MY IN-LAWS CALLED ME FURIOUSLY, BLAMING ME FOR MY SIL AND HER CHILD BEING HOSPITALIZED. BUT... — Transcript

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1. 0:00It all started on a bitterly cold night
2. 0:02when snow was swirling in the air. Out
3. 0:04of nowhere, my cell phone rang. I picked
4. 0:07it up only to be greeted by the wrathful
5. 0:09voice of my mother-in-law on the other
6. 0:11end. It's because of you that my
7. 0:13daughter's in this state. Her face is
8. 0:15unrecognizable. It's atrocious. You need
9. 0:18to take responsibility. Why did you
10. 0:20abandon my daughter? You're despicable.
11. 0:23My name is Amy and I'm 33 years old. I
12. 0:26live with my husband, Zach. Zach has his
13. 0:29parents and an older sister. That single
14. 0:31phone call from my mother-in-law that
15. 0:33night turned my life upside down.
16. 0:35Give me back my lively girl. Why did you
17. 0:38do something so horrible?
18. 0:40I swear I'll make you pay for this. I'll
19. 0:42never forgive you. My mother-in-law,
20. 0:45possibly out of shock, was making no
21. 0:47sense. All she did was spew venom at me.
22. 0:50Mother-in-law, please calm down. I have
23. 0:53no idea what you're talking about, I
24. 0:54said, trying my best to console her
25. 0:56despite my confusion. You have no right
26. 0:59to be calm at a time like this. It's all
27. 1:01your fault and yet you have the audacity
28. 1:03to say such things. Why didn't you help
29. 1:05her? Why did you abandon her?
30. 1:08She continued to yell loudly while
31. 1:10crying, making it impossible to have a
32. 1:12conversation. Even when I told her to
33. 1:14speak slowly, it was like my voice
34. 1:16wasn't reaching her ears. The vitriol
35. 1:18continued endlessly. My father-in-law,
36. 1:21who seemed to have been behind my
37. 1:22mother-in-law, took over the phone.
38. 1:25Amy, I hope you understand what you've
39. 1:26done. Do you understand the state our
40. 1:28daughter is in now?
41. 1:30Fortunately, her life is not in danger,
42. 1:32but she has severe injuries. Why did you
43. 1:35let her suffer like this?
44. 1:37Since my father-in-law was a little
45. 1:38calmer, I honestly told him, "Father,
46. 1:41I'm sorry. I really don't understand
47. 1:43what you two are talking about. What on
48. 1:45earth happened?" He looked perplexed
49. 1:47that I knew nothing, but somehow I got
50. 1:49him to tell me the story. It was content
51. 1:51that made me doubt my ears. My
52. 1:53sister-in-law, a single mother, was
53. 1:56living with her young child about a
54. 1:5720-minute walk from my home.
55. 2:00She had a young boyfriend who she had
56. 2:02been dating for some time and he
57. 2:03frequently visited. I had heard from
58. 2:06Zach that he had a quick temper and had
59. 2:08often raised his hand to my
60. 2:09sister-in-law. Apparently, his mood was
61. 2:12bad last night and my sister-in-law
62. 2:14suffered from more violence than usual.
63. 2:16She felt danger to their lives, so she
64. 2:19picked up her child in a frenzy and ran
65. 2:21out of the house into the falling snow.
66. 2:23Without anywhere to go, my sister-in-law
67. 2:26thought of her brother who lived nearby
68. 2:28and ran desperately hoping to find
69. 2:30refuge at her house.
70. 2:32My sister-in-law rang the doorbell.
71. 2:34Zach, who was home at the time,
72. 2:36answered. She stood outside the door
73. 2:39holding her child in her only clothes,
74. 2:41her face bruised and gasping for breath.
75. 2:44Anyone would have known at first glance
76. 2:46that something was wrong.
77. 2:47But Zach did not show concern for his
78. 2:49own sister. Instead, he seemed a bit
79. 2:51irritated and said, "If I let people in
80. 2:54without permission, Amy will get mad.
81. 2:57Sorry, but can you go home?
82. 2:59She's scary when she's angry. You
83. 3:01understand, right?
84. 3:02Please leave." And turned her away from
85. 3:04the door.
86. 3:06My sister-in-law couldn't believe what
87. 3:07her real brother had said, but she was
88. 3:10in immediate danger and needed to hide
89. 3:12somewhere. So, she begged him in tears,
90. 3:14"At least lend me money for a hotel."
