Six Years Of Lies, One Wish For Justice

I stood in my own living room, watching my wife hold another mans baby, while my son, Theo, called a complete stranger Daddy.

Nobody knew that I had only gone out to take out the trash, got dragged onto a spaceship by aliens, and spent what felt like sixteen minutes there.

But when I came back, six years had passed on Earth.

When Catherine saw me, she looked like she had seen a ghost. Then, she put her hands on her hips and tried to kick me out.

"George, do you have any conscience left?" she shrieked.

"You vanished for six years without a single word! Now that Ive finally rebuilt my life and started a new family, you come back to ruin it?"

"Theo doesnt even remember you. This house has nothing to do with you anymore. Get the hell out!"

I didn't say a word. I just raised my hand, showing her the glowing dark stone resting in my palm.

It was an Obsidian Wishing Stone, given to me by the aliens to make up for their "time-dilation error." It had the power to grant wishes.

I looked at the lovey-dovey couple in front of me, and then at Theo, who was hiding timidly behind the man. Calmly, I made my wish in my heart:

I want everything I lost back, with interest.

Three hours. That was all it took for me to figure out what had happened during the sixteen minutes I was gone.

The disgust on Catherine's face hadn't even faded yet when I asked the question burning in my chest.

"I was only gone for sixteen minutes. How do you already have a new family?"

"Sixteen minutes?"

Catherine grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the calendar on the wall.

"Open your eyes and look! Its 2032. You weren't gone for sixteen minutes. You were gone for six freaking years!"

My head spun. Only then did I understand what the aliens meant when they said "everything will have changed."

But Catherine didn't give me a second to process.

She pointed at the man next to her. "This is my husband, Donald."

Then she pointed to the baby girl in his arms.

"And this is my seven-year-old daughter."

"During the six years you were gone, I married the love of my life and had a beautiful daughter. This is the life I always wanted."

Her cold eyes made my heart ache.

This woman had once sworn to love me forever. Yet now, she didn't have a single word of concern for me. She just wanted me to know she had married her "true love" the moment I disappeared.

And the funniest part? The kid was already almost seven. The math didn't even add up.

I took a deep breath to swallow the bitterness in my throat.

"Since you have a new family now, then give me back my house."

Catherine blinked, and then she let out a mocking laugh. "Your house? What house do you have?"

Her snide look pissed me off.

"Theo is my son. And this house was bought by my dad. How is this not my house?"

Catherine pulled a death certificate out of the drawer and threw it in my face.

"Look closely, George. You were declared dead six years ago."

"For the past six years, Donald has been the one taking care of our son. In Theos heart, Donald is his only dad..."

"Thats impossible!" I snapped, cutting her off.

"Theo was eight when I left! I homeschooled him, tutored him, and took care of him every single day for eight years!"

"When he had pneumonia, I stayed up for three days straight in the hospital room holding his hand. I am his father!"

"I dont have a father who abandons his family for another woman!"

Suddenly, a small figure rushed over and shoved me hard. I lost my balance and fell to the floor.

It was Theo. He glared at me with pure hatred. "You ran away with some side-chick and left us. You should have died out there! How dare you show your face here again?"

Looking at the boy who looked seventy percent like me, my hands shook as I reached out to touch his arm.

"Theo, I didn't abandon you. I was taken by aliens. It was a mistake."

Theo slapped my hand away.

"Aliens? Do you think I'm three years old?"

He turned to Donald.

"Donald told me everything."

"Youre just a serial cheater. We still have the photos of you with those other women. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be my dad!"

"Photos? What photos?"

I looked at Theo in sheer disbelief.

Catherine smirked, pulling out a stack of photos and holding them in front of my face.

"These are photos of you grinding on girls at a nightclub. Do you have no shame?"

"And this one is even worse. Walking down a hotel hallway half-naked with a stripper. If thats not cheating, what is?"

Slap!

I didn't hesitate. I slapped Catherine right across the face.

"These photos are so poorly Photoshopped. How could you use these fake pictures to poison Theos mind against me?"

Catherine clearly didn't expect me to hit her. She stared at me, completely stunned.

Theo screamed and threw himself at me, kicking and punching.

"You bad man! Don't you dare touch my mom!"

I knelt down, grabbed Theo by his shoulders, and said in a deep, serious voice, "Theo, I am telling you the truth."

"I was taken by aliens for sixteen minutes, but six years passed here. I never left you."

