I Discovered My Husband With My Son’s Fiancee Days Before They Were Supposed To Marry…

The Corporate Connection

But it got worse. The detective discovered that Betty was also connected to another corporation.

This one was even more suspicious. The detective tried to find information about it online.

That’s when he found something unexpected. He found Henry’s name.

My husband was connected to this corporation somehow. Bill said that’s when he started watching Henry too.

Not through the detective, just on his own. He noticed Henry making weird phone calls, taking trips he didn’t explain, acting secretive.

Bill didn’t know how Betty and Henry had gotten together. Maybe they knew each other before Betty met Bill.

Maybe Betty sought out Bill specifically because of his family. Maybe Henry contacted Betty first.

Bill didn’t know but he was sure they were working together on something. And he was pretty sure it had to do with the hotel.

The Plot to Steal

I sat there listening to all this and I felt numb. Part of me wanted to say Bill was wrong, that there had to be some other explanation.

But deep down I knew he was right. I’d seen Henry and Betty together.

I’d noticed Henry’s strange behavior too. I just hadn’t wanted to admit what it meant.

I asked Bill what he thought they were planning. He said he wasn’t sure exactly.

But it probably involved stealing from the hotel somehow. Maybe transferring money.

Maybe selling it without my knowledge. Maybe transferring money.

Maybe selling it without my knowledge. Something big, something that would leave me with nothing.

Legal Counsel

I told Bill we needed to be smart about this. We couldn’t confront Henry and Betty yet.

We needed more information. We needed proof.

Bill agreed. He said he’d keep watching them.

I said I would too. But I also said I needed professional help, legal help.

I called a lawyer I knew. His name was Charles Mitchell.

We’d worked together years ago when Henry and I were setting up the hotel. He was good at his job and he was discreet.

I trusted him. I explained the situation.

He said: “He’d look into it immediately.”

He told me not to do anything that might alert Henry or Betty. Just act normal, gather information, let him handle the investigation.

Playing the Game

The next few days were torture. I had to sit across from Henry at dinner and pretend everything was fine.

I had to talk to Betty and smile and act like I didn’t know she was lying about everything. Bill did the same.

We were all playing a game. But Henry and Betty didn’t know we were playing too.

Charles called me 3 days later. He’d found something, a lot of somethings actually.

He asked me to come to his office alone. I told Henry I was meeting a friend for lunch.

I drove to Charles’s office downtown. He had files spread out on his desk: papers, documents, bank statements.

He looked grim. He told me that Henry had been planning this for years.

At least three or four years, maybe longer. He’d been forging my signature on documents, contracts, transfer papers, everything.

The Scope of the Fraud

He’d slowly been moving ownership of the hotel away from me and into a shell company he controlled. He’d also been transferring money from our joint accounts into accounts I didn’t know about.

Betty had also been transferring money from our joint accounts into accounts I didn’t know about. Betty had helped him set all of this up.

She’d used her connections in the shady real estate world to create the shell companies and hide the money trail. Charles showed me the documents.

I saw my signature on papers I’d never signed. I saw bank accounts I’d never opened.

I saw contracts transferring hotel ownership that I’d never agreed to. It was all there.

Everything Henry and Betty had been doing. They’d been planning to steal everything from me.

The hotel, the money, everything I’d worked for. I asked Charles how much they’d already taken.

He said Henry had transferred most of the hotel ownership to his shell company. Maybe 80 or 90%.

A $12 Million Betrayal

There were just a few more papers he needed to forge, a few more transfers he needed to make, and it would be complete. Then he could sell the hotel without my permission.

Charles said the hotel was worth about $12 million. That’s what Henry and Betty were after: $12 million.

My entire life’s work. I asked Charles if we could stop them.

He said: “Yes, but we needed to move fast.”

He’d already started blocking the transactions Henry had set up. He’d contacted the authorities about the fraud.

He’d gathered evidence about Betty’s fake identity and her involvement in the scheme. But we needed to confront Henry soon.

Before he realized what was happening and tried to finish the job or run away. I asked Charles when we should do it.

He said: “As soon as possible, maybe that night.”

I agreed. I went home and told Bill what Charles had found.

Bill looked angry, angrier than I’d ever seen him. He said: “He wanted to confront Henry himself.”

I told him: “No, we needed to do this the right way. We needed to stay calm.”

The Last Supper

That evening I cooked dinner. Henry’s favorite meal: steak, mashed potatoes, green beans.

I set the table with our good dishes. I poured wine.

Henry came home and seemed surprised. He asked what the occasion was.

I said: “I just felt like cooking something nice.”

He smiled and kissed my cheek. I wanted to punch him.

