Chapter 1 - The Ring Beside His Plate
The soup burned my hand before I even realized my mother-in-law had slapped me.
One second I was setting a bowl beside her plate. The next, my cheek snapped sideways, the bowl tipped, and hot broth spread across my fingers. I fell against a chair and landed on the dining-room floor.
Teresa Carter looked down at me. "That's what happens when you forget your place."
Somebody laughed. I looked toward Daniel, my husband of six years.
"Daniel. Please."
He kept chewing his roast. "Mom's teaching you manners, Emily. Stop embarrassing yourself."
The refrigerator hummed behind the Christmas music. Natalie, Teresa's daughter, raised her phone, then lowered it when I noticed.
I stood with the chair for support, took off my wedding ring, and set it beside Daniel's plate.
"Then find yourself a better wife."
"Sit down," he said, suddenly serious.
"No."
The front door opened before he could stand. Robert Carter, my father-in-law, came in with sleet on his coat and a thick brown envelope under his arm.
He looked at my hand. Then my cheek. "Who did that?"
Nobody answered.
Robert set the envelope on the table. "Before anyone throws Emily out, there's something you all need to know."
He unfolded a certified deed. "This house belongs to Emily. It has for two years."
Teresa gripped the edge of the table. Daniel went white.
I knew about the deed. Robert had signed it after I saved the house from foreclosure. But why bring it tonight?
He laid down a second document.
"Someone used Emily's forged signature to borrow four hundred and ten thousand dollars against this house."
"Dad," Daniel whispered. "Please don't."
Robert didn't look at him. "And the sale closing is scheduled for Monday. Three days from now."
I stared at the signature. It looked like mine until the last letter, which curved the wrong way.
May you like
Headlights swept the dining-room window. A black SUV pulled into our driveway.
Robert's face hardened. "They're early," he said.
