My Ex-Wife And Her New Husband Accused Me Of Abuse_ With My Daughters_ Help... - Reddit Family Tales

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
My ex wife and her new husband accused me of
abuse with my daughter's help. That night, I didn't just
clear my name. I crushed their plan. Isolda called to
me from the courthouse's entrance. After fifteen years of parenting
kids alone, we found ourselves in family court to allow
another guy to adopt my sixteen and seventeen year old girls.

(00:21):
Are you sure about this, I begged them one final time,
as we waited outside the courtroom, clutching onto the little
hope I still had. Dorian actually understands what it means
to be a real father, Thalia replied, coldly, chilling my blood.
All you know how to say is that there's no money.
He's going to take us to Europe this summer and
has already promised us the best colleges. She giggled. Finally,

(00:43):
we'll have a father who is worth having, not one
who embarrasses us in front of our friends. When the
judge questioned if they were certain, Thalia spoke plainly, yes,
your honor. This man never understood what we needed. Dorian
is the father we deserve. He has a vision for
the future, she said, not like him. She made a
contemptuous gesture at me the judge's gavel sounded like the

(01:07):
death penalty adoption approved. I saw them rush to him,
my ex wife. They never gave me such enthusiastic hugs before.
Dorian smiled triumphantly as he gazed at me from above them.
I left the court house feeling as if fifteen years
of sacrifice had been trampled. On. That night, I unlocked
my laptop and checked the bank account I had kept

(01:27):
hidden four hundred forty seven thousand dollars. For the first
time in years, I found myself smiling. They were no
longer my daughter's and no longer my problem. They had
no right to a single scent of what I had
created for them. Although the emptiness was painful, their ignorance
of what they had truly lost almost made up for it.
The day after court, I couldn't get out of bed.

(01:48):
I contacted work and informed them that I was sick.
It was not a falsehood. I felt physically destroyed. I
attempted to eat breakfast, but the first bite became caught
in my throat. Fifteen years of sacrifice were shattered in
an afternoon, and I had to smile as if I
was fine with it. Lying there staring at the ceiling.
I remembered something. My mother's trust fund. The girls were

(02:10):
no longer my legal daughters. What did this mean for
the money? I called Octavian, the attorney who handled my
mother's trust. I had known him since I was a kid.
He had been a family friend for several decades. Son,
I'm so sorry to hear what happened yesterday, he remarked
after I told him all about the court session. But
there's something you should know. That two million dollar trust

(02:32):
is now entirely yours. How I was curious about Your
mother was smarter than you thought. She put in a
specific clause. If the girl ceased to be your legal dependence,
the money automatically transfers to the biological father. She never
trusted your ex wife. I was still thinking about the news. Octavian,
I need you to explain this to me clearly. It's simple.

(02:55):
They renounced you as their legal father. The trust no
longer has valid beneficiaries. The full two million dollars is yours,
no strings attached. That money was never touched because it
was intended for when they went to college. I said
my good byes and returned to my office. I took
my credentials from the safe and logged into all of
my bank accounts. I have four hundred forty seven thousand

(03:16):
dollars in my own account now, with the trusts two
million dollars. I received two million, four hundred forty seven
thousand dollars as my prize for sacrificing fifteen years of
my life for them. That that afternoon, I started my
own investigation. Octavian had said that he knew an accountant
who could discreetly investigate Dorian's accounts, but it would take time. Meanwhile,

(03:37):
I remembered Isolda having used my old MacBook during her
first years in high school. I located it in the
closet and switched it on to see that her eye
cloud was still synchronized. Her messages and images were all there.
What I read in the family discussions both devastated and
educated me. Texts from my ex wife and the girls
dating back two years, every sacrifice I'd made was regarded

(03:58):
as a failure. Dad works so much because he doesn't
care about us. He only cares about money. He never
takes us to nice places because he's cheap. It's embarrassing
that he drives that old car when all our friend's
dads have new cars. I'm ashamed when he picks me
up from school, the other moms laugh at his car.
I hope he doesn't come to Thalia's graduation. He'll look

