Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Inexplicable behaviour from my sister

124 replies

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 01:21

I am trying to get my head around this.
A bit of background - fairly average family, one sister 10 yrs older than me. Happy parents with ups and downs, good lifestyle, both treaded very similarly and fairy. No one neglected or over indulged. I am now 50 yrs old.

My father passed away 10 years ago, quite suddenly. My sister's behaviour became terrifying and manipulative, during those first few years she took over my mother's life entirely, from finance to care. My mother did not resist as was very depressed and never recovered from the loss of my father. I calmly tried to discuss this with both of them at the time but it was impossible. It was heartbreaking for me to watch my mother succumb to this as there was no history of anything quite like it in our lives.

After several years I had to walk away. My sister was abusing my mother daily, screaming in her face, checking her bins for what she had bought or thrown away, taking control of her home and sacking a gardener my mother needed. I sought counselling to deal with it and was told to notify social services. When my mother went into hospital with an infection I was informed that she was mentally sound so nothing could be done about my sister's abuse unless she reported it. None of this was physical abuse, to my knowledge. I had to watch this for years feeling helpless, whilst my sister drove me out of the way, even hiding my parent's will and blocking all phones.
The abuse involved cutting mum off from friends, dragging her to places she didnt want to go, screaming and shouting in public at her and humiliating her. I was so scared for my mum's safety that I almost shut down inside.

Eventually my mother passed away during the pandemic, I was living at a distance at that time, so the house sale was dealt with by solicitors and split between myself and my sister. We didn't have to meet.

Fast forward to 2021 my sister contacts me, seemingly a calm and friendly person, saying our mother had left a smallish cash inheritance she had in her account and wanted to give me my half. I very, very tentatively resumed contact, it was nice enough, and I think the death of my mother had numbed me to the trauma of the past.
Since then, I regret this.
It took her until last June to actually send the inheritance to my account. There was always an excuse, passed off with a giggle or faux ditziness. Then she moved to texting me morning till night, utterly dominating my time with senseless questions, ploughing through boundaries and then buying me expensive gifts when she realised I was pulling away. To cut a long and tedious story shorter, she told me this Xmas that my mother had left a box of letters addressed to me, stipulating that I was to receive them when she passed. These had been written from my childhood to her old age. I asked her why she had never given to me in the past 3 years we have been in contact and she changed the subject, but with utterly no shame, declared that she had read them all and that she would bring them when she thought it was 'appropriate' Shock

My Dh has hit the roof. Our surviving older relative was also told this and said her jaw dropped to the floor. I am certain that no contact is the only sensible option now, as the past few years have been a tremendous drain, but...

HOW the hell do I process the trauma of the memories that have returned that were numbed? All of the pain and horror of watching her hurt my mother, telling terrible lies (about cancer, work colleagues, etc)? Hearing about the letters was like a thunderbolt that cracked open my memories of her abuse, my body is so shaken. I am happy to pay for some therapy, but in the meantime I would so appreciate some pointers as how to safely get her out of my life.

OP posts:
thaisweetchill · 23/02/2024 15:00

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 14:54

@Grenola This is exactly how I am feeling about going forward, thank you.

@thaisweetChill I'm sorry to hear that about your DP, I completely relate to the walking away and not even caring. My sister told me there was no will for many years just to punish me for god knows what. I just walked away and stopped bothering. She loved the drama. She had all my mother's possessions under lock and key. Thankfully my father had left a will stating the house was to be divided 3 ways on his death.

My last contact with her was 2 days ago. She had posted a wall of small texts, every one short and bland:
'Hi what are you up to today?'
'Are you ok?'
'work was awful, how are you?'
'I am getting in bed, I am worried about you'
'Good day, are you going anywhere?'
'It's raining, im tired today'
'Saying goodnight'

They look so innocent but there are over 10 per day, usually interspersed with dumping all of her problems on me. She reminds me of a bot, and I can assure you she is not interested whether I am 'ok', it is only to solicit a reply.
I have come to dread them. They are keeping a tag on me.
I finally sent a reply 2 days ago saying we didn't need this much text communication and could have a catch up at some later point, but in the meantime I won't be answering any more, take care.
Very unusually for her, she has stopped texting for now. I am expecting escalation.

How very odd she's not responded, can you not block her?
Although saying that SIL would just get a new number or use nephews phone so we could never get away from her.

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 15:05

@thaisweetchill During the time she was abusing my mother, she used to use texts to command me to do things as if i was a servant. I often ignored them, which made her even worse to my mother. She used remaining relatives to hound me constantly, telling lies about me and manipulating their humanity. I am still so damaged from that. We only have one relative alive now, and she is wise to it thankfully. She will be howling to the wind this time.

