A Successful Businessman and a Family Man
Richard Mason was a successful businessman who lived with his family in the UK. He is a successful businessman whose biggest venture was co-founding a popular website, MoneySupermarket.com, a website that helps consumers compare prices while shopping.
Richard and his wife, Kate, fell in love while they were working in the bank got hitched, and had three sons. Richard thought that he had been able to build a great life together with his wife Kate.
A Difficult Decision to Make
Richard and his wife Kate shared three boys: Will, and twins Ed and Joel. When Will was 23 years old and the twins were just short of hitting 20, Richard and Kate had to decide to separate.
They had already separated long before they actually separated but they both had remained close to their children as all three of their sons were over the age of 18, and finally, they got divorced in 2008. Their separation was amicable and hence they kept in touch even after the divorce which was a good thing at least for the boys.
Kate's Demand For More Alimony
While the couple mutually agreed to divorce, Kate suddenly kept pushing for Richard to get more and more alimony. After discussion on the financial settlement, it was decided that Kate would receive $5 million in a lump sum amount.
The $5 million that Richard was supposed to be paying also covered the private school for their three children. What Richard couldn't understand was why Kate wanted more money. He later said that his ex-wife Kate had asked for money years after their divorce. Richard felt hurt after hearing about it all, especially when she got to know the real truth.
The Potent Truth Bomb
Although the couple had long gotten divorced in 2008, it was only in 2016 that Richard stumbled upon a big and shocking secret about his ex-wife that she had kept a major secret from him for the entire duration of their marriage.
What hurts Richard, even more, is that Kate didn't admit to her wrongdoings. He came upon the secret accidentally as he was going for a routine health check-up. By the time they were divorced, he knew that Kate was after his money but he never thought that she had been deceiving him all this time.
A Shocking Diagnosis
Richard was in his 50s and went to the doctor for a regular health check-up. He thought the entire process would take only take a few hours but he was in for a shock. Not only did the doctor ask for some extra tests, but he also delivered a pretty telling message.
He wasn't expecting anything but what he finally got to know shocked him beyond measure. Finally, when he got to know the news his feet felt a little wobbly and suddenly he wished he had someone close to him to help him process the news better.
A Genetic Disease
He was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and it was a very scary realization for Richard at this point in his life. His sister had it so it wasn't like he was hearing it for the first time he had an inkling as to what the condition was all about.
The condition of cystic fibrosis causes frequent lung infections and long-term may lead to damaged lungs and even impact the lung capacity, which causes it hard to breathe. It is said to be a genetic disease so Richard thought that there was a distinct possibility that he may pass it on to his sons.
His Sons May Not Get it
Richard was more worried for his sons. He even expressed his fear to the doctor who reassured him that his fears were unfounded. Richard had a deep-seated fear that he will pass on the genes to his boys.
He was a worried man, or more specifically a worried dad, trying to process all of the information he was being given, he wanted to ask the right questions to the doctor so that he could prepare for an uncertain future. The doctor's words finally were able to calm his jangled nerves.
He May be Infertile
The next bit of news that he heard shocked him further, as a matter of fact, he didn't believe his ears when he heard the news. He told him that he and Emma, his second wife would have a tough time conceiving as this disease tends to render the patients infertile.
Richard at that precise moment looked at the doctor with disbelieving eyes, he thought that he had heard wrong. How could he have the disease when he has three healthy sons? There was certainly a missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle.
The Diagnosis May Be Wrong
Richard said as much to the doctor. He was feeling flabbergasted surely the diagnosis was wrong he asked the doctor. Perhaps he needed to do more tests to prove the diagnosis to be wrong.
It was finally time for the doctor to get surprised, he told him that he didn't think that the diagnosis was wrong, then what could be the problem, Richard asked him frustrated. Perhaps he was scared to echo the thought that came to his mind. No, it couldn't be possible, Kate won't do this to him.
There Was More to the Diagnosis
As the doctor sat in his chair silently and contemplatively, Richard realized that the doctor was deadly serious and the diagnosis was not wrong, his reports were not lying, infact5 it was his ex-wife who was lying. Richard's entire life came crashing down in a jiffy.
Not only had Richard got a fateful health diagnosis, but the 55-year-old also learned on the same day that his three children weren't his. Kate had been lying to Richard all along, but now he got a hint of the underlying truth.
Was Kate Lying to Him?
As Richard sat at the doctor's office, Richard kept having flashbacks connecting several unlikely dots that he had ignored back then. He started thinking of those times when Kate had been lying to him and may have gone to meet another man.
