Nothing reveals someone’s true character faster than a crisis.

So, what would you do if your husband’s ship might have just gone down at sea, and instead of offering comfort, your mother-in-law made a cold remark about funeral costs?

Would you openly let her know that you don’t agree with her comment? Or would you quietly decide she’d never get close to you again?

In the following story, one newlywed finds herself in this terrifying situation and learns exactly who her mother-in-law is.

Here’s what happened.

Newlywed + Nearly a Widow + Heartless Mother-in-Law = Petty Revenge.

This happened many years ago, but I will never forget and never forgive. I was 24, newly married, and working as a teacher.

My husband, a Merchant Marine, had just shipped out from Texas less than a week earlier on an oil tanker bound for New York.

While I was grading papers after dinner, the TV news started flashing that an unidentified oil tanker was on fire and in danger of sinking off the coast of the Carolinas.

My heart pounded, because it could be his ship.

I called his company, but they said they had to follow protocol before releasing any information. I called a friend, the wife of someone shipping with him, no news there either.

The tone in her MIL’s voice was shocking.

Then the phone rang, but it was not the call I needed. It was my MIL.

She asked if I had heard the news. I told her yes and that I was trying to confirm if it was his ship. I told her I was worried because the timing matched his ship’s route, and his company had given me no information yet.

I told her I would let her know as soon as I learned anything.

Her response?

In the coldest, most matter-of-fact tone, she said, “Oh. Well, if something happens, who’s going to pay for the funeral now that you’re married?”

She finally heard that her husband was safe.

I was stunned. No concern for her son. No comfort for me. Just a completely emotionless comment about money.

It took a few moments of silence for her question to sink in. Without a word, I quietly hung up the phone and then swore like a sailor. In those moments, I realized exactly what kind of person she was.

After hours of alternating between cold fear and not-so-silent fury, I finally heard from my friend; it wasn’t my husband’s ship. He was safe.

Here’s where she turned it around on her MIL.

Here is where the petty revenge came in.

I never called MIL back. I let her wait through the night. I let her find out about her son the next day from the news, just like the rest of the country.

From that day on, I was nothing but civil and distant with her. I never let her get close again. She meant nothing to me, and we had a much better life for it.

Eek! The MIL sounds like something else.

Let’s see what the folks over at Reddit think about her cold behavior.

This reader would’ve done the same.

Here’s the story of a messed-up mother.

Here’s another person who dealt with a bad MIL.

According to this reader, it was good that she let you know early.

That worked out well. Her husband was fine, and she learned what kind of person her MIL really was.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.