My sister-in-law pressured my husband to demand a divorce while I was secretly pregnant, unaware my financial records held the $5,000 proof to ruin her in court.

At 2:30 PM, my phone rang again. It was Thomas.

Marcus gave me a nod from across the desk. "Put it on speaker. Let him talk."

I pressed the button. "Hello, Thomas."

"Emma!" His voice cracked, high and frantic. "Where are you? Why aren't you answering me? We have a massive crisis at home."

"There is no crisis at my home," I replied evenly. "I’m having lunch."

"Don't do this, please," he pleaded, dropping the angry posture completely. "The power company sent a shutoff warning for Friday! Tyler’s school called because his tuition installment failed, and Brenda's car was repossessed right out of the driveway! What did you do to our accounts?"

"I didn't do anything to *our* accounts, Thomas. Our joint account is untouched. The seventy-four dollars and twelve cents you left in it is still sitting there."

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the line.

"You... you pulled the business line," he stammered.

"Of course I did. You told me last night that you wanted a divorce. Why would my private business continue to subsidize the lifestyle of a man who discarded me, his thieving sister, and his mother?"

"Emma, we were angry! People say things during arguments! Brenda was just trying to protect me—she thought you were being distant!"

"I was eight weeks pregnant and throwing up every morning while you spent three thousand dollars on golf clubs, Thomas."

"We can fix this!" he shouted, desperation making his words run together. "I’ll make Brenda apologize! We’ll sit down tonight. I’ll cook dinner. We can look at the baby's ultrasound picture together. Just transfer five thousand dollars into the joint checking so I can get Brenda’s car back and pay the electric bill. Please, Emma. For our baby."

Using my unborn child as a bargaining chip for his sister’s car made my stomach turn to ice.

"If you ever mention this baby again to squeeze money out of me," I said, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper, "I will ensure you only see this child through court-appointed supervision. And as for the five thousand dollars... Brenda already took her advance six months ago."

Thomas froze. "What?"

"The check she forged. The one you swore you’d pay back. Tell Brenda that my attorney is drafting the formal demand letter as we speak. She has forty-eight hours to return that money to my LLC, or I file the criminal complaint."

"Emma, no! That will ruin her!"