The mother-in-law celebrated the mistress’s “grandson” and called the wife useless, never imagining that that very night debts, lies, and a much bigger betrayal would come to light.

“What on earth are you doing to yourself?”

I gave him a cold, barely visible smile.

“You are absolutely right. I am resigning tomorrow.

I will stay home every single day to take care of you, just like you wanted.”

Evelyn clapped her hands together with a triumphant and nasty smile.

“That is much better. You finally understand your place in this family.”

That night, while they both slept peacefully, I quietly opened my private online banking application on my tablet.

I transferred all of my personal savings to a secret account in my mother’s name, canceled Patrick’s and his mother’s additional credit cards, stopped all automatic bill payments, and sent a private note to my assistant saying I would be working remotely due to a family emergency.

Then, I turned off my cell phone and tossed it into the drawer.