I turned and reached for my phone on the nightstand. I was going to call 911.
Diane didn’t try to stop me. She watched me pick it up and smiled.
“Go ahead. Call. Let the police come ask who put the down payment on this house.
Let the whole neighborhood hear how the daughter-in-law moved in under the roof her mother-in-law bought — then tried to throw her out.”
My finger stopped on the screen. It wasn’t that I was scared to call.
It was that I suddenly knew — nobody would be on my side. There was only one person who could back me up.
I looked at Jake.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, gripping the pants she’d shoved at him. He didn’t argue with her.
He even turned his face away — like he couldn’t meet my eyes under that light.
“Jake.” My voice came out bitter. “Say something. Tell her this is our home. Mine and yours.”
