I ended the call with my mother-in-law but forgot to disconnect—and that mistake saved me.
Natalie set her cup of chamomile tea on the glass coffee table and sank back into the armchair.
Conversations with Margaret, her mother-in-law, always left a bitter aftertaste, even though the older woman was unfailingly polite, soft-spoken, and affectionate. Even now, while asking for help yet again, she apologized in nearly every other sentence.
Three months earlier, Margaret had tearfully told her about her diagnosis: the early stages of arthritis, she said, and treatment would require costly procedures if she wanted to avoid losing her mobility. Natalie had not hesitated. As the owner of NatStyle, a successful women’s clothing brand, sending $550 a month was hardly a burden. Besides, an elderly person’s health mattered far more than money.
After promising to transfer the amount the following day, Natalie thought she had ended the call and returned to her work. At twenty-eight, she was already managing a staff of thirty and had turned her father’s once-small business into a respected fashion label.
She was reaching for her tablet when familiar voices suddenly drifted through the room.
At first, she assumed the television had been left on. Then the voice sharpened into something unmistakable.
It was Margaret.
Natalie’s eyes dropped to her phone.
The call was still connected.
“Anthony, sweetheart, luck is on my side again!” Margaret laughed. “Tomorrow your wife is going to fill my pockets one more time!”
Natalie went completely still.
“How much this time?” Anthony asked.
Her husband was supposed to be at work.