91. 3:17She had left in a panic and didn't have
92. 3:19her cell phone or wallet.
93. 3:21But Zach said something even more
94. 3:23astonishing, "There's no way I have that
95. 3:25kind of money. There's money in the
96. 3:26house, but there's no way Amy would let
97. 3:29me use it without permission. If I did
98. 3:31something like that, she'd divorce me.
99. 3:33Sorry, but could you try somewhere else?
100. 3:36It's cold, so I'm going in. See you."
101. 3:38And he closed the door sending my
102. 3:40sister-in-law away in utter despair.
103. 3:43Holding her young child, fearing that
104. 3:45the two of them would freeze to death,
105. 3:47she trudged back through the snow and
106. 3:49reluctantly returned home only to be met
107. 3:51with even worse violence from her
108. 3:53enraged boyfriend.
109. 3:55My sister-in-law was beaten until her
110. 3:57face was unrecognizable and the child
111. 4:00was kicked and lost consciousness. She
112. 4:03tried to stop him by clinging to her
113. 4:04boyfriend, but the violence only
114. 4:06escalated and her screams echoed through
115. 4:09the neighborhood along with the sound of
116. 4:11breaking dishes and things being
117. 4:12destroyed. A passerby who heard this and
118. 4:15realized something was wrong reported it
119. 4:17to the police.
120. 4:18After that, my sister-in-law and her
121. 4:21child, who had been beaten all over and
122. 4:23collapsed, were found and immediately
123. 4:25taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
124. 4:28Now, although they are conscious, they
125. 4:30are seriously injured and have been
126. 4:31hospitalized with a prognosis of 1 month
127. 4:34for full recovery. I got home late last
128. 4:37night because of work and my
129. 4:38sister-in-law did not come after I got
130. 4:40home.
131. 4:41If I had been there, I would have never
132. 4:43turned her away. If I had seen my
133. 4:45sister-in-law in that state, I think I
134. 4:48would have immediately judged it to be
135. 4:49dangerous, let her in, and then called
136. 4:51the police. I don't understand why it is
137. 4:54believed among my in-laws that I was the
138. 4:55one who turned her away. On top of the
139. 4:58shock that such a terrible thing
140. 4:59happened to my sister-in-law, I couldn't
141. 5:02organize the reality that my in-laws
142. 5:04were crying and blaming me for this, and
143. 5:06I was very confused. Despite my
144. 5:08father-in-law's relentless accusations,
145. 5:11I knew I had to clear up the
146. 5:12misunderstanding. Frantically, I
147. 5:14explained, "I wasn't home."
148. 5:16"When my sister-in-law came by, I was
149. 5:19working late at the cafe I run." I
150. 5:21explained, trying to make sense of the
151. 5:22situation.
152. 5:24"Had I been home, I would have noticed
153. 5:26her unusual behavior and let her in. I
154. 5:28would never turn her away. Please give
155. 5:30me some time to figure out what
156. 5:32happened."
157. 5:33Although he wasn't fully convinced, my
158. 5:35father-in-law seemed to cool down and
159. 5:36hung up the phone. That day, I had been
160. 5:39working late at my cafe developing a new
161. 5:41menu. I had informed Zach about the
162. 5:43expected time I'd be home, but I ended
163. 5:46up working longer. I missed the last
164. 5:48subway and had to take a taxi, not
165. 5:50arriving home until past midnight. When
166. 5:53I got home, I saw Zach, but he didn't
167. 5:55mention anything about his sister.
168. 5:57Confused about why Zach had done what he
169. 6:00had, I confronted him after he came home
170. 6:02from work that night. His response was
171. 6:04shocking. "I could tell something was
172. 6:06wrong when she showed up," he admitted,
173. 6:08"but I was just about to enjoy my beer
174. 6:10and it was cold outside, so I wanted to
175. 6:12close the door quickly. Plus, I didn't
176. 6:15think there was anything I could do
177. 6:16about it." I couldn't hide my anger at
178. 6:18his selfish excuse. "Didn't you feel
179. 6:21anything seeing her like that?"
180. 6:23"Why couldn't you at least let her in?
181. 6:25She's been through a lot since you
182. 6:26turned her away." When I detailed the
183. 6:28sister's current condition, he justified
184. 6:30himself by saying, "Remember how he used
185. 6:33to complain when my parents dropped in
186. 6:34without notice?"
187. 6:36"I thought I was being considerate by
188. 6:37not letting her in, thinking you
189. 6:39wouldn't like it." "What did I do
190. 6:41wrong?"