Yes, there have been several red flags over time but, he had always ignored them pushing those thoughts back and labeling them as their way of overthinking. He had always trusted his wife, it came naturally to him to trust his wife but now he is not too sure whether it was the right thing to do.
His Marriage Was a Lie
Before the doctor told him about his cystic fibrosis diagnosis, Richard had never thought that Kate would cheat him. Now, as he looked back in anger, he realized all this happened right under his nose.
Richard was a successful businessman, and it was all thanks to hard work, he had to work for long hours as he was building his business at that time. First, he didn't think anything of it when Kate wanted to go on trips. Kate had stayed back in London for a night for her work trip when one of her flights got canceled.
New Thoughts Crowding His Mind
Before visiting the doctor's office, Richard had never let the thought cross his mind that his kids were not his and somebody else's. Now that the doctor told him that he was infertile, he couldn't stop the suspicions rearing their ugly head. Everyone he met said the kids looked like his ex-wife but no one told him that they looked like him.
He had laughed those comments off and ignored them but now he knew that he had been deliberately kept in the dark. When his wife became pregnant with their first child she had come up with a strange suggestion.
Kate Wanted to Bring up The Kids As Jewish
When Kate had become pregnant with the couple's first child, they had been in a marital relationship for seven years. During that time, Kate had never broached the topic of teaching their future kids Judaism, so why did she have to mention it when she was pregnant with Will?
He and Kate have both been baptized and followed Christianity so the normal thing for their sons to follow the same protocol. But here was Kate given all three of them had Jewish middle names. But now Richard wished that he had given more attention to those niggling issues.
With Whom Could The Boys Resemble?
Richard's head was already spinning, and those thoughts started tumbling in her mind. He started putting all the pieces of his past one after the other. Then he also started thinking with him did his boys resemble? Other than their mother, of course.
Suddenly he could think of someone that he knew, but still, he couldn't understand who could be. Was Kate having a roaring affair with a different man right under his nose? Now that he knew it, he felt utterly devastated and hellbent on finding out who could the person be.
Cheating With Someone at Work
Once he could process out all the facts in his mind, he narrowed it down to the person whom he strongly suspected of having affair during the entire duration of the marriage. He was sure that the affair started when she was away on her business trips.
That only meant that she was cheating on someone at her workplace. Richard thought of a man, who was a co-worker of Kate's, and who could resemble his sons. Then, suddenly he could think of a man who was also Jewish.
Asking Kate to Confess
As the couple was no longer married, Richard wasn't able to come home and talk to Kate. He decided to do it rather formally and send his ex-wife an email, explaining everything that he had learned at the doctor's office and demanding some serious answers.
He first told her about the health diagnosis that he has learned and that physically or medically he can't have a child let alone three, so he told her that he couldn't possibly be the father of any of their children. Kate did read the mail but decided to remain quiet.
Another E-mail
The diagnosis was a tough truth to digest and to top it all, none of his kids were his was a far more devastating truth and he owed an explanation from Kate. When Kate didn't reply to his email get decided to send another.
He also told her that he was hoping she would tell him the truth and tell him how he could tell their boys if she didn't tell him. If he had to undergo the tests to conform to his suspicions, he is going to do things his way. The mild threat prompted Kate to reply.
A Reply But Not The Truth
Kate then answered Richard's second email. However, she wasn't entirely truthful about the affair she had while she and Richard were still married, and that there was any chance that the boys were biologically anyone but his.
She told him that no matter what Science had to say the boys were his. Dissatisfied with the answer, Richard told her that he would still go through the test and tell the same to his boys. He didn't believe her at all and decided to go ahead with the tests no matter what.
Contacting His Elder Son
Richard decided that he would first tell his oldest son, Will, and speak to him candidly about the matter. He knew that he wasn't the father of the 23-year-olds. He decided to go ahead with a DNA test to be sure. He knew that his kids had to know about his cystic fibrosis diagnosis. Although it wasn't going to be easy to drop such truth bombs one day, he still decided to go ahead with it.
Richard told Will about his diagnosis and he took it calmly. But the next fact is going to be more difficult than he was willing to admit.
Richard Revealing His Suspicions
During the conversation that he was having with Will, Richard told him that it is impossible to have a child if one has cystic fibrosis. While Richard was wondering how to broach the next set of the conversation, his son made it easier for him.
He told him that he now could understand that he was not his or his brother's father. Richard looked at him with worried eyes trying to gauge how devastated was his son and whether he did the right thing by telling him, but then he had to tell him and the two boys.