We ate dinner. Henry talked about the restaurant plans.

About how excited he was for Bill to start his career. About how great it was that we were all going to work together.

I listened and nodded and said nothing. Bill barely spoke.

Betty complimented the food. I thanked her.

After dinner I suggested we sit in the living room, have some more wine, talk. Henry agreed.

Confrontation

We all sat down. Henry was relaxed, leaning back on the couch with his wine glass.

Betty sat next to him, too close. Bill sat across from them watching.

I stood by the fireplace. I started talking about the hotel.

About how hard we’d worked to build it. How many years it took, how many sacrifices we made.

Henry agreed. He said: “It was the best thing we’d ever done.”

I said: “Yes, it was.”

Then I said: “It was too bad some people didn’t appreciate that. Some people just saw it as something to steal.”

Henry’s face changed. The smile disappeared.

He sat up straight. He asked me what I meant.

I said: “I thought he knew exactly what I meant.”

I said I knew about the shell company, about the forged signatures, about the money transfers, about Betty, about all of it. The room went silent.

Excuses and Lies

Henry looked at Betty. Betty looked at the floor.

Bill stared at his father. I waited.

Finally Henry started talking. He tried to make excuses.

He said: “It wasn’t what I thought.”

He said: “He was just trying to protect our assets.”

He said: “He was going to tell me eventually.”

But I could see he was lying. He knew I knew.

Then he changed tactics. He started apologizing.

He said: “He was sorry.”

He said: “He’d made a mistake.”

He said: “Betty had convinced him to do it.”

He said: “It was her idea.”

She’d learned about Bill’s family business and saw an opportunity. She’d approached Henry; she’d planned everything.

Under Arrest

Henry said he’d just gone along with it because he was weak, because he was stupid. He said they were planning to sell the hotel and run away to Barcelona with the money.

But he said he regretted it now. He said he still loved me.

I looked at him and felt nothing. No anger, no sadness, nothing.

I’d spent so many years making excuses for Henry, forgiving him, believing he could change. But he hadn’t changed.

He’d just been waiting for the right opportunity to betray me. And when it came he took it.

Betty didn’t force him. She just gave him permission to do what he’d always wanted to do.

I told Henry I’d already talked to a lawyer. I told him the transactions were blocked.

I told him the authorities knew everything. His face went pale.

Betty stood up like she was going to run. But before she could move there was a knock at the door.

I opened it. Two police officers stood outside.

Charles had called them. I stepped aside and let them in.

Handcuffs and Silence

Henry stood up when he saw the police officers. He looked at me like he couldn’t believe what was happening.

Like he thought I’d never actually go through with it. One of the officers asked if he was Henry Thompson.

Henry nodded. The officer told him he was under arrest for fraud, forgery, and theft.

He started reading Henry his rights. Henry just stood there.

He didn’t resist. He didn’t say anything; he looked defeated.

Betty tried to leave. She headed for the back door but the second officer was faster.

He caught her before she got out of the living room. She started crying.

She said: “She didn’t do anything wrong.”

She said: “It was all Henry’s idea.”

The officer didn’t care. He told her she was under arrest too.

She kept crying as he put handcuffs on her. Bill sat on the couch watching his father get arrested.

I couldn’t read his expression. He looked sad and angry at the same time.

The Departure

Henry looked at Bill and tried to say something. He said: “He was sorry.”

He said: “He never meant to hurt him.”

Bill didn’t respond. He just looked away.

The officers took Henry and Betty out to their patrol car. I watched through the window as they put them in the backseat.

Neighbors were starting to come outside. They were watching, whispering.

I didn’t care. Let them watch, let them talk.

I had nothing to hide. After the police left I sat down on the couch.

Bill sat next to me. We didn’t say anything for a long time.

Finally Bill asked: “If I was okay.”

I said: “I didn’t know.”

I felt empty, like someone had scooped out my insides.

Picking Up the Pieces

I’d been married to Henry for over 20 years. We’d built a life together.

We had a son together. And he’d been willing to throw it all away for money, for a woman half his age who was using him.

Bill said: “He was sorry.”

I asked him what he was sorry for. He said: “He should have told me sooner about Betty, about his suspicions.”

Maybe we could have stopped them earlier. I told him it wasn’t his fault.

None of this was his fault. This was on Henry and Betty; they made their choices.

The next few days were a blur. Charles helped me navigate everything: the legal system, the paperwork, the media.

Yes, the media. Apparently a hotel owner getting scammed by her husband and her son’s girlfriend was newsworthy.

Reporters called the house. They showed up at the hotel.

I stopped answering the phone. I stopped going to the hotel for a while.

I let my manager handle things. Charles worked with the police and the prosecutors.