I tried for years to get along with my mother-in-law. I laughed at her backhanded compliments, brushed off her “helpful” criticisms, and pretended not to notice how she always compared me to my husband’s ex. But when I started feeling sick after every meal at her house, my instincts screamed that something was wrong.
So I set a trap.
During another awkward family lunch, I “forgot” my scarf on her couch—with a tiny voice recorder tucked inside. The next day, I came back for it, all polite smiles. That night, I listened.
And what I heard shattered everything.
“She’ll be gone soon,” my mother-in-law murmured to someone. “I’ve been slipping it into her food—just a little at a time. Once she starts acting erratic, my son will leave her. He never could handle hysterics.”
Then the other voice—sickeningly familiar—responded: “We just have to wait. He’ll come back to me eventually.”
It was his ex. They were plotting together.
My stomach twisted. All those times I’d felt dizzy, nauseous, not like myself… it wasn’t stress. It was poison.
The next morning, I showed my husband the recording. His face darkened with each word. “I recognize that voice,” he said tightly. “We’re ending this. Now.”
Some people hide their cruelty behind sweet smiles. But secrets? They don’t stay hidden forever.