191. 6:42Turns out, he had assumed that I would
192. 6:44be bothered if his sister showed up
193. 6:46unannounced and turned her away. I asked
194. 6:48him another question. "Why didn't you
195. 6:50lend her any money? You could have done
196. 6:52that much, couldn't you?"
197. 6:53He responded, "I was taken aback when
198. 6:56she asked for money. I'm short on cash
199. 6:58right before payday. I just lost money
200. 7:00playing slots recently and hardly had
201. 7:02$10 in my wallet. If I gave her our
202. 7:05household money, I knew you would get
203. 7:07mad, so I refused. I don't see anything
204. 7:09wrong with what I said."
205. 7:11I was speechless, completely shocked. I
206. 7:13had always thought he was a bit
207. 7:15self-centered, but he also had many good
208. 7:17qualities. I had been giving him the
209. 7:19benefit of the doubt, but I realized it
210. 7:21was a terrible mistake. He was incapable
211. 7:23of making sound decisions because he
212. 7:25always put himself first. He had no
213. 7:28compassion for others, not even a bit of
214. 7:30kindness, and he was foolish enough to
215. 7:32prioritize his drinking over his own
216. 7:34sister's distress. But it was too late
217. 7:36to realize this now. He didn't seem to
218. 7:39feel guilty or responsible at all about
219. 7:41his sister being rushed to the hospital.
220. 7:43"From my perspective, she would have
221. 7:45ended up like this anyway, no matter
222. 7:47where she ran off to."
223. 7:48"On the bright side, she's safe in the
224. 7:50hospital now. We're both safe, all
225. 7:53thanks to me, right?"
226. 7:54he said, as if it were someone else's
227. 7:56business. His heartless remarks were
228. 7:58making me feel like I was losing my
229. 8:00sanity, so I decided not to talk to him
230. 8:03any longer. Holding back my anger, I
231. 8:05reported to my father-in-law about
232. 8:07Zach's irresponsible behavior towards
233. 8:09his sister the previous night. Upon
234. 8:12hearing my words, Zach's father lost his
235. 8:14composure in a fit of rage. There's no
236. 8:17way my Zach would do such a thing to his
237. 8:19own sister. You're lying. Stop making up
238. 8:22stories, Amy.
239. 8:23Are you trying to make Zach the worst
240. 8:25just to escape your own guilt?
241. 8:27If you're going to spew such nonsense,
242. 8:29then show me some proof.
243. 8:31He refused to listen to me at all and
244. 8:33again blamed me for everything. I
245. 8:35endured his accusations while
246. 8:37desperately trying to figure out how to
247. 8:39prove my innocence. If things remain
248. 8:41this way, I would be branded a monster
249. 8:43while Zach, the real culprit who drove
250. 8:46his sister away, would live on without
251. 8:48any sense of guilt or retribution. This
252. 8:51was a situation I could not tolerate. I
253. 8:53remembered that my sister-in-law had
254. 8:55arrived at our home around 9:00 p.m.
255. 8:57that night. After much thought, I found
256. 8:59something that could prove my innocence.
257. 9:01My shop was equipped with a security
258. 9:03camera. The footage clearly showed me
259. 9:05working alone until around 11:00 p.m.
260. 9:07that night. Armed with this footage and
261. 9:09another piece of evidence, a taxi
262. 9:12receipt that showed the time I got home,
263. 9:14I went to my in-laws and proved that I
264. 9:16wasn't at home at the time.
265. 9:18I was at my shop when your daughter came
266. 9:19home. Do you believe me now?
267. 9:22It was probably something they didn't
268. 9:23want to believe, but faced with clear
269. 9:25evidence, they had no choice but to
270. 9:27accept it. Zach's father, his hand
271. 9:30trembling, muttered,
272. 9:32"Though Amy wasn't home then." Despite
273. 9:34their shock, Zach's parents hurriedly
274. 9:36called him in to uncover the truth about
275. 9:38that night. The moment he arrived, they
276. 9:41fiercely demanded, "Why did you drive
277. 9:43your sister away?"
278. 9:45Just as he had done with me, Zach tried
279. 9:47to deflect all blame onto me, claiming
280. 9:49that he thought I would dislike having
281. 9:51his sister in our home.
282. 9:53Hearing this, his father said, "We
283. 9:55already know that Amy wasn't home after
284. 9:57that time. But your sister says she saw
285. 9:59a woman in the house. How do you explain
286. 10:02that, Zach?"