At that time she also took mail from my home and read my bank statements. She hasn't done anything this wild since we reconnected as she doesn't have the power, but I would not put anything past her.
When she is face to face with me, she is like a cute child, so funny and sweet. It really does a number on you.

OP posts:
TempleOfBloom · 23/02/2024 15:10

OP, you cannot change your sister’s behaviour. In your shoes I would take a step back, imagine yourself not as a target, but as an observer or spy, watching her display her antics from a distance.

Be as calm as possible. Then I would arrange a visit, take your DH, and ask calmly for the letters. If she refuses say you have her messages to prove they exist and are yours that the letters are your property, should have been handed over as soon as your sister found them, and sadly, if she does not hand them over immediately you will need to take her to court. All very calmly.

If she doesn’t give them to you ask a solicitor to send a ‘letter before action’ giving her 5 working days to return them.

Then when, hopefully, you get them block her and go no contact.

JCLV · 23/02/2024 16:07

Your poor mum. Abused and isolated from you for years.

RollOnSpringDays · 23/02/2024 16:08

She’s trying to line you up as her next victim. She’s a dangerous individual and I’m sorry you’ve had to suffer, and your poor mum too. I’d send your husband round, unplanned, for the letters so she is caught off guard. I hope he will do that for you - after that you can just ignore all of her attempts to contact you - it’ll blow her mind though, and serves her right.

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 16:19

I think at this point I may do what @TempleOfBloom suggests. I will probably ask outright for them and tell her how 'inappropriate' it was to keep them from me for three years. No more, no less. And I will not become snared in any back and forth drama.
I will use this as my exit from the relationship.
In the meantime I need to process this agony from the sudden clarity of memories. But yes, very soon.

In the past year at least 3 friends have blocked her. From what I can make out she texted them without boundaries until they shut her off. I actually doubt she has any awareness of why.

OP posts:
LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 16:50

I've just realised that I feel a horrible burn in my gut when I think of her texts. I have forced myself to be obliged to answer them for so long, and I feel foolish about that.
It feels as if I am being focused on too much, stalked, in a way. It feels like being hunted, just like before. I really don't like this. I hate that I feel nervous inside when I logically know what is going on.
I think she has realised this in the past few years and will turn very sweet " i am so sorry, i will do anything for you" - then turns up with teddies and balloons Shock

It all feels creepy and just uuuggh. She often slips envelopes of cash to me, too, which I don't need.

OP posts:
GreigeO · 23/02/2024 16:51

Either send your husband round, or except that you'll never see the letters.

LadyEloise1 · 23/02/2024 17:16

I'm sorry @LiteraryGoat but why did you leave your poor Mum having to put up with your awful sister after your Dad died ?
You have a dh- surely both of you together should have been strong enough to cope with your sister's bullying?

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 17:22

My mum would not do it, she chose to take my sister's decisions. We all tried to get her out of that, neighbours even called the police after seeing her pull my mum out of her car after losing control of her bladder. She made my mum sit on a bench, wet through, and drove off. We begged mum to come to us, she said no, and we had no power to alter this, which we researched thoroughly.
The reason I am traumatised is having to witness all of that with no power to help. Even our GP reported my sister for yelling at mum in the surgery.

Should I have abducted her?

OP posts:
LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 17:29

I would love to know how I could have stopped a raging woman from raging. Was my DH meant to physically restrain her, stop her from entering my mother's home? How would he do that exactly?
My mother went into hospital on a few occasions back then, she only ever told my sister, who swooped down to control everything, telling nurses mum did not want to see me on the ward. When nurses gained insight into what was going on they called for a psychologist to see my mum. She told them nothing was wrong and she wanted my sister to stay put.
We were so powerless, I can only imagine many people have no idea how this would feel. It's like a horror story. It still lives inside me, beating against my chest in agony.

Yes, I was confused and angry with my mum for doing this, but I believed it was due to the trauma of losing my dad, as she had never done anything of that sort before.

OP posts:
LadyEloise1 · 23/02/2024 17:31

Thank you for explaining.
So your mother facilitated it. 🥲

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 17:34

That's the hard part, yes. My mum was my best friend. That change was so sudden after dad died that it was like being swung into the sky and dropped. I have never figured it out, but I still adore her and know that she was vulnerable.

OP posts:
momtoboys · 23/02/2024 17:37

"My sister told me last year that my. mother neglected me until i was 5, that she had to 'bring me up as her own'. I personally know this is a lie, and thankfully have it corroborated. What a cruel thing to say"

I get that garbage from my sister (13+ years older than me) all the time. She is a perpetual liar. Lies about the most ridiculous things. If I were in your position I would be wondering if the letters were even real or if my sister had written them herself to create drama.

