Chapter 4

I actually laughed out loud.

If you want to know what a guilty conscience looks like, that was it.

But I didn't have time to tangle with that pack of trash.

The urgent thing was to find a job, to feed myself and my son.

I turned off my phone and blasted out my résumé everywhere.

A year-long gap for pregnancy made the job hunt brutal.

But thank God, an elite-university degree still looked impressive on paper.

That, plus low salary expectations, and three companies sent me interview invitations almost right away.

I called my mother over that same night to help watch my son.

And I spent the whole next day getting through every interview.

Three interviews. Three offers.

In the end I picked the one closest to home, with the best growth prospects, and signed on.

Three days into the job, during lunch break, my phone suddenly rang.

An unknown number.

I answered with a frown.

"Who is this?"

An urgent voice came through.

"Hello? Is this the Harding daughter-in-law? Something's wrong, you'd better get over here! Your parents just got into a fight with someone, both of them got shoved down, your father's out cold, and your mother's in so much pain she can't even talk!"

My frown pulled tighter.

I glanced down.

At this hour my mother should be home watching the baby.

I turned my voice cold.

"What family? Who got knocked down? Say it clearly."

An "oh, come on" came through the receiver.

"Are you slow or something? I mean Joel's parents!"

"Timothy's been gone the last couple of days, said he went off to make money, and the family owed a foreman advance wages they couldn't cover, so the two sides got into it."

"The foreman's young, lost his temper and got physical. Look, just get over here, or it'll be too late!"

I rolled my eyes.

"That's got nothing to do with me. The Hardings don't claim me as their daughter-in-law, so go find their son. Stop bothering me."

And I hung up.

The second I closed my eyes to rest, that number called again.

I hung up. She called again.

After the second time, I dropped the number straight into the blocklist.

Finally, quiet.

I hadn't slept ten minutes when my phone started buzzing like mad again.

A different number this time.

I hesitated, then answered.

This time it was my mother-in-law, sniveling and crying.

"Tamara, it's Mom. Your dad collapsed, and I'm hurting so bad I can't stand. I'm begging you, come home, drive us to the hospital, please?"

I nearly laughed in her face.

"Do I even know you? If I remember right, I don't have anything to do with you people."

She was frantic.

"Tamara, what kind of thing is that to say? You're the Harding daughter-in-law, of course you're one of us!"

"That's not what you said when you were grabbing Joel's payout."

"You told me the Hardings and I were square from then on, that they didn't claim me as a daughter-in-law. Your memory's bad because you're getting old, but mine isn't."

"The money's in Timothy's hands. Since he's the one taking care of you two in his brother's place, go find him. Stop bothering me."

I reached to end the call.

She burst into full sobs.

"That was just Mom panicking and running her mouth, wasn't it? Fine, Mom was wrong, I'm begging you, come back and help."

"There's no way to reach Timothy, none at all, Mom's really out of options, you're all I've got. If you won't step in, your dad won't make it through the night!"

My face went completely cold.

"I'll ask you one last time. That three million, did it all go to Timothy?"

The line went silent for three seconds. Then, in a low voice, she said,

"Yes. But he's the one who asked for it. Your dad and I didn't want to at first, but he's the only son we have left. If we didn't give it to him, who'd take care of us in our old age?"

"Tamara, Mom really knows she was wrong. He took every bit of savings your dad and I had, said he wanted to do some kind of investment, and then he left and we can't reach him..."

I drew a slow breath.

"Good. I've got my answer. I have work to do. Goodbye."

Her voice shot up.

"What's that supposed to mean? You're just abandoning us?"

"How exactly do you want me to help? I'm just a housewife. I'm still more than eighty thousand in debt from the funeral, you gave the whole payout to your son, and if I showed up I couldn't cover a single hospital bill."

"It's not that I won't help. There's nothing I can do."

On the other end she wailed, choking on regret.

I hung up and blocked the number too.

No mood left to rest, I opened Timothy's social media feed, hoping for some clue.

It was just a single blank line. Then I remembered he'd blocked me.

I logged into my husband's account, and there it was, Timothy's feed.

Over a dozen posts in two days.

Every photo was of one hot, sultry woman.

It started with flowers and milk tea, then jewelry, then handbags.

In two short days he'd blown close to a million.

He'd even transferred the brand-new car he'd just bought into her name.

His latest post said he was off to Southeast Asia to travel with his "baby."

Not a single Harding relative in the comments.

Looked like he'd posted it to a filtered group.

With Joel dead, he'd gotten careless about this account.

I stared at that line for a long time, and in the end I just laughed.

The two old Hardings were reaping what they'd sown.

But I'm no saint. I had no interest in passing the news along.

I turned off my phone. It was already time to be back at work.

Just as I was settling in, the city hospital's landline number came through.

"Hello? Is this Ms. Tamara Pruitt? Your father-in-law is in emergency care here. Your mother-in-law asked that you come pay right away. The patient's condition is critical and he needs surgery immediately."

"You've got the wrong person. I don't know these people. Harass me again and I'll call the police."

I hung up, put my phone on silent, and buried myself in work.

An hour later, a group of officers appeared in the office area.

The one in front walked in and flashed a badge.

"Which of you is Tamara Pruitt? Someone filed a report alleging illegal seizure of an inheritance and refusal to support elderly parents. We'll need you to come with us."