Your mother is entitled to the money you owe her, but we could potentially work out a payment plan if
No, Terrence interrupted.
She deserves to be paid back immediately.
All of it.
Son, you just said you don’t have the money.
I’ll get it.
I’ll take out a loan, work extra hours, sell whatever I need to sell.
Mom, you’ve been trying to protect me my whole life, and I repaid you by letting my wife steal from you and assault you.
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
I won’t fight the lawsuit.
You deserve every penny.
I felt my own eyes filling with tears.
Terrence and mom, I want you to know that I’m filing for divorce today.
I can’t stay married to someone who’s been lying to me about everything.
The relief I felt was overwhelming.
What about Lennox?
What will she do?
Terren’s face hardened.
That’s not my problem anymore.
She’s an adult who made her own choices.
Let her figure out how to live with the consequences.
As we left James’s office, Terrence and I walked to our cars together.
At my car, he stopped and turned to me.
Mom, I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.
I know I’ve hurt you in ways that might not be fixable, but I want you to know that I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make this right.
I reached out and touched his cheek the way I used to when he was little and needed comfort.
You already are making it right, sweetheart.
You already are.
As I drove home, I felt something I hadn’t experienced in years.
Hope.
Not just hope that I’d get my money back, but hope that I’d gotten my son back, too.
But I also knew that Lennox wouldn’t go quietly.
A woman who’d spent years manipulating and deceiving wouldn’t just accept defeat.
she would fight back.
And when she did, it would probably get ugly.
I was right to be worried.
The real battle was just beginning.
I should have known Lennox wouldn’t accept defeat gracefully.
3 days after Terrence filed for divorce, she showed up at my house at 6:00 in the morning, pounding on my door like a woman possessed.
I looked through the peepphole and saw her standing on my porch in yesterday’s clothes, her hair disheveled.
Mascara streaked down her cheeks.
She looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
Bessie, she screamed loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood.
I know you’re in there.
Open this door right now.
I didn’t move.
My new security system was recording everything, and I had no intention of letting her into my house.
You destroyed my marriage.
She continued screaming.
You turned my husband against me with your lies.
Mrs. Patterson’s porch light came on across the street.
The Johnson’s dog started barking.
I grabbed my phone, ready to call the police again if necessary.
I’m not leaving until you talk to me.
Lennox shrieked.
You owe me that much.
I pressed the intercom button on my security system.
Lennox, you need to leave my property immediately or I’m calling the police.
Good.
Call them.
Let them hear how you destroyed an innocent woman’s life.
Innocent.
The word would have been laughable if the situation weren’t so pathetic.
You have 30 seconds to get off my property, I said through the intercom.
No, I’m not going anywhere until you admit what you’ve done.
I dialed 911 and gave them my address.
This is Bessie Mitchell on Elm Street.
The woman who assaulted me last week is back on my property, refusing to leave and causing a disturbance.
The dispatcher assured me officers were on their way.
Lennox must have heard me talking because her pounding became more frantic.
You can’t hide behind the police forever, Bessie.
Everyone needs to know what kind of person you really are.
Then she did something that shocked even me.
She started screaming details about our family situation for the entire neighborhood to hear.
This woman turned her own son against his wife.
She yelled at the top of her lungs.
She hired private investigators to spy on us.
She’s trying to steal our money.
I watched through my window as more neighbors came outside to see what was happening.
Some were recording with their phones.
This was exactly what Lennox wanted, to humiliate me publicly, to make me look like the villain in her twisted story.
She’s jealous because her son loves me more than her.
Lennox continued.
She can’t stand that he chose me, so she’s trying to destroy our marriage.
The police arrived just as Lennox was starting to elaborate on our financial situation for the entertainment of anyone within a six block radius.
Officer Martinez was back along with a male officer I didn’t recognize.
Ma’am, Officer Martinez said firmly.
You need to calm down and step away from the door.
I’m not doing anything wrong, Lennox protested.
I’m trying to talk to my mother-in-law.
Mrs. Mitchell has asked you to leave her property.
You need to comply.
She’s destroying my family.
She hired private investigators to spy on me and my husband.
The new officer, whose name tag read Johnson, stepped forward.
Ma’am, what Mrs. Mitchell does with her own money is not your concern.
This is her property, and she has the right to ask you to leave.