I'm sorry you are going through this.

Emptyheadlock · 23/02/2024 17:37

Your sister is unhinged and likely a dangerous person to have in your life.

WhoaJayShettybambalam · 23/02/2024 17:48

@LiteraryGoat I’m so sad for you.
I think you need a complete block on her. No contact, ghost, whatever you want to call it. She’s evil and has already taken so much of your life and happiness.

She abused your mum and she’s abusing you.

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 18:15

For some reason, she won't shout at me, she seems afraid of me somehow. She manipulates me with withholding things, excessive sweetness, lots of gifts. She did once let her guard down a few months ago when she began to freak out about a business issue. She demanded I dropped everything that day and would not tell me what the problem was unless she could come to our house. She spoke aggressively to me, which she is usually careful to hide.

She withheld this info for 4 days until I had time to see her, she talked at us for 5 hours straight then left. We were just worn out and confused.

The letters are real because I recall my mum telling me she was writing them in my late 20's.

My immediate concern is how to stop feeling sick inside about it all. Every time I look at my phone I go cold. I truly resent this and want my life back, it was rolling along fine before she re entered it. There is no reason for her to have any power over me at all, and I wish I could get rid of the nervousness I now feel.

OP posts:
LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 18:18

@momtoboys i wonder if the age gap is relevant?

OP posts:
nc42day · 23/02/2024 18:41

This is a horror story, I'm so sorry. I did notice that you mentioned your phone a few times, and that's something that you might be able to deal with more immediately, while you work out what else might help you move forward with peace.

Get another phone with a new number, leave her with the existing number and turn that phone off without hesitation and regularly. She does not need or deserve access to you like this, you need to protect yourself and that's a good simple way to start.

I really feel like any relationship with her going forward is going to do you no good. She's very mentally unwell or has a personality disorder, it matters not which, and you're never going to be able to forge a healthy relationship with her and as such you need to distance yourself.

I would make a short sharp concerted effort to recover the letters with the help of your DH if he is willing, and then make an permanent exit from her life, whether you get them into your possession or have to let them go as part of the collateral damage.

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 19:09

Ive only just got a new phone so can't afford another. I feel like im being followed by a hungry dog that wont let go. Even when she isnt there, it feels looming. I hate that i have let myself get this weak. If i dont feed the hungry dog i then wonder if i am being cruel , and on it goes.
Blocking will do for the time being. It is a relief.

OP posts:
Lwrenn · 23/02/2024 19:26

You don't need a therapist hen, you need a hit man.

I'm not easy shocked but I really feel it reading this. Sorry for the loss of your lovely mum 💐

Atethehalloweenchocs · 23/02/2024 19:52

I dont think you should tell her in advance you want the letters, from what you said I think there is a good chance she will damage or destroy them in some way. If DH and your relative are up to it, them going and demanding them is the best option. Whatever the outcome of that, then cut off contact.

I think her goal is to provoke some emotion in you - it does not matter what, she is enjoying her ability to make you react. I always have reservations about L and NC as they are psychologically very difficult, but in this case, it sounds like you need to protect yourself from her. I am so sorry.

I do think the age difference is really key here.

Anotherparkingthread · 23/02/2024 20:33

Honestly give up on the letters. They might not even exist. She is using all of this as power over you, the money before that. You need to tell her that you don't want them. Cut her off. She is only contacting you because she has nobody to control or bully. Point out all the things she has done, tell her exactly why you don't want to speak to her ever again. Tell her she has destroyed every relationship in her life. And walk away.

BruFord · 23/02/2024 20:44

WhoaJayShettybambalam · 23/02/2024 17:48

@LiteraryGoat I’m so sad for you.
I think you need a complete block on her. No contact, ghost, whatever you want to call it. She’s evil and has already taken so much of your life and happiness.

She abused your mum and she’s abusing you.

I agree with @WhoaJayShettybambalam , block contact completely. She’s not going to change, you need her out of your life.💐

LiteraryGoat · 23/02/2024 20:56

Yes, i definitely feel like the one that got away, and the money/letters are used as bait.
I'm torn about the letters. On the one hand they mean so much to me, but on the other they are ephemeral; tainted, violated now. I will have to think about it a bit more.
She is absolutely blocked. Her usual tactic is the text DH if I don't respond over the course of a day. And that's all she has. At one time she would have come to the door and yelled for all the neighbours to hear, but I strongly doubt she would ever dare now mum has gone.
She used to love performing like this in public, humiliating someone. She humiliates her own partner constantly (someone else who just puts up with it).

I don't know if it helps writing her behaviour here. It feels like a healthy outlet - I wonder if I am reaching out to see if anyone else have ever suffered with this.

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread