By Mary Potter
You never know when a failure to communicate will end up in a web of deceit and mistrust. I was working late hours to land the promotion I so desperately wanted for myself. Taking a backseat, my kids would stay home without a parent at the dinner table. I often canceled get-togethers with my children, and routinely missed out on their soccer games and dance recitals. When I finally received the prize I desired, I was now in a position to spend more time with the family.
As I began to reestablish my presence at home, I noticed a change in my eldest daughter. The straight-A student for many years, she usually spent her time working on school projects, perfecting her homework, and practicing the violin. I started to notice that her trips to the mall became frequent and long, as did her daily walks with the dog. When she arrived late to dinner one night, I began to feel something was going on that I had to get to the bottom of. "I was at so-and-so's house doing schoolwork," she would explain.
The sudden change in her social life did not bother me as much, but hints of maturity started to catch my attention. She started wearing make-up and constantly watched what she ate. I wanted my child to be safe at all times, so I purchased a cell phone for her to use in case of emergencies, but with one special perk for me.
I weighed the pros and cons of giving my daughter a spy phone that allowed me to track her text messages and even listen to her conversations. I settled with the fact that the act was for her own good since I couldn't be around at all hours of the day and night. My job duties slowly began to pick up and I was once again spending less time at home. The Interceptor Software was my savior during the late hours during a stressful work night. I had the power to listen in on the conversations of my daughter without her ever knowing what was going on.
Since she was of dating age, I wasn't surprised that she spoke to many different boys. Most of her conversations were filled with high school gossip and 3-way debates with her best friend. Over time, one particular voice stuck out among the crowd. It was deep and seductive, and terribly disturbing to me. There seemed to be an underlying sinisterness to his demeanor as he teased my daughter about her sexual inexperience.
After a heated conversation between my daughter and the dark voice sent her into a clear state of moodiness, I decided to put my foot down. I drilled her about boys – the ones she liked and the ones that liked her. We had the talk about the birds and the bees, and I asked her if she was still a virgin. After hours of conversation that opened the lines of communication beyond anything we had ever experienced, she confessed her intentions of losing her virginity to an older boy she met at the mall. My heart sank.
I forbid her to see him again, but she rebelled and I felt I was starting at square one all over again. Weeks later, the spy phone revealed a rendezvous between my daughter and the man, who she told me was 25 years old. Full of anger, I listened as he persuaded her to disobey my wishes and meet him at a hotel. I learned the name, location, and room number by taking full advantage of the spy phone Interceptor Software. That same day, the 30-year-old man with a reputation for posing as a young college student to trick adolescent girls was busted in a sting that my daughter will never know I had a part in. |
