Chapter 1
I was exhausted and washing the dinner dishes alone when my mother-in-law stormed into the kitchen, grabbed me by the hair, and dragged me into the living room. “Give me back my diamond necklace,” she screamed.
We had just finished Sunday dinner at my mother-in-law Linda’s house in Connecticut.
My husband, Ethan, was upstairs helping our seven-year-old son get ready for bed.
Everyone else had disappeared from the kitchen while I faced a mountain of dirty plates alone.
My back hurt, my hands were soaked, and all I wanted was to go home.
Then I heard Linda screaming my name.
“Emily!”
Before I could turn around, her fingers twisted into my hair.
“What are you doing?”
She yanked me backward so hard that a plate shattered in the sink.
“Let go of me!”
Instead, she dragged me through the doorway into the living room.
I stumbled trying to keep my balance.
Then she shoved me to the floor in front of my sister-in-law Charlotte and two other relatives.
“You disgusting thief!”
I stared up at her.
“What are you talking about?”
Linda held up an empty velvet jewelry box.
“My diamond necklace is gone.”
My stomach dropped.
The necklace was worth more than my car.
“I never touched it.”
“You were in my bedroom earlier.”
“I went upstairs to get Noah’s jacket.”
Linda laughed bitterly.
“Convenient.”
Charlotte crossed her arms and looked at me like I was already guilty.
“Mom showed us the necklace before dinner, Emily.”
“I didn’t take anything.”
Linda grabbed my purse from the couch.
“Then you won’t mind if we look.”
I jumped to my feet.
“Don’t touch my things.”
She dumped everything onto the coffee table.
My wallet, keys, makeup, and phone scattered everywhere.
Then something glittered as it fell onto the carpet.
The room went silent.
Linda slowly bent down.
Her diamond necklace was lying beside my purse.
I stopped breathing.
“That wasn’t in there.”
Linda smiled.
“Of course it wasn’t.”
Charlotte immediately pulled out her phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
“No!”
I looked around desperately.
“Someone put that in my bag.”
Linda stepped closer until her face was inches from mine.
“You’re going to prison, and after tonight, Ethan will finally understand what kind of woman he married.”
Then my son appeared halfway down the stairs in his pajamas.
His face was pale.
“Grandma?”
Everyone turned toward him.
Noah held up his tablet with shaking hands.
“I recorded something by accident when I was playing upstairs.”
Linda’s smile disappeared.
He pressed play.
And on the screen, we watched someone enter Linda’s bedroom, take the diamond necklace from its box, and slip it into my purse.
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But the person on that video wasn’t me.
It was the last person Ethan would ever expect.
