General Question
My step-mother won't leave me alone and I need some answers, can you help?
This all started since childhood so I moved to live with my mother: She physically and mentally abused me, ie: Told me I was ugly and no boy would ever take me out. Told me her figure was better than mine. I was using the sewing machine to repair a pair of pants and she ripped them out of the machine breaking off the needle and proceeded to hit me with the pants with the needle in it. She made me dress in out of style clothes. She grounded me for a whole year. She also wrapped a metal coat hanger around my neck and tried to strangle me with it and my full brother say it. She lied to my father several times about what she was doing to me and he told me he failed his first marriage, and couldn’t fail this one (ego I believe), so no support there. Thought things were fine after becoming an adult, as my father and half-brother had told me she felt bad for the things she has done to me. We were fine for several years then decided to move back (my husband and myself) and join the family business, of which she in not involved in. After 3 years, her antics started again. It has been another long 7 years now. We were in the family business and that made matters worse, as she would have her daughter open the shop while no one was around and go through the books. I have been followed by her, treated very rudely on the business telephone. She has conviscated my father’s cell phone so I can not call him, they have no land line now. She has taken me to family court and forced my father to testify against me which he did not do so she did not win and my husband and myself decided to leave the business; I have done nothing to her, not physically, but did call her the “B” word as I was pretty much fed up and she told the judge I tried to hit her which was not true and my father comfirmed that on the stand; when they did have a land line while trying to have a conversation with my father, she was listening in and asked her to PLEASE get off the phone and my father did so as well. She bullys him…he is not allowed to say my name in front of her, and he has to sneak out to visit me while she is out of town or at church. If he happens to mention my name at family functions, she won’t cook for him or wash his clothes for several weeks. He is so miserable, it’s affecting his health and she is telling anyone who will listen that it’s all my fault and this is aging him very quickly…recently had two strokes; and I have to hear second-hand usually 10 days to 3 weeks later if my father has been hospitalized or had these strokes. He just turned 74. Isn’t this against the law? He has told me he hides in his little room at the back of the house and crawls into his little shell to get away from her. She has spent all his money…he found that out when he finally got the guts to leave her and found out he had no money or credit so he was pretty much stuck with her. She has told family and friends that we are trying to bankrupt the business. Her own family members feel sorry for me as they know how she operates and have told me so. I recently joined Facebook because I have a school reunion coming up and it is out of state and it’s the best way to keep up-to-date on who is coming. Recently my half-brother got married and she told him she was not coming to his wedding and would make sure his half-sister and half-brother would not be attending either. She has also told him he was a mistake, and that hurt him very much. She did go and my father came with her, with a couple of my family members. He tried to give me a big hug and hold me and she literally tore him out of my arms. My brothers best friend said “Boy, that was ugly!” and some of his other friends wanted to know what that was all about. My half-brother has tried to stick up for me by standing up to her and has given him much grief. She keeps her money separate thinking my full brother and myself will try to get our hands on her money, and my father as well. I do not want any of her money!!! She has a safe deposit box in her name only and hides alot of things from my father. Anyway, she has made friends with all my friends on Facebook, and comments after every comment I make just to annoy me and my friends are sick of her antics. She doesn’t say anything bad online, but when they post wonderful quotes (referring to her…she doesn’t get it), she comments things like…too bad somebody doesn’t take this advice, etc. I don’t want to cancel my Facebook due to my friends and the reunion updates, and it has taken me so long to build it with pics, friends, etc. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. This woman is about 13 years older than me and I am 55. Through the past 7 years it has affected my health tremendously and am working with my doctor to get better. I now have fibromylasia and adrenal fatigue and can not sleep. I have been able to copy and paste some of her conversations in Facebook and my friends comments about her to My Documents and am building it daily for proof. After the court thing my attorney told me to stay as far away from her as possible and do not communicate with her. This I have done and have missed alot of my family functions, so they don’t feel like they are being put in the middle or feel uncomfortable. Is this called abuse and/or cyberharassment? I would love to move away and leave this all behind me, but is not possible for at least another 5 years, and need to stay near my father due to his withering health. Is there anything I can do about this matter???
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