12 Real-Life Betrayals That Sound Like Movie Plots

Trust takes years to build and seconds to destroy. These stories sound too twisted to be real—but they really happened to ordinary people. Sometimes the people closest to us hide the darkest secrets.

• My DIL gave birth to twins. I flew in to help for a month. She was very grateful and said, “You saved my life.”
  On my last day, she handed me an envelope and said, “Please don’t open this until you’re on the plane.” I waited, then opened it. Inside was a letter and a DNA test.
  The letter said: “I’m so sorry. The twins aren’t your son’s. I got pregnant before we met, and I needed health insurance for the delivery.
  Your son knows the truth, he agreed to this arrangement for the tax benefits of marriage. You’re not their grandmother. I’m so sorry you bonded with them.” © Britney / Bright Side

• My best friend stopped answering my calls and told me I was boring when I had a 4-week-old baby and postpartum psychosis. Then she dialed me 6 months later to tell me she missed me but messaged me the next morning to tell me it was a mistake and she needed more time apart. She never called me again. She was my kids’ only godparent. © Unknown author / Reddit

• My dad gave me $60 when I was 7 or 8 for my birthday. I felt really rich at the time because I never grew up with an allowance and barely received gifts. I wanted to buy a $30 video game and keep the rest, but it was rated M, so he had to buy it for me.
  When he did, he pocketed the $30, and I asked for it back. He told me in the most stern voice: “You got your gift with the money I gave you. I take back the rest you don’t use.”
  I’m 35 now and still recall this like it was recent. It struck me so much how I felt because of my own dad. He also died over 10 years ago and didn’t leave anything for us. I totally expected it. © Silver_Scallion_1127 / Reddit

• Confided in a good friend/coworker about how much I hated my job and thought our manager was incompetent. She took screenshots and sent them to HR.
  I didn’t get fired, but I lost a promotion opportunity and got thrown in the doghouse. My management team made my life hard and did everything to get me to quit, but I didn’t budge. The girl I told was promoted to a manager role within two months and badmouthed me every chance she got. © Unknown author / Reddit

• My twin sister and I shared everything—clothes, secrets, even our college dorm room. When I got engaged to the love of my life, she was my maid of honor. Two weeks before the wedding, she pulled me aside, crying.
  “I have to tell you something,” she sobbed. “He kissed me last night. I’m so sorry. I pushed him away immediately.” I was devastated. I called off the wedding, returned the ring, and cut him out of my life completely. My sister held me while I cried for months.
  Three years later, I found a folder on her old laptop she’d given me. Inside were hundreds of photos—of her and my ex, together, happy, dating. The timestamps started six months before our engagement. She had orchestrated the entire “confession.”
  They’re married now with two kids. I haven’t spoken to either of them in four years. © Danielle / Bright Side

• During my first marriage, I inherited a wonderful stepdaughter. We had two daughters together, and one Christmas, my grandmother sent presents, but only for our little two, not my stepdaughter. I try to see the best in people, so I called my dad to see if she forgot.
  Apparently, she told my dad that if she had to buy gifts for all the stepkids, they would be in the poorhouse. Mind you, this is her only step-grandchild, and at the time, she was at her vacation home in AZ. I boxed up the gifts and sent them back to her with a letter saying family is family, it doesn’t matter who gave birth to that child, she is my daughter.
  She just didn’t get it, and still doesn’t. And my dad, for fear of getting written out of the will, sided with Grandma. So we don’t talk either. It’s sad, but I stood my ground for a cause. I may not be married to the girl’s dad anymore, but I still love her as my own. © isbeckyok / Reddit

• At my mother’s funeral, while I was grieving, a woman walked in with two teenage boys who looked exactly like me. She whispered, “I’m so sorry for your loss,” before sitting down in the front row. My dad avoided eye contact the entire time. Turns out, he had been living a double life for over 15 years. © Yamanozkan / Reddit

