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In emergencies, you act fast. Cardiac
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arrest, chest compressions, bleeding.
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You stop it before worrying about a
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broken bone. But what do you do when the
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emergency is your life and the patient
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is your marriage? I sat on my patio, a
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cold beer in my hand, feeling
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blindsided. As a critical care nurse, I
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prided myself on spotting subtle signs
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of decline, but I had missed all the
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warning signs of my 18-year marriage's
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demise. The email was anonymous. the
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sender pissed-off 99. It contained a
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video, proof that my wife Bonnie was
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I had no intention of saving the
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marriage. I wanted to end it painfully
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for her and her lover. But after
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reconsidering, I didn't want innocent
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parties hurt, especially my kids.
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My sister Susan lived next door in a
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house identical to mine, a gift from our
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family. I called her over. Isn't it
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early for a drink, Rob? It's only 2
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p.m., she said, noticing my beer. I'm
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off for the weekend. In the mood, I
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replied, knowing she'd understand my
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flexible work schedule. I handed her a
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beer. I found out Bonnie is cheating on
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me. My voice trembled. Susan's face
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pald. Are you sure? I nodded. There was
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a video attached. No doubt.
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That cheating cow? Susan fumed. How does
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she even have time for an affair? She's
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home every night except bachelorette
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parties and I'm always with her. Then
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her eyes widened in horror. She works
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with Rich and they usually drive
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together. No way. She's cheating with my
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husband Rich. I hugged my sister as she
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burst into tears. I'm so sorry. I've had
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a couple of hours to calm down enough
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not to grab a weapon.
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Susan composed herself. Okay, what do we
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do? wait for them and confront them.
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"No, we need a plan. We'll act normal
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tonight, just like yesterday. We'll
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greet them with a kiss." "Are you
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serious?" she asked, a look of disbelief
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on her face. "We need to be smart.
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Well get legal advice tomorrow. At
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least we know we haven't contracted any
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STDs," I added with a smirk, trying to
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lighten the mood. Susan pointed at me.
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Hell no. Rich isn't getting anything
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from me. Bonnie can have him, and we
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mustn't let the kids know yet. I agreed,
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remembering our four teenagers, who were
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more like siblings than cousins, away at
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our parents for the weekend.
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Family was everything to me, and the
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thought of destroying their unity was
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I can't forgive or forget infidelity, I
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Neither can I, she said. I need to
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figure out how to get rid of her without
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losing everything. I won't risk jail or
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let her take the kids. I can't hurt Rich
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either. I have to be there for my kids.
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I get it. We need to break them
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financially, I said. I'm going to take
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every penny I can get. Susan's eyes
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gleamed with a new fire. Our houses are
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safe. Dad gave them to us before we
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married. And didn't you and Bonnie sign
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a prenup? Dad insisted on a legal
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opinion for all of us. If either party
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cheated, they'd only get 20% of joint
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assets and no alimony.
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I remembered the prenup. Bonnie's
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wealthy father had insisted on it,
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fearing I'd take his fortune. My father
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had done the same for Susan and Rich.
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Our prenups were ironclad.
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The next morning, we met with Jake, a
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divorce attorney and Susan's boss. We
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explained the situation and the prenup.
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As long as you have evidence of
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infidelity, you're good, Jake said. The
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cheater only gets 20% of joint assets.
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The prenup is strict. We'll serve them
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divorce papers at work on Thursday at
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noon. After the meeting, we went to the
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bank to transfer money into new separate
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I checked my email and found three more
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videos of Bonnie and Rich. I thanked the
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sender, pissed off 999, who then replied
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with an address, 9203 Victoria Street,
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apartment 2011. I investigated and found
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the apartment was rented by their
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insurance company with Rich's signature
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on the contract. On Thursday, Bonnie
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called me, furious about the divorce
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papers. "I know you found someone else,
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and I'm setting you free," I calmly told
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her, our rehearsed response.
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She angrily denied the affair and
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threatened to take everything, including
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the kids. "I barely kept my voice
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By the way, the girls are packing your
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things. Everything will be in front of
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the house for you to pick up. We have a
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restraining order and change the locks
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this morning. I hung up on her shouting.
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10 minutes later, Susan texted me.
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Backyard, bring your cooler. Make sure
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it's full. Rich had also tried to deny
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the affair to Susan, blaming it on a
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We had been prepared, and Jake arrived
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with two sheriff's deputies to keep
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things from getting out of hand.
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Rich and Bonnie arrived with a lawyer,
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Budro Landry, a bully from my elementary
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"Hey, Robert," Budro smirked. "I hear
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you're having trouble with your wife." I
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ignored him, my focus on the legal
5:24
process. Bonnie and Rich were furious,
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accusing us of taking all the money from
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our joint accounts. We had statements
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proving the original amounts, but Bonnie
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was so angry, she didn't realize her
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credit cards were now cancelled.
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After a tense exchange, Bonnie and Rich
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left their things in tow.
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The next day, another email from
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pissed-off 9999 arrived, an audio file.
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It was Bonnie, Rich, and Budro
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discussing how to hide money and fake an
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alibi to get around an investigator.
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They even mentioned flying to the Cayman
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Islands. Do they have secret bank
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accounts? Susan wondered. I see the bank
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statements. He couldn't have hidden
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much. The following Wednesday, we met
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with a court-appointed financial
6:08
arbitrator. He was reviewing our
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paperwork when he noticed a discrepancy.
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Mr. Fontano, there's a big difference
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between Mrs. Fontano's salary estimate
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and her tax returns for the last 2
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years. She reported an income of
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$140,000 annually, not $600.
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"What the hell?" I exclaimed.
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Bonnie and Rich had been hiding $80,000
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So, where's the money, Bonnie? I
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demanded. Is that why you went to the
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Cayman Islands last Friday? Bonnie,
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looking terrified, asked. How did you
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find out? You did it yourself, I said.
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Both you and Susan insisted the kids
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install phone locator apps. They tracked
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you when you didn't answer them on
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Friday and saw you reappear near the
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coast, suggesting you were in the
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Cayman. The arbitrator took control of
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the situation. Further investigation
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revealed the money was split evenly
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among five accounts belonging to their
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children. Jason and Diara Fontano and
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Robert Dave and Cynthia Jenkins. The
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parents showed responsibility if not
7:13
remorse by giving the money to their
7:16
children. My jaw dropped. So that's what
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had happened. My kids were the ones who
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had outsmarted their parents. The
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hearing was expedited. All five kids
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insisted on attending. As Judge Goody
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started the proceedings, my daughter
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Diara raised her hand. "Your honor, I
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read that children 15 and older can
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choose which parent to live with." "In
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some states, yes," the judge replied.
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"In Louisiana, I consider the children's
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opinions after speaking to them
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Diara stood up. "I don't need to talk
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privately. My mother cheated on my
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father and our entire family. I want to
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live with my dad. Jason, Robert, Dave,
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and Cindy all stood in agreement. The
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court officer was taken aback, but the
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judge just smiled, looking at our
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children with pride. The battle was far
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from over, but in that moment, I knew we
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had won. Our family though changed was