At our mandatory Sunday dinner, my mother-in-law, Margaret, locked her cold eyes on my nine-year-old daughter, Lily, and stated flatly, “She really lacks the charm of her cousins. I suppose some children are just underwhelming.”

That Saturday, the doorbell rang at my house. I opened it to find David standing on the porch. He looked ten years older than the last time I saw him. He wasn't wearing his usual country club polo; he was in a wrinkled t-shirt, holding a wrapped gift.

“Can I come in, Marcus?” he asked quietly.

I stepped aside. Lily was in the backyard playing with our golden retriever, completely oblivious.

David sat at my kitchen island. He pushed the gift across the counter. “It’s for Lily. A new telescope. I remembered she said she loved space.”

“What are you doing here, David?” I asked, leaning against the counter.

He rubbed his face, letting out a heavy sigh. “Margaret called me. She told me about the eviction. She wanted me to take her in, Marcus. She wanted to move into our guest room.”

“And?”

“And Chloe told me if I let that woman move in, she was filing for divorce,” David said, his voice cracking. “So I told her no. For the first time in my life, I told my mother no.”

I poured two cups of coffee and slid one toward him. “How did she take it?”

“She exploded,” David laughed, though there was no humor in it. “She called me a failure. She said Audrey and Claire were going to be ruined because of me. Marcus... I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I never stood up to her when she picked on Lily. I was just so relieved her crosshairs weren't on my girls for once.”

“How are your girls, really?” I asked.

David looked down at his coffee. “Audrey has a stress ulcer. She’s ten, Marcus. A ten-year-old with a stress ulcer because Margaret forces her into those pageants. Claire cries every time she sees a violin. We’ve been living in a nightmare trying to keep Mom happy.”

I reached into my briefcase and pulled out the audit report Ellis had given me. I placed it in front of David.

“You think you know the nightmare, David? Look at this. Your mother isn't broke. She’s been sitting on a million dollars since your dad died. She used Sarah’s death to con me into paying her bills so she could funnel this money to your kids behind our backs.”