287. 10:03I was speechless. If there was another
288. 10:05woman in our home at 9:00 p.m., there
289. 10:07was only one possible explanation.
290. 10:10Wait, Zach. What is going on?
291. 10:12Who is this woman? I asked him, my voice
292. 10:14shaking. Zach's face turned pale as he
293. 10:17squirmed under the questioning from both
294. 10:19his parents and me
295. 10:21until he finally confessed everything.
296. 10:24When I told him I would be late because
297. 10:25I was working on a new menu, he saw it
298. 10:27as an opportunity to bring his mistress
299. 10:29home.
300. 10:30He knew I often came home after midnight
301. 10:32when I was immersed in my work, so he
302. 10:35felt safe inviting her over. When his
303. 10:37sister suddenly showed up asking to be
304. 10:39let in, he panicked and drove her away
305. 10:41for fear of his affair being discovered.
306. 10:43You fool. Not only did you betray Amy,
307. 10:46but you also left your only sister out
308. 10:48in the snow. What were you thinking? Why
309. 10:50didn't you lend her any money? Explain
310. 10:53yourself.
311. 10:54His father's anger was overwhelming.
312. 10:56Zach confessed the real reason he hadn't
313. 10:58given her any money. He actually had
314. 11:00plenty of spending money left, but he
315. 11:02didn't want to lend it because then he
316. 11:04wouldn't be able to buy the bag and
317. 11:06shoes he wanted to give his mistress. He
318. 11:08didn't want to upset his mistress for
319. 11:10the sake of his sister, so he wanted to
320. 11:13get rid of her quickly, which led to
321. 11:15shutting the door on her.
322. 11:16I was furious, but Zach's parents were
323. 11:18even more so. Before being a brother or
324. 11:21a husband, you lack basic human decency.
325. 11:24It's our responsibility as parents that
326. 11:26you grew up to be this kind of person,
327. 11:28but we cannot tolerate this and maintain
328. 11:31our relationship. From today, we are
329. 11:33cutting ties with you. Don't ever show
330. 11:35your face to us again.
331. 11:37Zach's father disowned him. In a similar
332. 11:40vein, I added, "I'm divorcing you. You
333. 11:42cheated on me and put your sister's life
334. 11:44at risk by leaving her out in the snow.
335. 11:47I can't live with someone like you
336. 11:48anymore."
337. 11:49Zach was shocked at being disowned and
338. 11:51confronted with a divorce all at once
339. 11:53and started begging for forgiveness,
340. 11:55crying, "I'm sorry.
341. 11:57I'm sorry. I won't do it again.
342. 11:59Please forgive me." He clung to his
343. 12:01father's leg, but it was too late. The
344. 12:04damage had been done, and there was no
345. 12:06turning back. But his father simply
346. 12:08shook him off. "What you did is the
347. 12:10absolute worst thing in our eyes," he
348. 12:12declared. His parents and I never
349. 12:14forgave Zach.
350. 12:16It turned out he had been having an
351. 12:17affair with another woman for a year.
352. 12:20The mistress was a co-worker from his
353. 12:21company who he had been secretly
354. 12:23bringing to our house when I wasn't
355. 12:25around. It was infuriating to learn I
356. 12:27had been betrayed behind my back for so
357. 12:29long.
358. 12:30Zach even tried to blame his treatment
359. 12:32of my sister-in-law on me, which only
360. 12:35added to my anger. I had no second
361. 12:37thoughts about divorcing him. I made
362. 12:39Zach sign the divorce papers and
363. 12:41immediately submitted them. Right after,
364. 12:44I headed to a law firm, hired a lawyer,
365. 12:46and filed for substantial damages from
366. 12:48both Zach and his mistress.
367. 12:50I also called Zach's boss, who had been
368. 12:53our matchmaker at our wedding, and
369. 12:55reported through my tears that we were
370. 12:56getting a divorce. I told him everything
371. 12:58about Zach's affair and his mistress.
372. 13:01Zach's boss, a man who despised anything
373. 13:03against human decency, had repeatedly
374. 13:06told Zach at our wedding to never betray
375. 13:08his wife. As expected, he was furious
376. 13:11when he learned about infidelity. Word
377. 13:13reached upper management, and on his
378. 13:15boss's advice, Zach was transferred to a
379. 13:18branch office in the countryside.
380. 13:20His mistress was moved to a different
381. 13:22department where she was made to sort
382. 13:23documents all day.
