The refrigerator was empty. My wife’s hands were trembling. And upstairs, my daughter was livestreaming her new designer bag, bought with the money meant for food. “Dad won’t do anything,” Mia whispered to her boyfriend.

I came home twelve hours earlier than expected and found my wife sitting in the dark, too weak to lift a glass of water. Upstairs, my daughter was laughing on a livestream while showing strangers the diamond bracelet she had purchased with my money. Marriage
For ten full seconds, I forgot how to breathe.

My wife, Elena, looked like a ghost sitting in our kitchen. Her cheeks had sunk inward. Her lips were dry and cracked. A blanket wrapped around her shoulders even though the house was warm.

“Daniel?” she whispered weakly.

I dropped my suitcase onto the floor.