I checked my watch and quickly pulled out the Obsidian Wishing Stone.

"Look, the aliens gave me this. In two hours, everyone who harmed me will get their karma."

Theo looked at the stone with disgust and kicked it out of my hand.

"Donald was right. Youre not just a cheating scumbag, youre a psycho."

He turned to Donald.

"Daddy, youre the best doctor in the city. Give him some medicine. Better yet, poison him so he leaves us alone!"

Hearing Theos words made my entire body go numb.

This was the child I had poured my heart and soul into raising for eight years. And now, he wanted me dead.

I closed my eyes, forcing down the overwhelming pain.

"Theo, I loved you for eight years. Do you really believe a man youve known for six years over your own father?"

"Yes," Theo said without a second of hesitation.

"I believe him. And he is the only father I will ever have."

My throat tightened.

Theo didn't even want to look at me anymore. He grabbed Donalds hand.

"Daddy, Ive cut ties with this man. Hes not my dad anymore."

Donald smiled triumphantly.

"Go upstairs first, buddy. Ill have a quick word with him and make sure he never bothers our family again."

I watched Theo walk upstairs. Once the boy was out of sight, Donald stepped right up to me.

Before I could even react, he slammed a syringe into my shoulder.

A sharp, stinging pain instantly spread through my veins.

Donalds smirk widened.

"Does it hurt, George?"

"Thats just a little taste of what happens when you try to take my woman and my son."

He grabbed me by my hair and slammed my face onto the dining table.

"You lost a long time ago, George. Even before you went missing, Catherine was already pregnant with my baby."

"As for your precious Theo? The only reason hes still alive is because his grandfather left him a huge trust fund."

Donald sneered.

"Since I couldn't kill the brat without losing the money, I had to play the good dad."

"I bought him every toy he wanted, just to make him forget how good you were to him."

"I even told him bedtime stories every night. But in those stories, you were the villain who abandoned him."

"Right now, youre worse than trash to him."

Rage boiled in my blood.

I forced myself up, spun around, and landed a hard punch right on Donalds jaw.

"You son of a bitch! I'll make sure you rot in hell!"

Donald stumbled back a few steps. Instantly, Catherine rushed over.

She kicked me hard in the shin.

"George, you bastard!"

"I actually felt bad for you because of our eight years together. I was going to ask Donald to let you stay here as a live-in housekeeper and my secret side-piece! How dare you lay a hand on him?"

She pinned me against the floor.

"Apologize to Donald right now! If you behave, you can still live here, be close to me, and see Theo!"

Her words made me want to throw up.

I spat on the floor. "In your dreams! I'm not serving either of you. I'm throwing you both out of my house!"

"Your house?" Catherines eyes turned malicious.

She grabbed my collar and shoved me against the wall.

"Those photos might be fake, but I didn't just show them to Theo. I showed them to your dad, too."

A cold smile crept onto her lips.

"Do you want to know how your dad reacted?"

Without waiting for me to answer, she continued, "Your dad said he didn't have a son so shameless. He said Donald and I were saints for taking care of Theo. So, he left all his money and this house to us in his will."

"Youre lying! My dad would never believe your garbage!" I roared.

"Of course he wouldn't believe it easily. But I had a great accomplice."

Catherine looked at Donald lovingly.

"After you went missing, your dad got paralyzed from a stroke. Donald got hired as his personal doctor."

"He spent two long years playing the perfect, caring doctor to win the old man's trust."

She laughed.

"And I did my part, too. At night, Donald and I were hooking up in your bed. During the day, I was the grieving, perfect daughter-in-law."

"We worked like a charm. Thanks to our hard work, your dad finally believed you were a cheating scumbag who ran away. He cried as he signed the company and this house over to me."

I glared at her with pure hatred. "Catherine, karma is going to get you."

Catherine was one of the first students my father had sponsored through his charity foundation.

Before my dad paid her tuition, Catherine had to work as a dishwasher at our family restaurant, eating leftovers from customers.

Once, she fainted from malnutrition. My dad saw her, felt sorry for her, and started paying for her college.

After graduation, she literally begged my dad for a job, saying she wanted to work for free to pay back his kindness.

My dad thought she was a grateful, sweet girl. He mentored her and introduced her to me.

How could she be such a monster?

Donald grabbed my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye.

"George, only fools believe in karma."

