When my daughter Amelia raved about her new boyfriend, Jason, I couldn’t wait to meet him. But by the time Thanksgiving dinner was over, I wasn’t just disappointed… I was terrified.

I’m Evelyn, a 55-year-old surgeon, wife, and mother of four. My youngest, Amelia, has always been a dreamer. She’s beautiful, smart, and kind, but her love life has been… rocky, to say the least.

Coming from a successful and wealthy family invites gold diggers and people who want to use her for connections. Luckily, Amelia was wise enough to eventually notice they weren’t with her for love.

So, when she started gushing about her new boyfriend, Jason, whom she described as a tall, handsome surgeon who made her feel “seen” and “special,” I was cautiously optimistic. Maybe this one would be different.

My husband, Peter, and I decided to host Thanksgiving dinner for them. It felt like the perfect opportunity to finally meet Jason and see what all the fuss was about.

I wanted the evening to be flawless, so I spent all day cooking and decorating. The house smelled of roasted turkey, sage stuffing, and pumpkin pie.

A fire crackled in the hearth and the dining table was set with polished silverware and my best china. I even put out the wine glasses Peter insisted on saving for “special occasions.”

When the doorbell rang, my heart skipped a beat. I smoothed my apron and opened the door to see Amelia standing there, beaming. Beside her stood Jason, every bit as charming and polished as she’d described. There was something familiar…

“Mom, Dad, this is Jason,” Amelia said, smiling widely.

“Jason, so nice to meet you,” Peter said warmly, extending his hand.

Jason’s smile was wide and confident, but as his eyes met mine, my blood ran cold with recognition. I knew him.

It was as if the room tilted. He looked older, sure, but that face, especially that smirk, made all the memories come rushing back.

Jason shook Peter’s hand, then turned to me with a calm expression.

“Thank you for having me, Peter, Evelyn,” he said to us smoothly.

I felt my stomach churn but managed to nod. “Of course. Welcome.” What else could I say?

They came inside, and we sat at the table, but honestly, I was having a hard time concentrating or keeping my hands steady as I poured wine and served dinner.

Jason was charismatic like he’d always been. He complimented Amelia, told funny stories, and even managed to impress Peter with his knowledge of obscure wines.

But he once glanced at me, and there it was: a knowing look. That’s when I realized he not only recognized me, too. It was likely he’d sought Amelia out purposefully. But why?

I had no idea. I thought everything from the past had ended as well as it could, considering.

Even worse, he was enjoying my discomfort. Halfway through dinner, Jason said something that made my heart pound. It was subtle, just a passing comment as he reached for the cranberry sauce.

“I’ve always appreciated attention to detail. It’s something I learned early on in my career.”

I froze, my fork hovering mid-air. He smiled, innocent as ever, and Amelia didn’t seem to notice. But I knew. He was toying with me.

***

The next day, my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.

“Such a coincidence, huh?”

My hands shook as I read it. I knew exactly who it was.

Over the next week, Jason’s messages became more brazen. He sent me old photos of us. They were grainy because phones had lower-res cameras, but they were still unmistakable.

Soon, his texts became thinly veiled threats. “You owe me,” one read. “Get me my job back, or I tell Amelia everything,” another said.

I felt trapped because… I had an affair with him.

Ten years ago, during a separation from Peter, I’d made the worst mistake of my life. Jason had been an intern at my hospital. I was vulnerable, lonely, and stupid.

We had a passionate romance. It was brief, and it ended as soon as I discovered his true colors. You see, Jason was the kind of man willing to falsify a patient’s consent form to get ahead.

He did so to get into an incredible surgery above other interns. But I discovered his actions because I’d noticed his particular penmanship (which is why his comment about attention to detail affected me). This was luckily before the operation took place.

In the end, the patient got to consent and sign a new form, and I kept Jason far from that O.R.

Because of our relationship, he thought I would cover for him, which I did technically. But I had to fire him. I did him a favor by not reporting this to higher-ups and ensured he still had a future in medicine, just elsewhere.

Eventually, Peter and I reconciled, and I forgot all about Jason. Yet, I hoped he would learn. Clearly, he hadn’t. Now, he was back in my life, dating my daughter, and threatening my family.

***

After days of agonizing over this, I asked Amelia to come over. Peter was away playing golf, so my daughter and I sat in the living room.

She could tell something was wrong immediately. “Mom, what’s going on?” she asked, frowning.

