Last night, I heard my husband giving my PIN to his mother while I was asleep: ‘Take it all out, there’s over a hundred and twenty thousand dollars on it.’ I just smiled and went back to sleep. Forty minutes later, his phone buzzed with a text from his mom: “Son, she knew everything. Something’s happening to me…” Then the phone suddenly went dead.

She wasn’t surprised.

For some reason, she wasn’t surprised at all.

She knew Ms. Sterling was capable of a lot, but for Darius to support it—that was a punch.

Not a hard one, but precise.

She returned to the bed, sat down, and folded her hands in her lap.

She needed to think, weigh her options, decide what to do next.

But the decision had essentially been made already.

That morning, when she walked out of the bank, Kiana had smiled faintly, barely noticeably.

Let them try, she had thought.

About ten minutes later, she left the bedroom.

No one was in the kitchen.

Ms. Sterling was in the entryway putting on her jacket.

Darius was helping her zip it up.

“You’re leaving already, Ms. Sterling?” Kiana asked, leaning against the doorway.

Her mother‑in‑law turned around.

Her face was tight, unwelcoming.

“Yes, I have things to do. Thanks for the tea.”

“Thank you for the cream puffs,” Kiana replied politely.

Ms. Sterling nodded, adjusted her jacket, and headed for the door.