She wasn't in the best health, and I didn't want anything to upset her.

"It's nothing," I said. "Let's just watch the New Year's Gala."

As midnight approached, a commotion erupted outside.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Someone was pounding on the door.

I glanced out the window. Abner's SUV was parked right at the entrance.

This isn't good.

I immediately opened my phone's video recording.

The moment my father cracked the door open, Abner barged in, followed by his parents and his younger brother.

"Where's the ticket? Hand it over!"

Beth didn't waste a second.

I met her glare head-on.

"It's my ticket. Why would I give it to you?"

"It's marital property!" She jabbed a finger at me. "Abner's entitled to half!"

I lowered myself into a chair, taking my time.

"Then we'll settle that during the divorce proceedings. For now, I'd like you to leave. This is my home."

Beth shoved Abner forward. "Say something!"

His gaze flickered over me, conflicted.

"Cass, just... bring out the ticket. We can talk this through."

"Talk?" I stared at him. "You call rigging the dumpling so I'd find the coin, then announcing how to split the money before I could blink—talking? Ransacking my house—talking?"

"If you keep being this stubborn, you'll only hurt yourself!"

Abner's brow furrowed. "You spend money like water anyway. It'll be gone before you know it. Better to let Mom manage it."

I laughed—a cold, hollow sound.

Finally. Crystal clear.

In his mind, there was only the Fletcher family. Our little family—Rosemary and me—didn't even register.

I looked him dead in the eyes, enunciating every word.

"And if I refuse? What then? Will you hit me? Divorce me?"

He froze.

The question had never crossed his mind.

But Beth was already on her feet, livid.

"She's obviously hidden it with her family! Search the place!"

Seven, eight people tore through the house, ripping open drawers and overturning boxes. Even Rosemary, asleep in bed, woke with a start.

She burst into tears.

"Mommy, I'm scared!"

My mother rushed toward her, arms outstretched.

Then Beth's hand shot out.

She shoved my mother—hard.

"Check her! She's probably hiding it!"

Mom stumbled. Her feet couldn't find purchase.

Crack.

She hit the floor. Blood pooled beneath her head.

"Mom!"

I kicked free of Abner's grip and dropped to my knees beside her.

She was unconscious. Unresponsive.

"You—" My voice shook, raw with fury. "You murderers!"

Everyone went still.

No one had expected this.

Abner stepped forward, but Beth yanked him back.

My father had gone white, his lips trembling.

"H-hospital... we need to... hospital..."

I fumbled for my phone, fingers shaking as I dialed 120.

Beth snatched it from my hand.

"No calls! Not until you hand over that ticket!"

"My mother is dying!" I screamed. "And you're still thinking about money?"

Abner's expression twisted with something that might have been guilt. He opened his mouth—

One look from Beth, and he swallowed whatever he'd been about to say.

She planted her hands on her hips, unmoved.

"You want to save your mother? Then give us the ticket. Every second you waste is on you."

Tears streamed down my face. I couldn't stop them.

"Abner." My voice cracked. "Please. Just take her to the hospital. I'll—I'll split the ticket with you. Fifty-fifty."

I had to keep something. Without it, I couldn't afford to save her.

Beth still wouldn't budge.

"Words are cheap. Ticket first."

Whatever warmth remained in my heart turned to ice.

I looked at Abner, searching for something—anything.

"Abner, how can you be this heartless?"

He couldn't meet my eyes. His face twisted with something that might have been guilt—if he'd been capable of it.

"Just... give Mom the ticket first," he mumbled.

I laughed. A bitter, broken sound.

This was the man I'd chosen.

My hand trembled as I pointed to my purse.

"Behind our photo..."

My mother-in-law snatched it up, ripping out the family portrait—me, Abner, and Rosemary, smiling like we meant it. She tossed the photo on the ground without a second glance.

There it was. The lottery ticket I'd hidden behind it.

"Finally!" She clutched it like a lifeline.

Her daughter shouldered in immediately. "Wait—check the numbers. Make sure she didn't pull a fast one."

They verified it three times, four, their laughter growing louder with each confirmation.

"It's real. This is the one."

I stared at them, my voice hollow.

"Can we take my mother to the hospital now?"

Abner moved instantly, lifting my mom with exaggerated care. "Let's go. I'll drive."

The whole way there, my mother-in-law kept the ticket clutched in her fist like it was her own beating heart.

I held my mother's ice-cold hand. The tears wouldn't stop.

In the rearview mirror, Abner's face was blank. Empty. Like he'd already checked out.

Behind me, they were already dividing the spoils.

"Twenty people," my mother-in-law counted. "Fifty thousand each..."

Her son piped up. "Can I get my share now? There's this phone I've been wanting—"

"What's the rush? We'll cash it together tomorrow!"

I closed my eyes.

All I could hear was the clicking of their mental abacuses.

They wheeled my mother into surgery.

My father sat in the hallway, Rosemary curled in his lap. His face was gray.

The others? Laughing. Chattering. Planning.