I took a deep breath. “Darling girl, I need to tell you something about Jason. Something you won’t want to hear, but you deserve to know.”

For the next hour, I laid it all out: the separation, our tryst, Jason’s unethical behavior, and the blackmail. She sat stiffly while her lips tightened with each of my words.

When I finished, there was a long, heavy silence.

“How could you not tell me this sooner?” she finally said. “Does Dad know? And why didn’t you report Jason back then?”

“Okay, first, I was ashamed of myself. Of my weakness. Second, your dad knows I had a relationship, but he doesn’t know it was Jason. For the record, he dated, too, back then. And finally, I thought I was protecting everyone by not reporting him. I thought I was giving him a chance to be better and become a good doctor,” I sighed. “But I see now I was wrong.”

Amelia stood and rumpled her hair as she paced the room. “I don’t know how to deal with this. I thought he was the one.”

Tears sprung from my eyes. “I know,” I said through trembling lips.

“I need some time to process this,” Amelia finally nodded and grabbed her things on her way out. “I’ll call you later.”

***

For the next few days, I didn’t let go of my phone. My hands even cramped, but finally, Amelia texted me:

“I’m meeting Jason at a café tomorrow. I’m stopping this for good!”

I smiled and sighed in relief. But soon, my mind started swirling with everything I had to do if we were going to truly stop Jason’s blackmail, and I acted as quickly as possible.

I also told Peter the truth. It was a tough conversation, but he understood, as that period in our lives had been so difficult.

With my conscience clean, I tagged along to the café the next day. And just for good measure, I decided to sit at a nearby table while wearing a hat and an oversized coat.

Jason arrived with his confident smile just minutes after we did. And Amelia didn’t even give him time to sit down.

“Jason, I know everything,” she said firmly.

Jason plopped down and raised his eyebrows, feigning surprise. “Everything? About what?”

“My mom. The blackmail. The affair. All of it.”

For a moment, he looked stunned, but then his mask slipped. “So, she told you her version, huh?” he sneered. “Did she mention how she ruined my career?”

Amelia’s eyes turned to slits. “I don’t think so. You ruined your career.”

Jason hit the table harshly and his voice turned deadly. “I did what I had to do to get ahead. This field isn’t for the weak, and your mother decided to play judge and jury. She owes me.”

“As far as I understand, she gave you a chance, which she didn’t have to do,” Amelia said, crossing her arms. “I don’t know what you’ve done since, but you must have wasted that chance since you’re back here, trying to blackmail her.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Jason spat, leaning across the table. “Everyone else was just as uptight as your mother. Taking an idea from someone else isn’t a crime. Prescribing myself a little something to keep going shouldn’t be either!”

My daughter scoffed, shaking her head, as she rose from the table. “We’re done, Jason. You’re pathetic.”

Jason jumped to his feet, too. “Oh, no. We’re not. You might know about our affair, but I bet her husband doesn’t. Also, she covered up what I did, and she had a relationship with an intern. If she doesn’t get me a job or some money, I’ll expose her to the world!”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would, and your precious, fancy family will lose everything!”

It was finally time for me to intervene. I stood and revealed myself, leveling Jason with a look. “You won’t do that, Jason,” I began.

His eyes widened. “You—”

“You can’t blackmail my family anymore,” I said. “Yesterday, I confessed my cover-up to the hospital board and told them about our relationship. They forgave me with barely a slap on the wrist because it happened so long ago. I also told Peter everything. You’re done.”

His face twisted, and he moved towards me.

But I held up my phone. “And just in case, I recorded everything you said, and the camera is still going. It’ll be interesting to call other hospitals you worked at and get to the details of the transgressions you just mentioned.”

His whole body flinched back, and his eyes began twitching as if he were thinking about something else he could hold against me. But there was nothing.

He turned his hateful eyes to my daughter for one moment before storming off.

***

That night, back at home, Amelia, Peter, and I sat together and laughed. We were having a nice dinner/celebration of our victory that day.

“You did the right thing,” Peter said, squeezing my hand.

“Mom, you were brilliant,” Amelia said, smiling.

But I wasn’t stupid. I knew or suspected that Jason might try to do something. He may even resort to violence. So, we filed a police report just in case, citing the phone texts and the harassment.

So far, we haven’t heard a thing from him, and I don’t expect it.

Amelia has been sad about being unable to find a good man, but I know it’ll happen when she least expects it. In the meantime, we’re just happy that we protected our family again.