“Don’t tell Ethan. That idiot thinks his little princess is perfect.”

I felt sick.

For months I’d been working myself into the ground to support people who were destroying my marriage from inside my own home.

I kissed Emily’s forehead.

“Get some sleep.”

Her eyes widened.

“Ethan, please don’t do anything crazy.”

I stood.

“I’m not.”

I looked toward the living room.

“I’m going to do something much worse.”

I was going to make them face consequences.

FINAL PART

When I walked back into the living room, nothing had changed.

The TV was still blaring.

The pizza boxes were still everywhere.

And my mother and sisters were still acting like they owned the place.

Mom spoke first.

“Is her little performance over? Because somebody still has laundry to do tomorrow.”

I walked straight to the television.

Pulled the plug.

And silence hit the room.

“What the hell?” Brittany snapped.

I held up Emily’s notebook.

“This is what the hell.”

Nobody spoke.

I pressed play on the first recording.

My mother’s voice echoed through the apartment.

“When the baby gets here, Emily can leave, but the baby stays.”

The room froze.

Brittany looked down.

Kayla swallowed hard.

Lily’s face drained of color.

Mom immediately switched tactics.

“That’s out of context.”

I laughed.

A cold laugh.

“Really? Was forcing my pregnant wife to clean up after four adults also out of context?”

“She’s your wife,” Mom snapped. “She should help.”

I took a step forward.

“This apartment exists because of me.”

Nobody answered.

“The rent? Me.”

Silence.

“The groceries? Me.”

More silence.

“The internet, the phones, the prescriptions, the bills? Me.”

Mom looked away.

“And after everything I’ve done, you treated the woman carrying my child like a servant.”

Brittany tried to shrug.

“It was just dishes.”

I pointed toward the kitchen.

“Then go wash them yourself.”

She didn’t move.

Exactly.

I pulled out my phone and called my attorney friend, Marcus.

I put him on speaker.

“Marcus, I need paperwork drawn up tomorrow morning. I want legal documentation for harassment, theft, and removal of occupants from my residence.”

Mom jumped to her feet.

“You’re throwing your own mother out?”

“No.”

I stared directly at her.

“I’m removing people who endangered my wife and my son.”

Kayla started crying.

“Where are we supposed to go?”

I looked at her calmly.

“Get jobs.”

That hit harder than any scream.

Then Lily suddenly broke down.

And what she said next shattered whatever was left of the family.

“Mom took Emily’s hospital money.”

Everyone turned.

“What?”

Lily burst into tears.

“The cash she saved for the delivery. Mom took it from her dresser.”

The room went silent.

I looked at my mother.

She couldn’t even meet my eyes.

I ran upstairs.

Emily was already crying.

That told me everything.

Eighteen thousand dollars.

Money she’d saved for diapers, medical bills, and emergencies.