Julia felt as if her world had been broken when her husband Tom was diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, the prognosis was grim, and he went suddenly only two months later. Her heart ached, but she realized she had to be strong for her son Rob, who was still very little and heartbroken by the death of his father. Months passed, and the pain intensified, but suddenly Tom’s brother, Mike, entered Julia and Rob’s lives. Julia was aware that Mike had feelings for her since childhood, but she chose Tom and never looked back.
However, Mike’s presence in their lives began to make Julia happy, so she decided to marry him and provide her kid with a father figure. Mike and Rob appeared to grow fond of each other. At the end of the day, Mike was Rob’s uncle and now his mother’s spouse. Julia worked a lot, and when she got home, Mike would tell her about how he and Rob had a great day hiking, visiting the park, or doing other enjoyable things together. Julia noticed an eerie silence one day when she arrived home. She wondered whether everything was good when Mike approached her, hugged her, and informed her Rob had left.
Rob, at 15, left a letter for his parents in which he wrote: Dear mother and father, I’ve decided to leave because I believe it would be better for everyone if I didn’t bring up more negative memories and misery. Please understand that this is not due to anything you did, but rather a decision I felt compelled to make in order to maintain harmony at home. I pledge to take care of myself, and I hope you can forgive me someday. Remember that I love you both, and this is the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make. Take care. Rob
Julia was confident that Rob would never do this. She went immediately to the police station because she was scared for her son’s life. They couldn’t do much, though, because he had left a letter stating why he was leaving his house. They did help Julia find him, but they soon gave up and said, “Let’s just let him go. He doesn’t want to be discovered anyway.”
Years passed, and Julia never stopped searching for her son. She scanned the crowds in their town, conducted vigils, and even left a candle burning on the windowsill. She knew all of this irritated Mike since he persuaded her to cease attempting to contact Rob when he did not want to be found. On the tenth anniversary of his disappearance, Julia determined to move on with her life.
After evaluating several choices for starting again, she and Mike bought a colonial property two states distant from their previous house, which they bequeathed to Julia’s sister Schuyler. Julia couldn’t picture anyone other than her family owning the house. With the transfer, she began to alienate herself from her family. However, one day, a familiar face appeared at her door.It was Schuyler, her sister. She was noticeably nervous and stated that the two needed to communicate. Julia was ironing Mike’s clothing for his forthcoming business trip when Schuyler suggested she stop and check on Mike’s glasses case.
Julia did as she was told. After opening the case, she discovered a phone. Her sister revealed that it was a burner phone that Mike used to call Rob once a month to ensure he was not returning home.Mike convinced Rob that his mother would be better off without him and sent him to live with an aunt on his father’s side.
Schuyler realized this after receiving a wedding invitation addressed to Julia. Rob was getting married, and despite Mike’s convincing him that his mother did not want him to be a part of her life, he still wanted her to be present on his wedding day.
Schuyler contacted him using the sender’s address on the wedding invitation, and she discovered that Mike had contacted Rob without Julia’s knowledge for nearly ten years. “Look how much mom has to work to feed you,” Mike would say Rob. “Isn’t it good if she spent that money on herself? Wouldn’t you desire to relieve her of the weight that you carry?”
He suggested Rob leave the house, and the unfortunate boy agreed, believing his mother had no room for him in her life.Julia contacted her son via the burner phone. She told him she had no idea what Mike had done and that she would never stop looking for him. Julia eventually divorced Mike, sold their joint property, and purchased a house close to Rob’s. She attended his wedding and is now the grandmother of a gorgeous boy.