While Adam was away on a trip, I found an email on his iPad about a hot water shutdown at an apartment complex. We own our home and haven’t rented in years. When I confronted Adam, he dismissed it as a mistake. But with no other emails from this sender and the complex just fifteen minutes away, something felt off.

My friend Stacy and I went to the address from the email. A 25-year-old woman answered, clearly startled. Inside, I saw kids and heard other women. When the woman threatened to call the police, we left, deeply shaken.

Stacy suggested I call a lawyer, but I couldn’t believe Adam would do anything wrong. We decided to confront him directly. When I arrived, Adam looked worried.

“Jennifer, did you go to the apartment?” he asked.

“Yes. Who are those women and children?” I demanded.

Adam sighed and admitted he had been living a double life. He wanted a large family but knew it wasn’t accepted here. He had maintained this secret life, supporting it financially through company funds.

I was devastated. “You’ve shattered our family, Adam. How could you think you could manage this without it coming to light?”

He was tearful, saying he still loved me and didn’t want to lose me. But I felt betrayed beyond repair. I took our son and left, filing for divorce and custody.