(04:19):
bad next to the other dads. My ex had created
an entire story. I was the stingy villain. Dorian was
their rescuing hero, taking them to posh restaurants and buying
them fashionable clothes when they visited her on weekends. She
had planned this treachery for years, using every expensive gift
to contrast with my thriftiness. A week later, the accountant

(04:40):
called me with some preliminary information regarding Dorian. Your ex
brother is screwed. He stated plainly. He owes four hundred
thousand dollars to private lenders. His business has been bankrupt
for six months. From the public records I could review,
he desperately needs money, and my ex wife knows this.
I'm not sure, but from what I could see in
public records, she might be lending him money she doesn't

(05:02):
have that Evening is Olda shared a video with me
via WhatsApp. It read she and Talia were posing in
front of a red convertible BMW look what daddy Dorian
is going to give us for our eighteenth birthdays, one
for each of us. Finally, someone who invests in our
future and understands we need to arrive at college and style.
I answered with a simple thumbs up emoji. The accountant's

(05:25):
report made me think if Dorian was that desperate, who
else would he have approached for money? There was just
one person nearby and trusting enough to fall into his trap.
I pulled up the phone number for Don Alaric, my
ex wife's father. We hadn't communicated for a year. Don Alaric,
It's Cassian. There was quiet on the line, Son, he

(05:46):
murmured in a fatigued tone. I knew you'd call one day.
How are my granddaughters, he inquired, concerned, I haven't heard
from them in weeks. My daughter said they were busy
with school. I had to inform him about the court case,
the adoption and everything. He remained quiet for a long time.
When he spoke again, his voice was trembling with wrath.

(06:06):
That expletive. Do you know why she wouldn't let me
see them? Because she knew I would find out the
truth about that, Dorian? What truth? Was My response? Don
Alaric that bastard owes me sixty thousand dollars that I
lent him two years ago to save his business. My
daughter swore he would pay me back. Now I understand
why they wanted that trust fund. His tone became harsher.

(06:28):
But there's more. Five years ago, that guy scammed an
insurance company by faking a workplace accident. My daughter helped
him forge medical documents. I have copies of everything because
she asked me to keep some important papers at my house.
Why are you telling me this now, don Alaric, Because
they took my granddaughters from me to protect a con man,
and because I'm tired of being taken for a fool.

(06:50):
If they want to play dirty, I know how to
play dirty too. That night, I began to arrange something
I never imagined. I do an adoption celebration. I leased
the city's most luxurious ballroom, the Crystal Palace, five thousand
dollars for a single night. I called my ex wife,
I want to throw a party to celebrate the adoption.
I told her quietly, a proper farewell. She remained silent

(07:13):
for a few seconds, likely expecting me to cry or
beg wow, you're finally understanding your place in all of this,
she said, with arrogance that made me giggle. Fine, I accept,
but make it a decent place, not some cheap restaurant
like always. The Crystal Palace is already booked. Really, it
was obvious that she was surprised. Well, then make sure

(07:34):
the champagne is vauve clickot, not that trash you used
to buy. Of course, the next few days were spent
preparing two PowerPoint presentations containing all of the information I
had gathered. The girl's messages, the accountants reports on Dorian,
the insurance fraud documents from Don Alaric, screenshots of the
videos displaying the BMW's, and of course, the bank statements

(07:55):
revealing the millions they had just lost. I also chose
to change my appearance. It wasn't simply the gymnasium. I
hired a personal trainer, a dietitian, and a tailor to
create personalized outfits. If I was going to do something,
I was going to do it correctly. A week before
the celebration, a parcel arrived by courier. Inside were all
of the father daughter images I had framed in my house,

(08:17):
including the ones that had gone missing. As well as
a handwritten note from Azolda, you can keep the memories,
we'll take the future. That night, I burnt the photos
in the fireplace. I no longer felt agony, just cold,
unwavering clarity. Instead of relaxing on the couch. The next day,
I went to the gym. I initially saw her while

