Julia felt like her world shattered into a million pieces when her husband Tom was diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, the prognosis was bleak and he passed away just two months later.
Her heart ached, but she knew she needed to remain strong for her son Rob who was still very young and devastated by the loss of his dad.
Months passed by, and the grief only grew stronger, but then, Tom’s brother, Mike, became part of Julia’s and Rob’s life. Julia was aware that Mike felt something for her since childhood, but she chose Tom and never looked back.
However, Mike’s presence in their life started feeling good so Julia decided to marry him and give her son a father figure.
Mike and Rob seemed to grew fond of one another. Well, at the end of the day, Mike was Rob’s uncle, and he was now also his mother’s husband.
Julia worked a lot, and whenever she would return home, Mike would tell her how he and Rob had a fantastic day going hiking, visiting the park, or doing other fun stuff together.
One day, however, upon arriving home, Julia stumbled upon unusual silence. She wondered if everything was okay when Mike approached her, hugged her, and told her Rob was gone.
In the letter he left for his parents, then 15-year-old Rob wrote:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I’ve decided to leave because I thought it would be better for everyone if I wasn’t around to bring up more bad memories and sorrow. Please understand that this isn’t because of anything you did, but a decision I felt I needed to make for the sake of peace at home. I promise to take care of myself and hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me someday. Remember that I love you both, and this is the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make.
Take care,
Rob
Julia was convinced that this wasn’t something Rob would ever do. Scared for her son’s life, she went straight to the police station. However, since he had left a letter explaining his reason for leaving his home, they couldn’t do much. Upon Julia’s assistance, they did help her find him, but they eventually gave up and told Julia, “Let’s just let him go. He doesn’t want to be found anyway.”
Years passed by and Julia never stopped looking for her son.
She scoured the crowds in their town, held vigils, and even kept a candle lit on the windowsill. She knew all this made Mike angry because he convinced her to stop trying to reach Rob when he didn’t want to be found. And on the tenth year of his disappearance, Julia decided to let it go and move on with her life.
After considering various options for starting anew, she and Mike purchased a colonial property two states away from their old home, which they left to Julia’s sister Schuyler. The thought of someone outside the family owning the house was something Julia couldn’t imagine. With the move, she gradually distanced herself from her side of the family. But one day, a familiar face appeared at her door.
It was her sister, Schuyler. She was visibly nervous and said the two needed to talk. At the time, Julia was ironing Mike’s shirts for his upcoming business trip, but Schuyler insisted she stopped whatever she was doing and urged her to check on Mike’s glasses case.
Julia did what she was told. Upon opening the case, she found a phone. Her sister explained to her that it was a burner phone that Mike used to call Rob every month just to make sure he wasn’t returning home.
It was Mike who convinced Rob that his mom would be better off without him and sent him to live with an aunt from his father’s side.
Schuyler learned this when she received a wedding invitation addressed to Julia. Rob was getting married and despite Mike convinced him his mom didn’t want him to be part of her life, he still wanted her to be part of his wedding day.
Schuyler managed to contact him through the sender’s address on the wedding invitation and that’s when she learned that Mike contacted Rob without Julia being aware of it for over ten years.
“Look how much mom has to work to feed you,” Mike would tell Rob. “Wouldn’t it be nice if she spent that money on herself? Wouldn’t you like to release her of the burden that you are?” He suggested Rob leave the house and the poor kid complied, thinking his mom had no room for him in her life.
Julia used the burner phone to contact her son. She explained to him that she had no idea what Mike had done and that she never stopped looking for him.
Julia eventually divorced Mike, sold the property they purchased together, and bought a house next to Rob’s. She attended his wedding and is now a grandma of a beautiful boy.
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