his thumb, they still had to at least be decent human beings.

That is when Arthur said something I will never forget. He said that since I was not Mom's real daughter, I had no right to that money anyway, and that only they were Mom's real family. I asked Alex if he felt the same way as his brother, and he said yes.

It hurt like hell; I didn't expect such a low blow from them. I know they said it out of anger and that they didn't mean it, but I don't care. It was hurtful and mean, and I don't think I can forgive them for that.

I told them that if they were Mom's real family, why was I the only one standing with her when she needed support? Why didn't they speak up then? I said that if I was not their real family, they had no business talking to me and begging me for scraps.

I cut the call and blocked them. I know they are kids, but at 20 years old, you need to have some kind of sensitivity to such issues. I know that I'm going to forgive them ultimately, but as of now, I just can't talk to them.

They have hurt me a lot, and maybe I will get over it in time and we will normalize things, but now I just want space, and I need the mental peace and stability to be able to look after my mother and be there for her. She has been very strong throughout this ordeal, and it is my turn to support her and give her love and care just like she has been doing for me ever since I was a kid.