I came to my in-laws’ house for the first time when my mother-in-law rolled down the car window and coldly told me, “We don’t take strangers. You can walk there by yourself.”

Teresa tried desperately to regain control.

“We can fix this! Your mother can restore the venue deal, we’ll cancel the loan application, and you two can go to counseling! We are not destroying an entire family over one bad day!”

Sofia laughed once.

“One bad day?”

She displayed her call log on the screen.

“At 10:52 AM, your SUV left me at the terminal. From 10:52 to 11:24, Javier didn’t call once.”

Javier stared at the floor.

“At 11:25, my mother canceled the contract. From 11:26 to 11:58, I received twenty-six frantic calls from you.”

Her voice remained steady.

“You weren’t afraid of losing your wife, Javier. You were afraid of losing my money.”

Javier covered his face.

Teresa looked around for support.

No one offered any.

An uncle demanded to know how much debt The Pines Manor actually carried.

A cousin asked whether the Altavista contract was the only thing keeping the estate from foreclosure.

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