When I got home earlier than usual, the last thing I expected was to find my ex-husband in my basement, prying open the floor with a crowbar.“Peter?” I gasped, clutching a candlestick for protection. He jumped, pale and stammering, then blurted out that my grandfather had told him about a family treasure hidden under the…

When I got home earlier than usual, the last thing I expected was to find my ex-husband in my basement, prying open the floor with a crowbar.“Peter?” I gasped, clutching a candlestick for protection. He jumped, pale and stammering, then blurted out that my grandfather had told him about a family treasure hidden under the house and asked him to protect it.

I didn’t buy it. Furious, I demanded his key back — the one he’d kept from when we were married. He handed it over, muttered an apology, and I threw him out. But my curiosity got the better of me. I opened the hatch myself… and found nothing but plumbing pipes. No treasure at all.

Still shaken, I drove straight to my grandfather’s nursing home. “Grandpa, Peter said you told him about hidden treasure. Why?”My grandfather smiled knowingly. “I made it up. I wanted to test him. To see if he’d try to take advantage of you again. Now you know the truth.”

The realization hit me hard — Peter hadn’t changed, and my grandfather had given me the proof I needed.As I left that day, I felt lighter. My past no longer held me hostage. With Peter out of my life for good and my grandfather’s wisdom guiding me, I finally felt free to move forward.