"Catherine and I were tired of being poor. We started planning this ten years ago just to get rich."

"Ten years?!" I gasped.

"So her working at the restaurant, begging for the job, marrying me... it was all a setup?"

"Duh!"

Donald raised his chin proudly.

"Your dad was our golden goose. Working for free was just the hook. Marrying you was our ticket to the wealthy life."

He shoved me back.

"Watching Catherine walk down the aisle to you in that white dress... I hated you so much."

"But to make it up to me, Catherine gave me your wedding ring. She even let me prescribe her some 'special meds' when she was pregnant with Theo."

"So thats why she was constantly bleeding and almost died during labor?" My eyes widened in horror.

Donald laughed coldly. "Too bad she was tough. She survived."

Catherine looked a little guilty for a split second.

"I did care about you and your dad at first, George. But you guys were always so guarded. You wouldn't hand over the company to me early. I had no choice!"

I looked at my watch. Another hour had passed.

I stared at them.

Keep talking. Keep bragging about your secrets. I want to see how painful it is when your karma hits you a hundred times harder.

"Now you know everything, George. But what can you do about it?"

"We have the legally binding will. And Theo only loves me," Donald taunted. "You were only special because of your daddys money. In the end, you still lost to me..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his face suddenly went pale. He grabbed my wrist, checking my pulse.

A second later, his brow furrowed.

"Your... your body..."

Donald examined me closely, and a dark, vicious look crossed his eyes.

"Catherine, his physical condition is exactly the same as it was six years ago. If six years really passed, his body shouldn't be like this."

Catherines face fell.

She glared at me. "What kind of game are you playing, George?"

She balled her fists and punched me hard in the chest.

"And here I was feeling guilty, trying to offer you a place to stay! You made up this ridiculous lie to trick us!"

I gritted my teeth through the pain. "Its the truth. I was only gone for sixteen minutes."

"Sixteen minutes!" Catherine laughed hysterically. "Do you think the whole world is stupid?"

She raised her hand to hit me again, but Donald stopped her.

"Wait, Catherine. Didn't George say he was abducted by aliens?"

"Lets prove hes a liar and have him committed to a psych ward forever."

Catherine grabbed my arm and dragged me up.

"Fine. You want to play the alien card? Lets get you tested."

They threw me into the back of their car and drove straight to the hospital where Donald worked. They dumped me onto a bed in a private room.

A second later, a nurse stuck a needle into my arm, pumping a cold fluid into my veins.

Donald whispered in Catherine's ear, "I already spoke to the lab director. Hes going to write up a fake report saying George is severely schizophrenic. The asylum transport is already on the way."

I clenched my fists. Catherine grabbed me by the collar and dragged me off the bed, holding her phone camera right in my face.

"Alright, cheater. Tell the camera. Where did you run off to with your little mistress six years ago? Why are you back now pretending to be a victim?"

Her eyes were filled with venom.

"Do you know how worried I was when you first disappeared?"

"I was so stressed that I ignored Donald for days..."

Donalds voice coldly cut her off. "And because of that stress, she had a miscarriage. We lost our second baby."

Catherine went quiet for a second, her gaze turning even colder.

"You owe me for the last six years, George. Today, you pay."

I stared at her. "Catherine, I am telling the truth. You can't do this to me."

"Are you scared now?" Catherine mocked. "Can't keep up with your own lie?"

"Instead of waiting for the psych evaluation, I think Ill just make sure you shut up permanently."

She grabbed a sedative syringe from Donald and stabbed it into my arm.

I stumbled back, hitting the wall.

The drug worked fast. My vision started to blur.

Donald chuckled. "Don't worry, George. Its my own special mix. It hurts like hell, but it gets the job done."

As I slid down the wall, the Obsidian Wishing Stone fell out of my pocket.

I stared at it and whispered, "Make them feel a hundred times the pain they caused me."

Right then, a nurse ran into the room, panting. "Dr. Carter! The lab results are back. His physical indicators are completely normal. The psychological evaluation is perfectly fine, too!"

"What... what did you say?"

Catherines hands shook as she grabbed the report from the nurse.

"Does this mean... George was telling the truth?"

Donalds eyes widened in horror. "The aliens... the wishing stone... its all real? We..."

Before he could finish, Catherines phone rang loudly.

She picked it up, and her assistant's panicked scream echoed through the room.

"Ms. Catherine! Oh my god, the company is crashing!"