As usual, I went to my daughter’s apartment to clean, but unexpectedly, my daughter-in-law returned home at noon and I heard a woman’s voice as well.
A strange feeling made me quickly slip into the closet. As soon as the door shut, I trembled, listening to the conversation between my daughter-in-law and the unknown woman.
I am sixty-two, retired for three years. Since my daughter moved to Manila after getting married, I often visit to help clean and cook for her and my son-in-law, Rafael. I worry that Maricel might be too busy with work, and Rafael is often away on business trips.
Their apartment is on the 15th floor of a modern, bright building. Every time I come, I feel warm seeing my daughter’s comfortable life and the love between her and her husband.
That morning, I took the usual early bus from the province. Maricel had called:
“Mom, go ahead and rest. I’ll be home early for lunch.”
I smiled at her cheerful voice, feeling relieved. Who would have guessed that day would turn my world upside down?
I arrived around ten, cleaned, and cooked sinigang and fried fish for lunch. While mopping the living room, I froze when I heard the door open. Maricel was supposed to be at work.
It was Rafael. He wore a suit, but his shirt was undone, and there was something unusual in his expression. I was about to greet him when I heard him speaking on the phone. My body went cold. Acting on instinct, I backed into the bedroom closet and quietly closed the door, my heart pounding.
Less than five minutes later, high heels clicked in the hall. A young woman’s voice giggled:
“What are you afraid of? Where’s your husband?”
“I just don’t want my mother-in-law to suddenly appear. She’s here so often,” Rafael’s mistress replied.
I held my breath, cold sweat breaking out. Their laughter mixed with whispers, torturing me—but then one line from the woman stopped my heart:
“What about the land in your husband’s name? You promised to divorce him and transfer it to me.”
I heard every word.
Rafael answered:
“I’m thinking. Wait until Maricel gets the money from her mother’s savings. Once I have it, I can pay my debts and then we’ll leave. Understand?”
My blood ran cold. His target was my life savings—eight hundred thousand pesos I had planned to give Maricel as capital!
I wanted to rush out, but my legs wouldn’t move.
The other woman continued:
“Say what you want, but I don’t trust you. You promised, but you still sleep with your wife. I won’t be the third wheel forever.”
Rafael snapped:
“Quiet! Wait until the money comes; everything will change.”
A moment of silence, then Maricel’s voice on speakerphone:
“Honey, I’ll be home early. Is Mom awake yet?”
“Mom’s not here yet. I have a client to meet,” Rafael lied, coldly.
I felt numb. The polite, smiling man I once knew was now a stranger, lying without hesitation.
The door slammed, footsteps faded. I slowly opened the closet door. The room smelled of a strange perfume, Maricel’s clothes were wrinkled, and Rafael’s wedding ring lay on the table. I sank to the floor, tears streaming.
“Maricel… my daughter… how could you marry someone like this?”
But crying would change nothing. I wiped my tears, took a deep breath, and picked up the phone. Quietly, I called the police:
“I suspect my son-in-law of fraud and property theft.”
Three hours later, when Rafael and the woman returned, the police were waiting. Maricel came home and froze, shocked to see her husband in handcuffs. Rafael struggled:
“Mom! Why are you doing this to me?”
I replied coldly:
“If you did nothing wrong, why fear the consequences?”
Maricel collapsed in tears. I saw her devastation.
That night, I told her everything. She listened silently, sobbing:
“Mom, if you hadn’t been here, I would have lost everything.”
Weeks later, the truth came out: Rafael was drowning in gambling debts and had planned to steal from Maricel and run off with his mistress. He even forged documents for the house transfer.
On the day of the verdict, Rafael kept his head bowed, unable to meet my gaze. A man who had everything had lost it all to greed.
Now, Maricel and I live in a small Quezon City apartment, trusting each other completely. People ask if I regret calling the police. I just smile:
“If I had stayed quiet, my daughter wouldn’t have been safe. My son-in-law would have been the one crying in jail.”
I still remember that suffocating moment in the closet—the day I discovered the truth, the day my heart broke and yet I became stronger as a mother.
