To have some lie to you crosses a boundary that cannot be undone.

My mother passed away in October of 2020 while I was in the middle of a road trip. When I had gotten the news, I had driven out of Boston on my way to Maine to see an authentic lighthouse.

I had a family member tell me the news. I was 1,1100 miles away with my car and with my dog. Had I been home, it would have been so simple to just get on a plane, but I had to drive the entire distance with a heavy heart.

What's more is that I had to drive such a distance without clarity. I didn't have the clear cause of death. Her boyfriend said, "She just wouldn't wake up." My family said, "Adarius, we just don't know." This was my mother; yet I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone.

I told everyone that I was driving across the country and I'll be there soon. "Okay, Adarius..."

A few days later, when I'm leaving Greensboro, North Carolina, I get a call from another family member. "Adarius, we know you are on your way. Here's the contact information for the detective and medical examiner."

Detective? "Okay? Thank you for the information..." I immediately called the detective and asked what he know and where we stood with things.

The detective tells me with the cause of death is unknown and they will be holding onto my mom's phone. He states that, "When the boyfriend had told me that substance abuse had taken place, then that made this an investigation that came across my desk.

Substance abuse? I thought my mom just wouldn't wake up?

See how the story changes the closer to Memphis I get? I thought it was, "We just don't know! It all happened so fast!"

I was livid.

I felt betrayed by some people I had never even met yet.

By the time I get to Florence, Alabama, three days had passed. I call for clarity and I'm told that my mom's body is being held at a funeral home. They give me the contact information and tell me that since I'm the next of kin that I will have a say in these matters. Thanks.

The debrief on the entire experience will come at a later date, but come to find out that substance abuse did play a role. Come to find out that I was lied to and information withheld when I was 1,100 miles away.

I confronted family members. This is the conversation I had while confront my mom's boyfriend.

Tennessee is a one-party consent state meaning that only one person needs to give permission to being audio recorded if they are in-person or over the phone and actively involved in the conversation.