A House of Lies

"When my four sons were finally old enough for preschool, I arrived at the school office with my marriage certificate and their birth certificates, ready to sign them up.But the lady at the counter frowned and said, "These documents don't check out. According to the system, your kids don't even exist."I felt as if the floor had dropped out from under me. I remembered when Sheldon Clem and I got married—he was the one who handled all the paperwork, the birth registrations, everything.I never imagined that when I tracked him down with our four boys, he'd be holding his childhood sweetheart in his arms, with her little girl snuggled against him.And then we heard him sweet-talking her right in front of us."Don't be mad, babe. I've got everything set up for us overseas. Gigi is going to the most expensive private school, and you'll be living in the nicest penthouse downtown."Sure, she gave me four sons, but all my love and money are with you. I only kept her around because I felt sorry for her."What else do you need? My will's already signed. Everything goes to you and Gigi."Riley Anderson pouted, smug and satisfied. "If you don't love her, then she's the other woman, not me. She's got no right to fight me for anything!"So he never went bankrupt.When we got back home, Sheldon acted as if nothing had happened. "Honey, I've found this amazing project overseas, so I won't have time to come home much. I'll need you to hold down the fort at home."I smiled and nodded. "Sure, go ahead."If that was how he wanted to play this, then fine. I'd make sure he really went broke, and then I'd find my boys a new father."