The Truth And Nothing But The Truth
It would have been one of the hardest things to tell his son. While he was conversing with his son, Richard realized that although he wasn't his biological dad, he was still their father.
Richard realized that it wasn't an easy conversation to have with a 23-year-old. Will has grown up considering him as his dad and now suddenly, they were no longer related. It was an extremely emotional and trying conversation to have and it tore Richard's heart into million pieces, life was just not fair to him or his boys.
The Truth Was Shocking
For 23 years, Richard had lived a lie with his children. He thought that he had left behind a legacy and his three sons carried his bloodline. Now, getting to know the truth was simply shocking.
Richard was also hurt about his health diagnosis, his getting cystic fibrosis diagnosis meant that he did not have much time left on the earth as much as he would like to have. Having two difficult conversations one at the same time was not something that he could accept, but as luck would have it he had to go through it, there was no shying away from it.
Will Talks to His Mom
After speaking with Richard, Will then asked Kate about what he had learned. He asked her to find it whether Richard was the father. Although she had lied to Richard, she couldn't lie to Will. Kate told him that she indeed had an affair.
She told him that the affair began when the couple had a marriage and that it was true that Will's biological father was someone other than the person he has called his dad, all his life. Richard had been right after all. Will asked again who was the father.
A Twenty-Year-Old Affair
Finally, Kate confessed to Will about the affair. The affair had begun at the same time when she got married. She even told them that she had met him the same way that she has also met Richard and he also worked at the bank.
Just as Richard thought, the man Kate had been seeing was someone who had worked him at the Barclays bank. Kate had managed to keep the affair under wraps for almost two decades. It was hard keeping a secret for so long, it had almost killed Kate but she had to do it.
She Didn't Admit to it
Although Kate had confessed that she had the affair with someone who was his colleague, they were still Richard's biological sons. Of course, Richard had to undergo the tests to keep his sanity.
At this point, Richard felt as though his entire life had been one big fat lie. His ex-wife had duped her leading a double life and leading him to believe that he had three boys, and all along he had raised them all and still considered them his, he still decided to go ahead with the tests.
The Mandatory Tests
To fix everything, Richard had to undergo several tests. Under the guidance of Roger Terrell, who is a paternity fraud expert, Richard first undertook the test that checked his fertility levels. The test results confirmed the truth that Richard had known for some time that he was indeed infertile.
Then the next test he had to undergo was to submit a DNA test. He also needed his sons to submit their DNA samples. The twins decided to go ahead with it.
Not The Boys Father
The youngest of his two boys, 19-year-old twins Ed and Joel and agreed to conduct the DNA tests to see if Richard was indeed their biological father. It was confirmed again that Richard was not their father.
The truth became crystal clear that Kate had indeed been carrying on a lifelong affair during their marriage, and lied to Richard about the kids being his. Richard was hit hard by the truth and although he had known it for some time, it was still difficult for him to accept the same.
Will Refuses the Paternity Test
Will being the elder of the three was the first one to find out that Richard may not be his biological father. The twins took the DNA test, and Will heard the results of the same. But Will simply refused to take the DNA test, even if the paternity fraud expert requested him.
Will got emotional and said that Richard was his father and he didn't want to think anything beyond that. Richard was his doting dad and it was impossible to accept anything else. Will did wasn't shatter their family life.
Will Doesn't Want Richard to Sue
Richard even thought of taking legal action against Kate if he got Will's DNA sample, but there was something else that kept bothering him. Will was the one who wanted to hold on to the last shred of his family life and even told him that if Richard sued his mom he won't be talking to his dad again.
Richard had to go with the lawsuit against Kate and unfortunately, Will did exactly as had promised, stopped talking to him. It was unfortunate but Richard had to do it for his peace of mind.
The Twins Extend Their Support
Although Will, Richard's oldest son continued to be angry about the lawsuit, twins Ed and Joel are still on good terms with their Dad. Richard got a letter from him where he stated that he continued to be his dad no matter what.
He would continue to be his son and he is always going to be his dad no matter what, nothing will ever change for them, as far as he was concerned, their relationship was never going to change.
Richard Wins the Fraud Lawsuit
After Richard went on to win the paternal fraud lawsuit against Kate. The court ordered her to cough up $300,000. Part of the agreement that was released by the court was that the father of the boy's name will not be revealed.
Richard believed that the boys had a right to know who would be the biological father is, but he agreed to the terms. Richard is now going to undergo treatment for cystic fibrosis and now he was also feeling a lot better than before. He is still in touch with his sons and they love him as much as they did before.