The daughter-in-law took great care of her mother-in-law, but the elderly woman’s health kept deteriorating. I secretly installed a camera and uncovered a shocking secret.
In a small village in Kerala, an elderly woman named Lakshmi was being carefully looked after by her daughter-in-law, Priya. Priya had quit her school job to take full-time care of her mother-in-law.
Every morning, Priya woke up early to prepare nutritious Ayurvedic meals specially suited for Lakshmi. She made herbal medicines, brewed tea, and helped her walk around the small garden. At night, Priya spread a mattress beside her mother-in-law’s bed so she could attend to her easily. However, one thing deeply troubled Lakshmi: the more care Priya gave her, the worse her health became. She often suffered from stomach pain and irregular heartbeats, especially after eating or taking her medicine.
One afternoon, while Priya was at the market, Lakshmi secretly placed a small camera in the corner of the prayer room beside the idol of Lord Ganesha. The camera had been bought for her by her grandson Arjun but had never been used. That night, Lakshmi pretended to be in a deep sleep. Priya entered the room holding a glass of warm milk and a tonic tablet. After placing them on the table, she turned her back and pulled out a small syringe and an unlabeled glass vial from the folds of her sari. With trembling hands, she added a few drops into the milk and stirred it.
The next morning, while Priya was fetching water from the village well, Lakshmi opened her tablet and watched the footage. Her heart shattered. She immediately called her son Vikram, a teacher in a nearby town, and asked him to come home at once.
When Vikram and Priya arrived home, Lakshmi was already seated on a creaking teakwood chair. Taking a deep breath, she played the video. What unfolded on the screen shocked Vikram. Priya, dressed in her saffron-yellow sari, collapsed onto the mud floor, tears streaming down her face.
“Mother… I… I never meant to hurt you…”
“Then what did you mix into my milk? Why did you do this?” Lakshmi asked, her voice trembling.
Through sobs, Priya revealed her secret. “Doctors in Chennai said I can’t have children. My mother promised that if I quit my job and took care of you, she would transfer the house to us, so I could have a peaceful place to rest during pregnancy… But every time I asked, she said to wait until you got better…”
Holding back tears, she continued, “I know I was wrong… but I was afraid Vikram would leave me because I couldn’t give him a son. I only wanted you to sleep longer so I could rest, so I could hope that my body…”
Vikram clutched his head and cried out, “Priya, are you out of your mind? Do you even realize what you’ve done? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lakshmi watched her son’s pain and her daughter-in-law kneeling at her feet. She realized that this was not just Priya’s fault, but the result of unspoken pressures—inheritance, lineage, and silence within the family.
After a long silence, Lakshmi spoke. Her voice was weak, yet firm.
“Priya, you have committed a grave sin, one that deserves legal punishment. Your actions are not forgivable.”
Priya trembled and looked up.
“But…” Lakshmi continued, gesturing to Vikram to help his wife stand. “I understand your desperation. The pressure to bear a child, the issue of property, the pain of infertility—these things blinded you. Your love for me was overshadowed by fear.”
Turning to Vikram, she said, “Son, you are also at fault. You didn’t truly listen to your wife or share her burden. A woman’s worth is not measured by her ability to bear children.”
She then looked at Priya, her eyes softening.
“I cannot forgive you immediately. But I will give you a chance.”
“This house,” she said with a sigh, “I will transfer to both of you right away—not because of your wrongdoing, but because I want to free you from the burden of property, so your hearts may find peace.”
Hearing Lakshmi’s words, tears of remorse and gratitude filled Priya’s eyes. From that day on, she began caring for her mother-in-law with genuine love. She and Vikram began a journey of reconciliation. They accepted that they could not have biological children and decided to adopt an orphan from a local ashram, building their family on the foundation of truth and love.
As for Lakshmi, once the poisonous substance was stopped and she received proper care, her health gradually improved. After the storm, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law transformed into a true bond.
They kept this story a secret, cherishing it as a valuable lesson: nothing is more precious than honesty and genuine love within a family.