She shook her head.
“You won’t change. You are who you are, and your mother is who she is. I don’t need a family that sees me as a cash cow.”
Darius opened his mouth to object, but then his phone vibrated again.
He snatched it up, looked at the screen, and paled.
“Mom,” he whispered. “She’s calling.”
Kiana nodded.
“Answer it.”
He pressed the button and put the phone to his ear.
“Hello, Mom. Where are you?”
Ms. Sterling’s voice was hysterical and loud.
Kiana heard every word.
“Darius, they kept me at the bank for three hours. Three hours of questioning me like a criminal. They said they could send the documents to the police. This is all your wife. She set this up on purpose.”
Darius was silent, clutching the phone with white knuckles.
“Are you listening to me? She framed us. She purposely changed the PIN and left that cursed card with the three dollars. She knew we’d try to take the money.”
“Mom, calm down,” Darius tried to interrupt her. “I’ll come over right now. We’ll talk.”
“Don’t come over. Just tell that… that snake not to file a report. Do you hear me? Tell her not to file one. I was only released because she hasn’t filed a statement yet. But they said if she does, I’ll be charged.”
Kiana stood up, walked to the table, and held out her hand.
“Give me the phone.”
Darius looked at her fearfully but handed it over.
Kiana held it to her ear.
“Ms. Sterling. Hello.”
She choked mid‑sob.
“You… This is all your fault.”
“I’m at fault for protecting my own money?”
Kiana chuckled softly.
“Interesting logic.”
“You set us up on purpose.”
“You set yourselves up when you decided to steal my money. I simply took precautions.”
“I… I didn’t mean to steal. It was a misunderstanding.”
“Of course,” Kiana said calmly, almost mockingly. “You just accidentally drove to the ATM late at night with my card and my PIN. A pure coincidence.”
Ms. Sterling gasped with indignation.
“You… you’re heartless. My Social Security is small. I have nothing to live on, and you have over a hundred thousand just sitting there. You could have helped.”
“I could have,” Kiana agreed. “If you had asked me like a human being. Instead you tried to rob me in the middle of the night, conspiring with my husband.”
Silence.
Then her mother‑in‑law spoke softer, almost pleadingly.