383. 13:26However, my sister-in-law's revenge
384. 13:28against the two was even more ruthless.
385. 13:31Still suffering from the after-effects
386. 13:32of her injuries, she deeply resented
387. 13:34Zach's actions that day. To vent her
388. 13:37hatred, she did something even more
389. 13:39extreme than what I did. By coincidence,
390. 13:42she was working at one of Zach's
391. 13:43company's clients and knew some of
392. 13:45Zach's colleagues. Using her
393. 13:47connections, she revealed and spread
394. 13:49within the company the cruelty she and
395. 13:51her child had suffered that day. The
396. 13:53company's employees, who had thought the
397. 13:55divorce was due only to the affair, were
398. 13:57shocked to learn the truth.
399. 13:59Zach's abandonment of his own sister to
400. 14:01cover up his affair was a huge shock to
401. 14:04everyone in the company. The rumor
402. 14:06quickly spread, and Zach was universally
403. 14:08suspected of being a terrible human
404. 14:10being. Once he was ostracized by
405. 14:12everyone, his work was impacted, and
406. 14:15after a while, he was demoted. He
407. 14:17couldn't stand being avoided by everyone
408. 14:19and found it hard to continue working at
409. 14:21his new post, so he ended up quitting.
410. 14:24To pay me the high alimony, he drained
411. 14:26his savings and is still paying me by
412. 14:28working live-in part-time jobs. Almost
413. 14:30all his salary goes towards the payment,
414. 14:32and I've heard he can't even afford a
415. 14:34coat for winter and shivers in thin
416. 14:36T-shirts. As for the mistress, she was
417. 14:39stubbornly clinging to her job amidst
418. 14:41the judgmental glances of her
419. 14:42co-workers.
420. 14:43Despite my demand for damages, after
421. 14:45consulting my lawyer, I decided to ask
422. 14:48her parents for the payment. When her
423. 14:50parents learned about it, they were
424. 14:52shocked and immediately made their
425. 14:53daughter pay the full amount. After
426. 14:55confirming the facts, I kept receiving
427. 14:57calls from her, which I never answered,
428. 15:00but she left numerous abusive messages
429. 15:02in my voicemail
430. 15:03saying,
431. 15:05"Why did you tell my parents? I had to
432. 15:07go into debt to make the payment. My
433. 15:09life is ruined because of you."
434. 15:11As I found it unbearable, I sent these
435. 15:13messages to her parents. I received an
436. 15:15apology letter later, promising they
437. 15:17would never let their daughter trouble
438. 15:18me again, and the harassing phone calls
439. 15:21stopped.
440. 15:22As for my sister-in-law, her abusive
441. 15:24boyfriend's actions became a police
442. 15:26matter, and she was able to file for
443. 15:28damages for her injuries. It had been
444. 15:30tough, but she finally managed to break
445. 15:32up with him. My in-laws and
446. 15:34sister-in-law apologized to me for
447. 15:36initially suspecting me and for Zach's
448. 15:38infidelity. Of course, both were painful
449. 15:41experiences for me, but I could
450. 15:43understand their outrage and loss of
451. 15:45composure when they saw their daughter
452. 15:47taken away in an ambulance after such
453. 15:49severe abuse.
454. 15:50After all, Zach's affair wasn't their
455. 15:52fault. I didn't hold a grudge against
456. 15:54them.
457. 15:55On the contrary, I wanted them to
458. 15:57properly heal the emotional wounds of my
459. 15:59sister-in-law and her child who had such
460. 16:02a terrible experience. If I were in her
461. 16:05shoes, I'm sure my parents would have
462. 16:06reacted the same way. Furthermore, my
463. 16:09in-laws and sister-in-law are
464. 16:11fundamentally decent people. Now that
465. 16:13I've divorced Zach, I'll probably never
466. 16:15see them again as they are now strangers
467. 16:17to me. But, I sincerely wished them well
468. 16:20and hope they take care of themselves. I
469. 16:22moved closer to the cafe I run. Since
470. 16:25it's within walking distance, I no
471. 16:26longer have to worry about the last
472. 16:28train and can devote my time to coming
473. 16:30up with new menu ideas.
474. 16:32Though I was thrown around by unexpected
475. 16:34events, I probably wouldn't have been
476. 16:35happy if I had continued to be married.
477. 16:38There are things one must never do as a
478. 16:40human being. I firmly intend to always
479. 16:42keep that in mind and live a life I can
480. 16:44be proud of. That's what I strongly