Alex forgets his phone at home as he leaves for work, and his wife, Amanda, accidentally hears a voicemail from a strange boy calling Alex ‘Dad.’ She suspects Alex is cheating on her but soon discovers his deception runs much deeper. Amanda will stop at nothing to ensure Alex gets his comeuppance.
“Alex, you’re forgetting something!” Amanda called to her husband as he headed to the front door.
“Oh, god. Thanks, babe. What would I do without you?” He kissed her cheek and took the wallet. “Sorry for the rushed morning, but I’ll try to finish early so we can spend quality time together later…”
After Amanda saw Alex off, she finished some chores and then slumped on the sofa for a break. She was watching TV when Amanda heard Alex’s ringtone coming from somewhere close by. Amanda looked under the sofa cushion and found Alex’s phone.
The caller ID showed an unknown number. Amanda was about to answer the call when it went to voicemail. A little boy’s voice came through the device:
“Hi, Dad! I know you must be on your way already, but I wanted to say I’m waiting for you! Please come soon!”
“Dad?” A chill ran down Amanda’s spine as she repeated the word.
Amanda couldn’t call the unknown number back because she didn’t know the password to unlock Alex’s phone. Her heart sank as she began to suspect Alex had cheated on her. She called Alex’s assistant, Jerry, hoping to ease the worries in her heart and mind.
“Hello, Jerry,” she said. “This is Amanda. Has Mr. Gibbs has arrived yet?”
“I think there’s some misunderstanding here, Mrs. Gibbs,” Jerry replied.
“Mr. Gibbs isn’t here today. I’m filling in for him at the meetings.”
Amanda’s heart dropped, but she maintained her composure. As the call ended, she buried her face in her palms. Amanda loved Alex. She wanted to trust him, but the boy who’d called and Alex’s absence from work both suggested he’d been lying to her.
Suddenly, Amanda heard car tires on the gravel outside the house. The front door clicked open, and Alex rushed in, asking if she’d seen his phone.
Amanda’s blood was boiling. She wanted to confront him right then and there, but she knew he’d come up with a quick lie and get alert if he was really cheating on her. Instead, she rose from the sofa and smiled at him while hiding his phone.
“I’ll check the bedroom!” Amanda said.
She quickly disappeared to their bedroom and returned seconds later, pretending she’d found the phone there. Alex thanked her and immediately rushed out again. Amanda walked him to his car and sneakily dropped her fitness band with activated GPS into the car door pocket.
Amanda waved goodbye, waited a few moments, then followed Alex.
At first, Alex followed his usual route to the office. Amanda felt awful for doubting him until he suddenly turned in the opposite direction. Twenty minutes later, Alex parked outside a modest house in a town fifteen miles from their home.
Amanda pulled over. She watched Alex retrieve a gift box from his trunk and enter the house. Her eyes bulged in horror when Alex returned with a little boy in his arms.
Alex marched to the neighboring house, unlocked the door, and entered with the boy. Amanda snuck closer and peeped through the living room windows. Her stomach knotted as she watched Alex scoop the boy in his arms and kiss him on the cheek.
“What’s going on, Alex? Who is this child?” Amanda yelled as she barged inside to confront her husband.
“Daddy, who’s she?” The boy asked while Alex stared at her in shock.
Amanda glared at them.
“Why is this boy calling you Daddy, Alex? I saw everything, so you better not lie!”
Alex sent the boy, Caleb, into another room and turned to face Amanda.
“He’s my son, Amanda,” Alex admitted. “I should have told you before, but…I was scared. I have a second family. Caleb was with a neighbor while his mom was at work.”
“Wow…” she said after a brief pause, trying not to choke on her tears. “So this is the important meeting you were talking about? How long has it been going on for, Alex? The boy looked old so…”
“Four years,” he confessed. “I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I know what I’ve done is wrong…you can divorce me. I’ll give you half the property and everything. We can still be on good terms.”
“You’ve really thought this through, huh?” Amanda hissed. “We’ve been married for years! How could you do this to us? I love you!”
Alex hung his head. “No you don’t, Amanda. This…what our relationship has come to…is just dependency. I’d fix this if I could, but right now, all I can do is provide you with a way out of this mess. You can carry on with your life without me.””Oh god, Alex!” she scoffed in disgust. “I should divorce you so you can live happily ever after with your new family? No woman can accept her husband’s infidelity and move on calmly! You won’t get away with this!”
Amanda drove home in tears and retired to her bedroom with a wine bottle. While thinking about how to get her husband back, Amanda’s teenage son, Dylan, sat beside her and asked her what was wrong.
“Your Dad cheated on me,” she said as she chugged the liquor.
“Sorry, Mom. I should have told you about it before,” Dylan confessed.
Amanda almost choked on the wine. “Told me before? What are you hiding from me, Dylan?”
“Dad…he told me about his other family,” he confessed.
“I couldn’t believe it. I asked him to tell you the truth, but we were worried you wouldn’t take it well.”
“You should have told me, Dylan!” Amanda lashed out, unable to believe her son knew everything. “Instead, you kept me in the dark, and I feel so betrayed right now!”
“I was protecting you, Mom! I love you, and I’m going to support you. I’ll keep you happy, Mom. Trust me!” He placed his hand on hers, but Amanda shoved it away.
