I stepped into the role of stepdad to 16-year-old Jason a few years ago, fully aware that teenagers can be tough. Recently, I started noticing odd things—papers in my office were moved, my laptop left open. Not simple forgetfulness. Someone was going through my things. It had to be Jason.
When I asked him directly, he flat-out denied it—and, to make matters worse, twisted it so I seemed unreasonable. His mom even sided with him: “He’s just going through a rough time,” she said. I felt gaslit in my own home.
Then one night, after he dropped his phone in water, I was checking it when a message popped up: “Can’t believe you actually stole money from him, lol.” I confronted him, and he sneered back: “You’re not my real dad. Why do you even care?”
That was the moment everything changed. I told him I was done—no more cleaning up after lies, no more emotional labor. Later that night, while he slept, I took a screenshot of that message and sent it to my wife: “Hope you finally see what he’s been hiding.”
The next morning, she confronted him. This time he didn’t deny it. He just stood there. His silence said more than an apology ever could, and suddenly, I wasn’t the bad guy anymore.