Devious Man Forces Mother-in-Law to Sell House and Runs Away with Her Money – Story of the Day

A horrible man tricked his wife and mother-in-law into giving him all her money. Then he ran away, not knowing his mother-in-law was ten times smarter than him.

“Don’t worry, Mom. You’re going to live with us from now on,” Francesca told her mother, Jasmine, after her father passed. “You won’t be alone in this big house.”

“Is Derek ok with that? Your husband should have a say in that decision,” Jasmine asked, worried that her son-in-law might not be happy about that.

“Derek will have to get on board with it. Family is the most important thing to me in the world, and it’ll be nice to have you around once again,” Francesca finished. But just as Jasmine had guessed, Derek did not like the idea.

“You should’ve talked to me about that sooner, Fran. No guy in the world wants their mother-in-law to move in,” Derek said that night after Francesca told him her mother was moving in the following day.

“Derek, please have a little compassion. My father just died, and I’m having a hard time. My mother’s doing even worse. We need to be together. Also, I was hoping you could help navigate all the estate arrangements and set my mother up with her retirement,” Francesca explained.

“That’s not my—” Derek started complaining but suddenly stopped. “Oh, well. That’s fine. Yes, I should help your mother out. My bank has some amazing set-ups, and it’ll be easy for me to get it done.”

Francesca didn’t notice the sudden change in her husband’s mood. She was just glad he had agreed to help. But Derek was thinking of the money her former father-in-law left and what her mother-in-law could bring in.

He worked as a banker, and handling that account could give him some amazing benefits. He was already thinking of doing more with that money. His wife and mother-in-law didn’t need to know anything…

So, the following day, Jasmine moved in with her daughter and son-in-law. Everything went well in the beginning. But she started to notice Derek’s strange behavior. He often took phone calls late at night, waking her up.

He also got home late from work all the time. Although she knew banks closed promptly at 4 p.m. in their town, Francesca didn’t seem to notice and took it all in stride. When Jasmine asked her, her daughter said that this was completely normal.

But Jasmine couldn’t get the nagging feeling off her gut. Something was off with her son-in-law, and she would find out soon. One day, Francesca announced that she had a business trip and left for the weekend. Derek was less careful those days, and Jasmine finally caught him onto something.

“No, baby. It’s ok. I’ll leave when the old witch is asleep. She won’t notice at all,” she heard Derek say on the phone. Yes, it was wrong to eavesdrop, but Jasmine was sure her son-in-law was up to no good.

Who was this “baby”? Later that night, she heard Derek leaving and followed him as best she could. He actually walked only a few blocks away and knocked on someone's house. A woman answered the door and greeted him with a passionate kiss. Derek was cheating on Francesca, and his mistress lived nearby!

Jasmine couldn’t believe it. She told Francesca about it as soon as her daughter returned from her trip but Francesca didn’t want to believe her. She was in love with Derek. He would never do that to her.

Unbeknownst to both women, Derek had heard their entire conversation. He had to get rid of Francesca’s mother immediately, he thought. They had already sold her house, and the idea of a nursing home was not so bad.

Francesca had originally rejected it, but he was going to push her about it. “I don’t know, Derek. I can’t send my mother to one of those places,” she said.

“Well, Fran. I’m sorry, but I can’t continue living with my mother-in-law for the rest of my life. I think she hates me for no reason. She might even be thinking of breaking us up,” he replied.

Francesca didn’t know what to say to that because it did seem like Jasmine hated Derek, especially after trying to convince her that he was cheating. They let the subject go for a few days until a huge argument broke out one night.

“I can’t take this anymore, Francesca. This man is cheating on you with a woman who lives nearby, and you need to kick him out immediately!” Jasmine yelled.

“Mom! That’s not true. Derek is not that kind of man! Please don’t lie,” Francesca pleaded.

“See? This is what I’ve been telling you, darling," Derek warned Jasmine. "She has something against me. Maybe she wants you all to herself. But I can’t live with someone like that in my own home anymore,” he added smugly and Francesca believed him.

“You liar! You’re the worst kind of man in the world! You won’t get away with this!” Jasmine continued screaming.

“Mother, stop! I can’t have this in my house either. I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Francesca said sternly. Jasmine cried and begged her daughter to believe her, but it didn’t work. So, they sent her to live at the local nursing home.

It was a private facility, and Jasmine was able to make good friends immediately. But she knew Derek was going to hurt her daughter deeply. Luckily, she had just met a nice man at the nursing home and he had a background in banking…

A few months later, Francesca got home from work and saw a note on the coffee table. It was from Derek, who had run off with his mistress and apparently taken all their savings, including her mother's money. The note ended with, “Don’t try to find me. I never loved you.”

Naturally, Francesca called her mother right away and they had a long conversation. She told Jasmine what Derek's letter said. “I should’ve believed you, Mom. I’m such an idiot,” she cried to the phone.

“Don’t worry, baby. There are plenty of good men out there, and you’ll get over that cheating slob soon enough,” Jasmine said, calmer than Francesca expected.

“Mother, he took all our money and yours!” Francesca exclaimed.

“Oh no, he didn’t. I met a nice man over here named Mr. Erickson. It turns out he is the owner of the bank where your husband works. Or should I say ‘worked,’” Jasmine continued.

“I don’t understand. What do you mean 'worked?'” Francesca asked, completely confused.

“I asked Mr. Erickson to keep an eye out for Derek. He had his employees reporting on Derek’s every move, and yesterday, your husband quit his job. I knew something was up, and Mr. Erickson suggested freezing his accounts and mine,” Jasmine explained.

“So, the money is safe?” Francesca questioned, delighted at the idea that Derek would not get away with his evil plan.

“Not only that. The bank has already launched an investigation. And let’s just say that your husband is not a good man. So, he has no money to use right now, and he will probably get arrested soon. I bet he is stranded at the airport as we speak.” her mother finished.

Francesca thanked the gods that her mother had been so smart and had met such a great man. In the end, Derek was arrested for “creative accounting” with many of his clients. Luckily, Francesca secured her divorce quickly, and she even started dating Mr. Erickson’s son afterward.

What can we learn from this story?

1. Not everyone has good intentions. Francesca wanted to believe her husband and regretted it. Sometimes, you have to listen to the people who truly love you.
2. Look out for red flags. They are often hard to identify, but some people give off a bad vibe immediately.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who raised a woman’s baby while she abandoned them.

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