"I'm getting that bag," Abner's sister announced. "The one I've had my eye on forever."

"After my phone," her brother added, "I'm upgrading my gaming setup."

My mother-in-law beamed. "Sure, sure. Whatever you want!"

Then the nurse appeared, clipboard in hand.

"Family of Genevieve James? We need a hundred-thousand-dollar deposit."

I turned to Abner.

"The ticket is half mine. Transfer me a hundred thousand."

He froze.

In his mother's grand plan, I'd never existed at all.

She heard me and scowled. "Your mother's illness is your family's problem. Why should my son pay for it?"

I looked at her. No anger left. Just cold, dead certainty.

"So you're going back on your word? You just said the ticket was marital property. That means I'm owed five hundred thousand."

She planted her hands on her hips, smirking.

"That ticket was my son's gift to me. I've already distributed it."

Of course.

Exactly the face I'd expected to see.

"Is that what you think too?"

He stared at the floor. Silent.

"Put yourself in my place," I said quietly. "If it were your mother on that operating table—what would you do?"

Still nothing. His head stayed bowed.

Finally, after an eternity, he squeezed out the words.

"I'm sorry. But I already promised Mom... I can't go back on it now."

"So my mother just dies? We stand here and watch her die?"

He winced. "Maybe you could... borrow from your relatives?"

His voice shrank to almost nothing.

"Or use your savings..."

"What savings?!"

I lost it.

"You pay the mortgage—that's it. The car payments? Me. Groceries, utilities, everything we need to live? Me. Rosemary's tuition, her classes, her everything? All me!" My voice cracked. "If I had savings, do you think I'd be begging for what's rightfully mine?!"

I stared at him.

"You make twenty thousand a month. After the mortgage, you have twelve thousand left. Where does it go, Abner?"

He opened his mouth. Glanced at his mother.

Said nothing.

"Right here." My mother-in-law stepped forward, chin high, triumph dripping from every word. "It comes to me."

"All of Abner's money is with me. I've been keeping it safe—from certain people who might get ideas."

Certain people.

Meaning me.

His wife of seven years.

The last flicker of hope in my chest guttered out.

"So that's it, Abner?" My voice came out hollow. "You're done with this marriage?"

"No—that's not—"

He grabbed my arm, desperate.

"Honey, I just asked Mom to hold onto it for me. That's all."

I shook him off.

"Fine. Then right now—when we need that money to save my mother's life—are you willing to use it?"

He hesitated. But to his credit, he tried.

"Mom, my savings—"

"What are you afraid of her for?!"

His mother cut him off like a guillotine.

"She's got your child. You think she'll actually leave? She wouldn't dare."

Her face hardened into stone.

"Your money's locked in fixed-term deposits. You're not touching a cent until next year."

Abner's head dropped. Defeated. Silent.

"Cass..." He couldn't even look at me. "Maybe you could ask your relatives? See if they can help?"

His tone was flat. Not a trace of grief. Not a hint of urgency.

He pulled out his phone and transferred twenty thousand dollars.

"This is everything I have left. My entire personal stash. It's yours."

I laughed—a bitter, broken sound—as tears blurred my vision.

"Abner. We've been married for seven years. And this whole time, you've been secretly funneling your salary to your mother." I steadied my voice. "That's concealment of marital assets. It's illegal. Did you know that?"

His jaw went slack.

"That's... that can't be..."

"A son taking care of his parents is only right and proper!"

His mother's screech echoed down the corridor.

"Illegal? Illegal? If you're so sure, then sue me! Go ahead!"

I met her eyes. Held them.

"You're right. I will."

The words dropped like stones into still water.

"You forced your way into my home. That's unlawful entry."

"You threatened and coerced me into handing over that lottery ticket. That's robbery."

I pointed directly at her, my voice cutting through the silence.

"And you pushed my mother—left her unconscious and bleeding. That's aggravated assault."

The hallway went dead quiet.

No one had expected me to fight back.

My mother-in-law's face contorted with rage, her foot stamping against the linoleum.

"This is madness! A daughter-in-law threatening to sue her mother-in-law?!"

She shoved Abner forward.

"Teach her a lesson! Show her what happens to women who don't know their place!"

He didn't move. Just stood there, wavering, looking at me like I was a stranger.

I raised my phone higher, the red recording light still blinking.

"Touch me, and I call the police."

Her face twisted into something ugly.

"I'm over sixty years old! Let them come—I'm not afraid of the cops!"

She lunged toward me.

The ER nurse had been watching. She burst through the doors.

"That's enough! One more outburst and I'm calling security!"

She planted herself between us.

"Non-immediate family members need to leave. Now."

My mother-in-law froze mid-stride. Then her lip curled in disgust as she covered her nose.

"Ugh. I never should've set foot in this place. Hospitals are nothing but bad luck."

She waved dismissively at the others.

"Let's go. We're done here."

Abner lingered. He let out a long sigh, his eyes heavy with disappointment—as if I were the one who'd wronged him.

"Cass, we're family. How could you be so... heartless?"