Page 52 of The Space He Left
I buried my face in my hands, the image of it all replaying in my mind. Madison curled up against me on that couch, me telling myself it was just platonic comfort, that it was what a good friend would do. I had been lying to myself as much as I was lying to Harper.
“I told myself it didn’t mean anything,” I choked out. “I told myself it wasn’t cheating because there was no sex.”
“But you knew it was a line you shouldn’t cross, didn’t you? That’s why you didn’t tell Harper about it. That’s why you didn’t tell her Madison was your ex. Because on some level,you knew you were hiding something. You were protecting your connection to Madison from your wife.”
He was right. I had guarded that information, compartmentalized my life, and in doing so, I had built a wall between myself and Harper. On one side was my family; on the other, my secret life as Madison’s savior.
I hadn’t just been a fool. I had been unfaithful.
And the space between us, the one I had created, suddenly felt like a chasm I had dug with my own two hands. I left the session that day lower than I had ever been in my life. The hope I’d clung to - that this was all a giant, terrible misunderstanding I could fix with an apology - was gone. This was a betrayal, deep and fundamental. And I had no idea if it was something that could ever be forgiven.
Chapter 19
Jack
The news came from an unexpected source - Mrs. Patterson - while I was installing new kitchen cabinets in her breakfast nook.?
"Jack, dear, I hope you don't mind me asking, but isn't Madison Price the girl you went to school with? The one who came back to town for a while?"
I paused, my drill halfway into the cabinet frame. Mrs. Patterson had been one of the clients I'd lost. She'd seen the work I'd put into fixing things since Emma's birth six months ago and recently agreed to hire Henderson Construction again after a long conversation about reliability and a significant discount on my rates.
"Yes," I said carefully. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, my granddaughter got me started on this Reddit thing – keeps me entertained for hours, all these stories people share. Anyway, there's this post that's been making the rounds, and I couldn't help but notice the name Madison Price. Thought it might be the same person."
She handed me her iPad, and I felt my stomach drop as I saw the title of the Reddit post:"My brother's girlfriend faked cancer to manipulate him - here's how we exposed her lies."
I skimmed the post, my hands trembling slightly as the familiar pattern emerged:
Posted by u/NurseSarah_Portland in r/relationships
Long post, but I need to get this off my chest. My brother (32M) is a successful restaurant owner here in Portland. I’ll call him Dave. About six months ago, he started dating this woman (29F) who claimed to be a lifestyle influencer recovering from a difficult period in her life. I’ll call her Madison.
Within weeks of dating, Madison told Dave she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer and needed his support through treatment. Being the good man he is, Dave immediately stepped up - driving her to appointments, bringing her food during chemo days, basically reorganizing his entire life around her supposed medical needs and paying for everything she wanted.
But things didn't add up. As a nurse at OHSU, I know what cancer treatment looks like. Madison never looked sick - if anything, she looked healthier and more energetic than most people I know. Her "chemo schedule" made no medical sense, and she always had excuses for why Dave couldn't come to actual appointments.
The final straw came when I saw her Instagram posts. This woman claimed to be undergoing aggressive chemotherapy but was posting daily gym selfies, photos of her pigging out on food, and constantly asking Dave to take her away for long weekends involving strenuous activities like hiking. Not to mention the photos of her spa days when she was supposedly having chemo! At one point, I was convinced she was having a boob job rather than surgery to remove a cancerous lump!
When I tried to talk to Dave about the inconsistencies, Madison convinced him I was just jealous of their relationship.
So our family did some digging. Madison's medical claims didn't hold up to any scrutiny. The oncologist she mentioned doesn't exist. The treatment center she supposedly went to has no record of her. Her medical documents were clearly fabricated.
When we confronted Dave with evidence, Madison finally admitted she'd lied about everything. But even then, she tried to make herself the victim - claiming she'd only exaggerated because she was lonely and scared and just wanted to feel cared about. She claimed she'd never actually said she had cancer; Dave had come to that conclusion himself after listening to her talk about her appointments.
Turns out this isn't her first time pulling this scam. We found evidence that she'd done something similar to an ex-boyfriend in a small town before moving to Portland. And that joke I made about the boob job? It wasn't far from the truth. She’d already had that procedure funded by the previous guy, who thought he was helping his friend through her cancer treatment. This time, my brother was unknowingly funding a Brazilian Butt Lift, where they use liposuction to take fat from your waist and inject it into your butt to get that "influencer" silhouette.
The recovery is brutal - you can't sit or lie directly on your back for weeks, requiring special pillows and a ridiculous amount of help. Dave was literally prepared to wait on her hand and foot, all while thinking he was helping a cancer survivor through a painful medical necessity.
Madison has since left Portland (good riddance), but not before trying to destroy Dave's reputation online and claiming our family bullied her. She's been posting sob stories about being misunderstood and how cruel people are to someone who was genuinely struggling.
PSA:If someone in your life claims to have cancer but their story doesn't add up, trust your instincts. And if you run into someone called Madison Price - run the other way! Yes, I've chosen to name her, so hopefully nobody else falls for her nasty tricks.
TL;DR:My brother dated an "influencer" who immediately told him she had cancer. He spent half a year being her personal ATM and caretaker. I'm a nurse and knew her story was BS (she was hiking and going to spas on chemo days). We proved she was a scammer, and now that she's been exposed, she's trying to destroy his reputation online.
EDIT:Some people are asking why I'm posting this publicly. Because Madison Price is clearly a serial manipulator who uses fake cancer diagnoses to control and exploit men. If this post prevents her from doing this to someone else, it's worth it.
EDIT 2:Several people have DM'd me saying they recognize Madison's pattern from other relationships/situations. Seems she's done this at least four times. Sounds like she's a gold digger trying to find "the one" who will fall for her shit and let her live the life she wants. This woman is dangerous. Spread the word so she can't pull this stunt again.