(08:38):
lifting more weight than I had in years. Her name
was Selina. Nothing happened that day, but for the first
time in a long time, I recognized there was life
outside of my house. The audit was over. It was
time to collect and perhaps live again. The numbers did
not lie, and they indicated that it was time to collect.
The first evidence of panic occurred three days after they

(08:58):
confirmed the party. My ex wife has sent me a message.
I need the guest list to curate it. I want
to make sure it's appropriate for the girls. I sent
her a list of forty people. What I didn't tell
her was that I had prepared a second list of
every one. She would check out Dorrian's co workers, who
knew the truth, his old business partner to whom he
owed money, and of course Don Alaric. Predictably, she returned

(09:22):
the list with half of the names crossed out. These
people are not appropriate for a family celebration, she said perfect.
That following afternoon, Dorrian called me personally for the first time. Hey,
can we talk like men? His voice tried to seem kind,
but I could sense uneasiness. Of course, Look, now that
I'm the girl's father, I'd like to access their educational accounts.

(09:46):
My lawyer says that as their legal guardian, I have
the right to manage the trust fund. Your mother left
them there. It was the true reason for all of this,
the trust fund. I pretended to be confused, Dorian, I
don't know what you're talking about. Come on, man, My
wife told me there was money set aside for their education,
a trust your mother established for the girls. Oh that

(10:08):
I never had access to those funds. My mother handled
everything and then Octavian, Octavian the family lawyer, But honestly,
he never told me exactly how much was in there.
There was a long sigh. Could you give me his number? Sure?
I gave him Octavian's phone number, knowing exactly what would happen.
He hung up fast. The next day, Octavian called me,

(10:30):
exhausted from laughter. Son, your ex wife's husband just called
me demanding access to the trust. When I explained that
it no longer has valid beneficiaries because of the adoption,
he went crazy. What exactly did you tell him the
truth that the money automatically reverted to you when they
legally renounced being your daughters. He remained silent for almost

(10:52):
five minutes before yelling that it was impossible. That afternoon,
my phone exploded. My ex wife called me upset. You're
a damn thief, she exclaimed. As soon as I responded,
excuse me. You stole my daughter's money. That trust fund
was for them. They were your daughters. They're not my
daughters anymore. Remember you said so yourself in court. You

(11:14):
know perfectly well what I mean. I know exactly what
you mean. You had my daughters adopted to steal their money,
and now you're furious because the plan backfired. The line
was quiet for a few seconds. I don't know what
you're talking about, she replied, attempting to appear innocent. Please,
Dorian didn't just happen to call asking about the girl's
educational accounts. This was all a plan from the beginning.

(11:38):
She didn't answer the phone. Two days later, I had
a visit that confirmed how far they were willing to go.
A social worker arrived at my home accompanied by a
police officer. Sir, we've received a formal complaint of child
abuse and financial neglect, the social worker explained, May we
come in. My heart raced as I allowed them in.
My place was spotless and my documents were well organized.

(12:01):
I had expected something like this. The complainants alleged that
you denied basic financial support to miners for years, causing
them severe psychological trauma. Who are the complainants? I requested
the information. Your ex wife and her current husband. They
also have signed statements from the miners. They were there.
They had persuaded my own daughters to formally accuse me

(12:21):
of abuse. May I see the statements, I asked, and
they showed me. The documents Isolda Andhalia had submitted written
statements alleging emotional deprivation, intentional financial negligence, and psychological harm
caused by poor living conditions. These are very serious accusations,
the officer told me. If proven, we're talking about criminal charges.

(12:42):
I understand. Can I have a few minutes to look
for some documents. I went up to my room and
returned with a box full of papers. Bank statements, paid
tuition bills, school supply receipts, medical bills, everything I'd saved
for fifteen years. Here are all the expenses I covered
for the girls for fifteen years. Private tuition, private health insurance,
extra curricular activities, clothes, food, all documented. The social worker

(13:05):
spent half an hour reviewing the documentation. Sir, this clearly
shows you have covered all basic expenses and more. Is
there any reason why the miners would sign these statements
because their adoptive parents convinced them they needed access to
a family trust they can no longer touch. I explained
the entire situation, including the trust, the adoption, and Dorian's call.

(13:26):
The cop and social worker exchanged looks. Do you have
proof that the adoption was motivated by money? The officer inquired,
does a recording work? I pulled out my phone. I
had recorded my whole talk with Dorian concerning the trust fund.
I played the audio, in which Dorian revealed his lawyer
assured him he had the authority to operate the trust
and his displeasure was palpable when I told him I

(13:47):
knew nothing about the money. This is highly irregular. The
social worker stated, we will need to investigate these accusations further.
But from this perspective, it appears that someone is using
the system for financial pressure. They left after two hours,
but not before the cop said something that chilled my blood.
If these accusations proceed, they will try to request a
restraining order and an asset freeze. Have your papers in order.

(14:10):
That night, I was unable to sleep. They had not
only attempted to rob me, but they had also turned
my own girls into weapons that may land me in jail.
The next day, I did something that I knew would
seal their fate. I called the financial aid offices at
the two institutions where Azolda and Thalia were supposed to attend.
Good Morning, I need to formally withdraw my statement of

(14:31):
financial support and my guarantee as a co signer for
my daughter's student loans. Is there a problem, sir? They
are no longer legally my daughters. They were adopted by
another man. Therefore I am no longer responsible for their
educational finances. Furthermore, they just filed a formal complaint accusing
me of child abuse and financial neglect. There was a

(14:51):
prolonged pause, sir. This will trigger an immediate review of
their enrollment. Without verified paternal financial support, their adoptive father
will have to take responsibility for their financial obligations. He
had adopted children deliberately to gain access to their educational
trust fund. After a week the results became apparent, Thalia
called me, weeping, Dad, I need you to help me

(15:14):
with something urgent. I'm not your dad anymore, CAMMI legally speaking.
Please just listen to me. My university enrollment was canceled,
and I also have a five thousand dollars credit card debt.
It was for a trip to cancuon that Dorian gave us,
but now he says I have to pay for it.
So now that the plan had failed, Dorian was already
withdrawing his generous gifts. And why would that be my responsibility?

(15:38):
I requested an explanation, because you caused us emotional trauma
with your cheapness all these years. It's the least you
can do. Her icy tone left me stunned. They had
just formally accused me of abuse, yet they expected me
to fix their problems. According to the County Family Court,
that responsibility now belongs to mister Dorian Martinez call him dad.

(16:01):
I blocked her for the first time ever, I blocked
my own daughter. That afternoon, I bought a Patek Philippe
my stopwatch. Marked the conclusion of this nightmare. I formally
requested Selena to join me at the party. She was
a lady. I began dating after meeting her at the gym,
which I could not have done when my entire life
revolved around the duties of being a single father. During

(16:22):
our dinner prior to the party, I realized something awful.
They hadn't simply usurped my duty as a father. They
had stolen years from my life that I would never
get back. The night of the party, I straightened my
cuff links in the mirror. The man thought on having
survived the most vicious attempt at personal destruction he had
ever seen. I arrived at the Crystal Palace in a
Chauffet Mercedes. When Selena and I went in, I noticed

(16:46):
them Dorian sweating in a rental suit, my ex wife apprehensive,
and Hisolda and Thalia perplexed, unsure why their university enrollments
had been canceled that week. When they spotted me, their
faces were filled with horror and perplexity. For a time
they didn't recognize me. The man stepping in was not
the exhausted father they had seen in court two months ago.

(17:06):
He wore a superbly fitted suit, had a transformed body,
and was accompanied by a gorgeous and successful woman who
appeared to have walked out of a magazine. Dorian became
visibly pale. He realized he'd utterly underestimated his victim. This
was hardly the dejected loser he had expected to witness.
I nodded to them. The actual visitors were arriving. The presentations,

(17:28):
including the fraudulent abuse charges, were placed into my laptop.
Are you ready, Selena murmured, The show is about to begin.
I approached the small stage in the ballroom. The murmur
of discussions decreased. Gradually, all eyes were on me. The
genuine guests I had carefully selected Dorian's creditors, don Aleric's
spiteful smirk, and of course, my old family in the

(17:49):
heart of the room, paralyzed by perplexity. Good evening, I said,
adjusting the microphone. Thank you for joining us for this
very special celebration. I organized this party to commemorate a
significant transfer, a transfer of a duty, a responsibility and
a future. I hooked up my notebook to the projector.
The massive screen behind me illuminated. For fifteen years, I

(18:12):
worked two jobs to give my daughters what they deserved.
The first slide featured my financial statements over time, double shifts.
Every cent reinvested ISOLDA. You said my budget spreadsheets were humiliating.
Here is the final spreadsheet. Four hundred forty seven thousand
dollars came on screen. A woman in the front row gasped,
and this is their grandmother's gift. I compared the trust

(18:34):
fund and the adoption decree two million dollars. But as
you can see, as of May fifteenth, they are no
longer legally my daughter's. This money is now legally mine.
My ex wife shot up from her seat. You stole
the girl's money. I stole. I stole the money I
saved for fifteen years. I stole the trust fund that
legally reverted to me when you stole my daughters from me.

(18:56):
Let's talk about theft Dorian. The screen displayed his death
four hundred thousand dollars to private lenders and a failed firm.
My daughters traded a guaranteed college education for a con man.
Dorian attempted to stand, but his creditors quickly surrounded him.
But the best part is yet to come. My voice
became icy. Remember the abuse allegations you made against me?

(19:19):
I showed the signed statements. A man in a suit mumbled,
my god when he read my daughter signed this. My
father caused me significant psychological harm by refusing me basic
financial support. Do you know why they lied under oath?
I divided the screen on the left as the video
is Solda gave me. Look what Daddy Dorian is going

(19:40):
to give us for our eighteenth birthdays, one for each
of us. Her sworn testimony is on the right. My
father forced inadequate and terrible living circumstances on us. The
room was suffocatingly silent. Isolda buried her face and sobbed.
Those statements are false, my ex wife exclaimed, desperately false.

(20:00):
Let's see. I engaged my phone's audio. Dorian's voice dominated
the entire room. My lawyer claims that as their legal guardian,
I have the authority to manage the trust fund your
mother left them. Thalia cried, we didn't know, but nobody
believed her anymore. Don Alaric rose from his seat and
walked determinedly towards Dorian. You, he exclaimed, pointing to him,

(20:24):
you expletive con man. Dorian looked pale. Don Alaric, I
don't know what you're talking about. Sixty thousand dollars, yelled
don Aleric. You vowed me sixty thousand dollars for two years,
you bastard. You said it was to save your business.
The entire room became silent. Dorian attempted to flee, but
the creditors trapped him. And that's not all, don Alaric, added,

(20:47):
his voice quivering with wrath. You convinced my daughter to
forbid me from seeing my granddaughters. Also, I wouldn't find
out you're a useless failure, don Alaric. Please, Dorian called out,
Please what? Please don't say that you also scammed an
insurance company. Did you all know they accused me of
abuse to help a criminal, Because it turns out Dorian
isn't just a family con man. I imagined the insurance

(21:09):
fraud paperwork five years ago. He defrauded an insurance company,
and my ex wife helped him forge medical documents. My
ex wife's face fell. Several attendees began bringing out their phones.
To record. Dorian attempted to run, but don Aleric stopped him.
You're not going anywhere, you thief. You told my granddaughters
their grandfather was a bad person so they wouldn't find out.

(21:32):
You live by scamming people. And here's the perfect ending,
I remarked, projecting the final slide. Not only did they
lose the trust fund and my money, the universities didn't
just cancel their enrollments. They reported them to other institutions
for document fraud. They're blacklisted. Thalia and Azolda exchanged terrified looks.
Their educational prospects had virtually evaporated. Dad, Please, Isolda cried,

(21:56):
we didn't know. You didn't know what that you formally
accuse me of abuse, that you signed sworn affidavits lying
about how I treated you, or that you did it
to help a con man rob me. Dorian promised us
a paid for college education, new cars, trips. Thalia cried out,
he told us you were cheap, that you made us
suffer on purpose, and you chose to believe him instead

(22:16):
of asking me for the truth. My ex wife lurched
toward me. Cassian, can we fix this? You and I
we can what I interrupted her get back together. Three
months ago, you called me mediocre and told me Dorian
was a better father. Now that you've discovered I have
over four million dollars, suddenly I'm a good option. That's
our daughter's four million dollars, she yelled hysterically. Our daughters.

(22:42):
I gazed at her, stunned. We don't have daughters anymore.
You took care of that. They are my four million dollars,
which I earned with my sacrifice, and you will not
touch a single cent. I returned to the microphone for
the final strike. You freed me from my purpose as
a father. It's only that I free you from my wallet.

(23:02):
I took Selena's hand and walked towards the exit, arm
in arm with her as total chaos broke out behind me,
Dorian confronted by multiple creditors, don Aleric screaming truths at him,
and my ex wife bombarded with questions about the fraud.
Where are we going, Selena said, as the chauffeur opened
the Mercedes door for us home. As we drove away,
I looked back one last time. Isolda Andhalia stood alone

(23:25):
in the middle of the ballroom, surrounded by the calamity.
They had helped cause they were no longer my issue.
They were no longer my daughters, and for the first
time in fifteen years, it felt liberating. It's been eight
months since the party. Dorian is doing two years in
jail for insurance fraud. My ex wife received probation in
exchange for testifying against him, but she still has a

(23:45):
criminal record. Neither of them can find a respectable job.
Don Alaric recovered fifty thousand dollars of his sixty thousand
dollars debt by selling Dorian sports automobile after it was repossessed.
He sold the works as a waiter at a restaurant
where she used to go with her friends for lunch.
Thalia works the night shift at a supermarket stocking shelves.
They shared a one bedroom apartment and split their expenditures.

(24:07):
The b m w's never existed. One Saturday morning, I
was in the garden when the door bell rang. Selina
was at the spa, so I decided to open it myself.
He sold and Talia stood on my porch. They were different, thinner, tired,
but with a look in their eyes I hadn't seen
in years. Respect, perhaps fear Hi, Dad Zolda murmured in

(24:29):
a trembling voice. What are you doing here? I asked,
in a neutral tone, not unfriendly, but not warm. We
wanted to talk to you, Thalia responded, if you have time.
For eight months, we've worked and thought about what we
did to you. We called you cheap when you were
working two jobs to give us everything. Now we know
what it's like to wake up at five a m.

(24:50):
To count every penny. She said, We understand you did
that for us for fifteen years. They grieved silently. Dad
is Isolda explained, we know we have no right to
ask you for anything, but we want to show you
that we understand. They showed me spreadsheets detailing their expenses,
part time work schedules, and university budgets, calculated to the
scent everything I had done for years. While they mocked me,

(25:13):
it's alone, Thalia explained, with interest, we want to earn
back the right to be your daughters. I did not
say yes right away. I assured them that I would
think about it. Last week I emailed them a professional contract,
namely an educational finance arrangement. A three percent interest loan
is conditional on maintaining a three point five GPA, working

(25:33):
twenty hours per week, filing monthly expense reports, and participating
in bi weekly progress video calls. They signed it without
reading the entire fine print. Selina and I moved into
a home with an ocean view. I visited Europe twice
this year. I invested the money and it has already
earned an additional eight hundred thousand dollars for the first
time in fifteen years, I'm living the way I want.

(25:55):
Last night, I had my first video call with Izolda.
She showed me her grades, all A's. Her budget was ideal.
After we concluded, she added, thank you for giving us
a second chance. Dad, you are earning it. I said,
this is not the father daughter bond we had previously.
It is better. It is built on mutual respect, not obligation.

(26:16):
They appreciate the value of good since they paid for
them through their own work. My ex wife messaged me
for months. The last one stated, I hate you. You
ruined our lives. I changed my phone number. Sometimes I
wonder whether I was overly harsh. Then I recall Thalia
telling me Dorian promised us a paid for college education,
new cars and trips. He told us you were cheap

(26:38):
by choice, not necessity, and it passes