I came home early on my son’s first birthday expecting a celebration, only to find my mother hosting a seafood feast for nearly twenty relatives while my exhausted wife scrubbed dishes with our feverish baby in her arms. “I run this family,” my mother declared. I quietly set the birthday cake on the floor, unlocked a hidden folder on my phone, and within minutes the birthday party became the scene of a police investigation.

My mother believed the money was already hers.

So she answered honestly.

“She asked too many questions.”

“She kept getting into things that weren’t her business.”

“If she stayed sleepy…”

“I could solve Brandon’s problems.”

She shrugged.

“Besides…”

“You were already tired of dealing with your sick wife.”

“If doctors believed she was mentally unstable…”

“It would’ve been much easier to keep the baby.”

I stared at her.

“You knew those drugs could have killed her?”

“Oh, don’t be dramatic.”

“I only wanted her quiet.”

“And I told you already…”

“You can always replace a wife.”

“You can’t replace family.”

Victor slammed his hand on the table.

“Enough.”

“Give me the money.”

I slid the briefcase toward him…

Keeping one hand on the handle.

“I’ll pay the principal.”

“I’m not paying fake interest.”

Victor smiled coldly.

“Then we’ll take something worth even more.”