They threw me and my six children out into the rain before my husband’s grave was even dry. My father-in-law pointed at the door and said, “Your husband is d3ad. This house belongs to the family.”

They forced Mara out of the house before the rain had even dried on her husband’s grave.
Six children stood behind her in the yard, clutching plastic bags, while her father-in-law pointed toward the door as if she were nothing more than a stray.

“Your husband is gone,” Harold Vance said coldly. “This house belongs to the family.”

Mara glanced down at little Lily, asleep in her arms, her small body burning with fever. Behind Harold, Celeste stood with a thin smile and empty eyes.

“Family?” Mara asked quietly. “I gave your son six children.”