• My wife and I couldn’t have children. After years of trying, we found a surrogate—my wife’s cousin, who offered to help “out of love.”
  We paid for everything: medical bills, living expenses, even a new apartment so she’d be comfortable. We were there for every ultrasound, every appointment. We painted the nursery yellow.
  Three weeks before the due date, I came home to my wife sobbing. I froze. Her cousin had disappeared. She’d moved to another state, given birth, and decided to keep the baby.
  Legally, she could—she’d never actually signed the final surrogacy papers. We were devastated for years. But we didn’t give up. We adopted a beautiful little boy last spring. Our son is three now. © Robert / Bright Side

• I was about 4 years old and struggling with hearing monster noises under my bed. I would be paralyzed with fear, each second would take an eternity. This fear sticks with me to this very day, it’s still ingrained in my body. One day I managed to summon the courage to run to my parents, who burst out laughing as I entered the lounge.
  Years later, I learned that they had put a speaker in my room, under my bed. My “father” was making the growling monster noises with a microphone, while my “mother” cheered him on. © Unknown author / Reddit

• I grew up really poor. I got a super nice coloring book as a present from a family friend one year. I was thrilled. My mom told me that I wasn’t very good at art and I should color in other books before I did any of the pictures in the nice one.
  I opened that book every day and traced the outline of the pictures that were so beautiful, even without color, wondering if I was good enough to do them yet. I spent hours looking at those pictures.
  Later, my aunt, uncle, and three cousins came for a visit. When I came home from school, I went to my room to find my book. It wasn’t there. With my heart racing, I asked my mom where it was. She said she had given it to my youngest cousin to ’play’ with.
  When I got the book back, the book had literally been destroyed. Every beautiful picture was covered with crisscrossing lines of black and red. I cried. © NZT-48Rules / Reddit

• Nina has been my best friend since our teens. Once, I lent her $3,000 to save her business—no questions asked. That’s what you do for family. Two years later, she wrote me a message, “Thank you for everything you did for me. I want you to know that I will always love you.” I called her immediately. She cried. Terminal cancer—the same disease that killed her mother. She was refusing treatment. Less than a year to live.
  For months, I checked in constantly. She barely responded. Wouldn’t let me visit. I had to respect my dying friend’s wishes.
  Then her ex-boyfriend called—the man she told me had abandoned her. I hated him.
  I froze as he spoke. Nina had told him the same cancer story—two years earlier. He’d cared for her through “chemotherapy weekends,” dropping her at the hospital entrance because she “needed to do this alone.” One weekend, she went silent. Panicked, he called the hospital.
  “I am sorry, Sir, but a Nina Surname hasn’t been a patient in this hospital for years now.”
  The truth unraveled: she had an affair with a married lawyer. He had 2 kids. The cancer was invented to cover their weekend getaways. The night she called me crying, her ex had just discovered everything and thrown her out—for real this time. She’d told everyone he’d abandoned her, so we’d never compare stories.
  I made sure the lawyer’s wife found out everything. And if you by any chance are reading this, Nina—yeah, it was me. And you can keep the money if you promise me that I don’t have to ever see your face again. © habberi / Reddit

• My best friend and I started a tech company in my garage. For five years, we worked 16-hour days together. He was the best man at my wedding.
  Last spring, I got severely ill and had to step back for three months. He visited me in the hospital every week, bringing flowers and updates. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ve got everything handled.”
  When I recovered and returned to the office, I froze. My keycard didn’t work. Security escorted me out, whispering, “While you were fighting for your life, he had quietly kicked you out.”
  Turns out, he transferred all patents to a new company—in his name only. He’d forged my signature on documents dated during my hospital stay. I sued him.
  It took two years, but I won. The judge awarded me the entire company plus damages. Last month, I saw him working at a coffee shop downtown. © John / Bright Side

But not all stories end in disappointment. For a much-needed dose of hope, read next: 13 Stories Where Kindness Was Literally Built In. At the end of the article, you may want to join the discussion on how to properly eat bread: with or without butter 😉