Pile of envelopes. | Source: Sora

My wife was constantly receiving letters and burning them, so I stole one and discovered a blackmail attempt – Story of the Day

For months, I watched my wife receive mysterious letters, which she then burned without a word. When I couldn’t stand the secrecy any longer, I decided to take matters into my own hands. What I discovered in one of those letters would shatter everything I thought I knew about her.

Why do people love children so much? That thought crossed my mind every time I left work and saw children playing in the yard.

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Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate children. I was happy for those who had them, but I wasn’t that kind of person, and I didn’t understand all the fuss surrounding the topic of children.

I was lucky that my wife, Natalie, didn’t want children either, and we decided to dedicate our entire lives to ourselves.

At times, it seemed like Natalie and I had the perfect marriage, but there were moments that reminded me it wasn’t that simple.

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Natalie had always been very private. I noticed it when we met, and even after a year of living together, I still had the feeling she was hiding something from me. In fact, I was sure she was hiding something from me.

I parked the car in the garage, entered the house quietly, and peeked into the living room.

Natalie was there again, doing what she never talked about and I never dared to ask, afraid of what I might hear.

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Every week, Natalie received a letter. She didn’t know who it was from or what it contained.

He never left them lying around. He burned all the letters in our fireplace, thinking I didn’t know, that I didn’t realize.

But that day everything changed. I accidentally knocked over the coffee table and Natalie jumped, turning toward the noise.

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“Oh my God, Ryan! You scared me!” he said. I realized it was finally time to figure it all out. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“Nothing, I’m sitting by the fire,” Natalie said.

“I know you’re burning letters,” I said, and I saw the fear on his face.

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“Yeah, why keep junk mail at home? It’s easier to burn it to start a fire,” he said, his face now calm and serene.

“Really? A letter every week?” I asked.

“Are you accusing me of something?” Natalie asked.

“Are you cheating on me?” I asked bluntly.

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“What? Do you really think if I were cheating on you I’d be writing letters to someone? In the 21st century?” Natalie asked mockingly.

“What else am I supposed to think? If you’re not telling me anything, you’re hiding something,” I said.

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“What if you trust me?” she asked.

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“I don’t want to become the idiot whose wife cheated on him right under his nose,” I said.

“That’s not going to happen,” Natalie said, putting her hands on my shoulders and kissing me.

I tried, I really tried, to forget about those letters and just trust Natalie, but the thought that she might be cheating on me wouldn’t let me rest. I couldn’t be with a woman who didn’t want to be mine.

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So I decided to do what I’d been avoiding for so long. I knew that every Wednesday she received a letter, and that she would manage to get it before I got home. So I decided to intercept it before she did.

In the morning, I pretended I was going to work, but I parked nearby to keep an eye out.

I waited half an hour, an hour, two hours, and finally, the postman put the mail in our mailbox.

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I quickly got out of the car and opened the mailbox. Among the bills and advertisements, I found that letter.

There was no return address. I put it in my pocket, returned the rest to the mailbox, and returned to the car.

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I sat there for a long time, not daring to open the letter. I knew it was wrong, that I was destroying the trust in our relationship.

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But I couldn’t help it. I had to know what was inside. Finally, I opened the envelope and took out a small note.

If you don’t want your husband to find out, come to the park by the fountain tomorrow at two o’clock in the afternoon and bring $10,000. If you don’t show up, I’ll tell him everything. I have copies of all the letters.

This wasn’t at all what I expected. Someone was blackmailing my wife, and that person knew the cards, knew the truth.

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I decided not to tell Natalie anything and go to the park myself to find out everything she had been hiding for so long.

That night I arrived home as usual. Natalie was sitting at the kitchen table, looking worried. In front of her was the mail.

“Hey, is this all the mail?” Natalie asked.

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“I don’t know, you took it,” I said.

“Yes, you’re right, I’m sorry,” he replied.

She seemed very upset and still didn’t want to talk to me about the letters, to tell me the whole truth, that there was someone she truly loved, and it was obvious it wasn’t me.

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The next day, at two in the afternoon, I stayed in the park, next to the fountain, watching out for anyone who might be the blackmailer, although I had no idea what blackmailers looked like. I’d only seen them in movies.

I imagined a guy with a cap and glasses, but there was no one like that. Instead, there was a man who looked exactly like everyone else, but he was circling the fountain, walking in loops.

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At 2:30 p.m., he seemed irritated and was talking to someone on the phone. I listened to what he was saying.

“Where are you, Natalie? Damn it! Do you want your rich husband to find out about everything?” the man said on the phone.

I no longer had any doubts. It was definitely the blackmailer. I calmly approached him, holding the bag of money in my hand.

