It so happens that my sister and I share the same mother-in-law.
Everyone adored my husband, and he certainly knew how to charm. He courted me, but at the same time gave my sister a lingering glance. When Thomas discovered that my grandmother had left me, not Emily, the London flat in her will, he proposed to me without delay.
At that very moment, my sister was already expectingshe had her heart set on marrying him and make it look as if the baby was his. Desperate for some security, she lied to her ex-boyfriend and claimed the child was his, just so she wouldnt be alone.
Thomas and I lived in a cramped house in Kent with his parents. When their neighbours decided to sell their plot, Thomas persuaded me to sell the London flat so we could buy the land. I relented. But it meant we needed a loan to build our own home.
My mother-in-law hounded me constantly. She nitpicked every detail, spoiled her daughter rotten and barked orders at me. Once the house was finally finished, she knocked down the fence and let her dogs roam in, knowing full well I was terrified of themit was her way of making it clear who was in charge. No matter how many times I begged Thomas to have a word, hed just dismiss me, saying I was overreacting.
I simply couldnt take it any longer. I took legal action, hoping to claim my share of the house and buy a flat of my own. But then it came outthe sole registered owner was my mother-in-law, not us jointly. I have no idea how they pulled it off, but suddenly I was left with nowhere to go.
At the same time, Thomas discovered my sister had been given a flat by our father. Seizing the opportunity to wreak havoc, he exposed the truth to her husbandthat he was the real father of Emilys daughter. Naturally, my marriage fell apart, and he went on to do the very same to my sister that hed done to me.
All this time, Id had no contact with herwe barely spoke. So imagine my shock when I stumbled across the news that they were together. But once Emily realised shed been duped as well, she suggested we join forces.
We started questioning the neighbours and learnt that my mother-in-law and her son had already acquired five properties through naive women like us. The pattern was always the sameThomas would move his wife in, then divorce her, leaving her with absolutely nothing.
We got in touch with other victims and put together a joint lawsuit. But there was no one left to face in courtby then, hed fled abroad. My mother-in-law remained, pestering us to hand over the childrenher only grandchildren.
She even tried to strip us of parental rights, arguing that, without homes of our own, we were unfit mothers. Yet, both of us had found other living arrangementsthe very situation she had engineered through her deceit. After the court hearing, we were ordered to allow the children to visit their grandmother and not interfere with their relationship.
The worst part is how she manipulates the girls against us. According to her, shes the innocent grandmother and were the villains. She delights in stirring up trouble, demands investigations, and encourages her granddaughters to lie about smoking and drinking. Now the girls have started threatening usif we dont buy them a tablet, theyll call social services.
Ill have my grandchildren. Just you wait! my mother-in-law shouts.
So what are we to do? How do we fight back? Shes wronged us at every turn, but she just refuses to give up.