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“Hi, I’m Natalie’s husband,” I said, and I saw the fear flash across her face. “I’m not that rich, but I’m willing to pay if you tell me the whole truth. What’s in those letters Natalie’s been receiving? Who are they from? How long has she been seeing that guy? If it’s you, I promise I won’t touch you.”

The man snorted. “I don’t care who pays, as long as I get the money. My name is Michael. I’m Natalie’s ex-husband,” he said.

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“Natalie didn’t have a husband,” I said.

“Well, officially we weren’t married, but we lived together as if we were,” Michael said.

“She never mentioned it,” I said.

“Of course not. I was afraid you’d leave her,” Michael said.

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“Why would I leave her if she had an ex?” I asked, confused.

“Because the letters you think are from a lover aren’t from a lover at all,” Michael said.

“So who do they belong to?” I asked.

“Let’s go to my car. I’ll show you around,” Michael said.

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We went to his car and Michael handed me all the copies of the letters Natalie had received.

I was so shocked I couldn’t say a word. I just grabbed the cards, gave the money to Michael, and drove home.

My hands shook the whole way. The letters lay on the passenger seat, like the heaviest load I’d ever carried.

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I couldn’t believe Natalie had been hiding this from me, pretending everything was fine, smiling at me, lying to me and telling me she shared the same outlook on life as me.

I parked near the house, grabbed the cards, and went in. Natalie was sitting on the couch, looking like she’d been crying.

I threw the cards in front of her. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a son?!” I yelled.

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Natalie looked scared, first at me, then at the children’s drawings with the words “Mommy and Me” and the drawings of a little girl.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“How could you hide this from me? How could you look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t want children when you already had a daughter?” I yelled.

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“Ryan, where did you get this?” Natalie asked.

“I lied. A letter arrived for you yesterday, but I intercepted it. It had threats in it, saying that if you didn’t pay $10,000, he’d tell me everything. I decided to pay and find out what it was about,” I said.

“Did you see Michael?” Natalie asked.

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“Yes. But that’s not as important as the fact that you lied to me,” I yelled.

“I didn’t lie to you! I really don’t want to have any more children! Because my daughter was taken from me, and I didn’t want that to happen again!” Natalie cried.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

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“Didn’t Michael tell you everything? It sounds like him,” Natalie said. “We were in a toxic relationship, and when I finally decided to leave… Michael got full custody of Katie. I didn’t have a home or a job, so it was easy for him to do it. He thought I’d stay.”

“Oh, and the girl… Katie, is she safe?” I asked.

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“Yes, he’s a very good father, and his mother helps him. But all I have left are Katie’s letters and the photos Michael sends,” Natalie said.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything? Why have you kept quiet all this time?” I asked.

“Because you didn’t want kids, and I love you, Ryan, and I was afraid you’d leave me if you found out,” Natalie said.

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“I can’t believe you kept this from me for so long,” I said.

“What else could I do? And the fact that you found out behind my back isn’t very nice,” Natalie snapped.

“I wouldn’t have done it if you had told me everything!” I shouted.

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“You would have left me as soon as I told you!” Natalie yelled.

I remained silent for a long time, wondering what to do next, what the right thing to do would be, before finally saying, “I want to meet Katie.”

“That’s impossible. Michael won’t let me see her. I can only be with her if I’m with him,” Natalie said.

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“We’ll hire a lawyer, you’ll see your daughter, and then we’ll take her,” I told him.

“What?” Natalie asked, surprised. “You don’t like children, you’ve never wanted them, and now you’re saying you want a little girl to live with us, one who isn’t even yours?”

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“But she’s yours. I love you, Natalie, and Katie is a part of you, so I’m sure I’ll love her too,” I said.

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Natalie stared into my eyes for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out if I was serious.

Then she threw herself into my arms and began to cry. She cried harder than I’d ever seen her cry, and I just held her tightly, trying to comfort her.

A week later, Natalie and I, along with our lawyer, stood outside Michael’s door.

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“What do you want?” Michael asked grumpily when he saw us.

“There’s a custody hearing tomorrow at 11. I insist you be there,” our lawyer said.

“What hearing?” Michael asked, and the lawyer started to answer, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

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A little girl ran out into the street, looking almost identical to Natalie. “Mom!” she cried and ran into Natalie’s arms.

Natalie hugged Katie, smiling and crying at the same time, and kissed her daughter. I watched this, and in that moment, I realized I would love this little girl as much as her mother.

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If you enjoyed this story, read this one: My best friend had been hiding something from me, and I couldn’t figure out what. When I finally met her new boyfriend, I was paralyzed. The person I’d been keeping a secret turned out to be someone I never expected, and who would change everything between us. Read the full story here .

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