I went to get the porcelain tablet that I had secretly gotten made for my baby. It was only the size of my palm and was carved with the nickname and birth date of my baby. I had locked it carefully inside a drawer where I was the only one who had a key.

When I pulled open the drawer, it was empty. I questioned the help about it, but she shook her head, denying that she had ever seen it. I searched the entire house for it and found that tablet inside a recycling bag next to the garbage bin.

The tablet had broken into three pieces, and the inscription on it had been broken in half.

Sandi entered the study and stopped in her tracks when she saw me crouching to pick up the pieces. "Nicole… That porcelain tablet… I… I didn't do it on purpose. I was cleaning up the study when I opened the drawer by accident, and it slipped from my hand. After that…"

I replied calmly, "The drawer was locked."

Sandi paused for a moment. "The help might have forgotten to lock it when she was cleaning up. I really didn't do it on purpose, Nicole. I just felt sad when I saw the baby's name on it, which was why it slipped from my hands…"

Her eyes turned red, and that was when my mother-in-law entered the room to hold Sandi by the arm. "Don't cry, Sandi. This isn't anything serious. Nicole, you know how frail your sister-in-law is. Stop putting all these things in plain sight. How can she not be upset when she sees all these?"

I was holding all three pieces of the porcelain tablet while crouching, and I could not feel any pain when the sharp edges cut into my skin. "The drawer was locked, Mom."

My mother-in-law frowned. "What do you mean? Are you trying to say that your sister-in-law did this on purpose?"

Sandi took a step back. "Nicole, it's fine if you don't believe me. I know you'll think it's my fault no matter what I say." She turned away to wipe her tears.

My mother-in-law's voice was cold, "You can't lose your temper on Sandi just because you're feeling upset, Nicole. She suffered a bigger loss than you did."

By the time Chuck returned, my mother-in-law had taken Sandi back to the old mansion. He stared at the three broken pieces of porcelain and said, "I know you're feeling upset right now, Nicole, but Sandi is really in a bad place. She might not have done this on purpose."

I did not look at him when he put his hand over mine. "I'll make you a new one, all right? I'll make an exact replica of it for you. I'll accompany you to get whatever carving you want on it, and I promise I won't let Sandi touch any of your things again."

Chuck comforted me as he always did, and I had given in numerous times to him, but it was different this time. I pulled my hand away and got up to walk back into the study. I started sorting out all the financial statements for the past three years according to the timeline.

They included the management fees transferred to the condo opposite the river, Sandi's therapist bills, the bills from her medical checkup, the nurse's aid she hired, and the debt her family owed. They were all paid for from the joint account that Chuck and I shared.

After that, I pulled the record of the hospital bills, the payment for the invite amendments for the family dinner, and the receipt for the donation of my baby's things. Finally, I itemized everything and put it into a folder.

The next day, I asked Tania to help me make an appointment for a Gorman family meeting. My mother-in-law was in the main seat while Chuck sat next to her. Sandi came over from the old mansion, looking teary-eyed as she took her seat.

I placed the folder on the table and flipped the first page open. "For the past three years, the bills we paid for Sandi from our joint account have come up to 1.92 million dollars. This includes the payment for her condo, her medical and nursing bills, her therapist bills, and the debt her family owes."

After that, I flipped to the second page. "This is the hospital payment records on the night of the accident. Sandi's checkup and hospital room bills had been paid in full before my surgery. As for my deposit during surgery, it was paid for by Tania."

I came to the third page. "The baby products I bought had been sold for charity without my consent, and the receipt had been signed for and accepted by the charity organization under Sandi's name."

We finally came to the fourth and last page. "This is the payment for the invitation amendments for the dinner party, which had been changed from the baby's welcome party. My baby's name had been removed and changed to Calvin Gorman's third death anniversary."

The living room was silent as Sandi's lips trembled. My mother-in-law's expression was pretty rich when I was speaking, and all Chuck did was stare at the documents without saying a word. Sandi was the first to speak up in a trembling voice, "Nicole, the money… When Calvin died, the insurance company hadn't paid me anything, and I didn't have any source of income…"

I looked up at her. "Sandi, you're the beneficiary for Calvin's insurance policy, which comes up to 3.8 million. The insurance company transferred it to you three months after he passed."

Sandi turned pale as I continued, "You weren't poor, nor were you left fendless. You just didn't want to use your own money."

My mother-in-law clenched the armrest of her seat while Chuck closed his eyes. Sandi stood up, wanting to say something, but ended up running out of the room while covering her face.

After everyone left, Chuck was left alone in the living room. I returned to our bedroom to collect my medical records, marriage certificate, financial statements, and property deed. I found my baby's ultrasound deep inside the drawer and kept it in the folder with my medical records.

That was when I heard someone pressing the buttons on the electronic lock. Chuck entered the room while holding Sandi. She had his coat over her as she held onto a silver bracelet with my baby's nickname carved inside it.

My gaze fell onto the bracelet, and the last thread of logic within me broke. Chuck followed my gaze, and he turned pale. Sandi quickly tried to hide the silver bracelet under her sleeve as Chuck took a step forward. "Nicole, I can explain…"

I stopped him. "Chuck." I placed the divorce papers on the cabinet at the door and dragged my luggage past him. I stopped at the door before saying, "You don't need to explain anything. Let's never see each other again from now on."

After that, I closed the door behind me and headed to the elevator.

The next day, I moved into Tania's house, where I did three things.

First, I removed myself from all the text chains and group messages of the Gorman family. Second, I contacted the bank to freeze any large transactions from my joint account until the payment was authorized. Lastly, I went to get the silver bracelet back.

Sandi was not around when I went to collect it. When the domestic help handed the bracelet to me from the drawer, I saw a faint scratch across the inscription on the inside of the bracelet. I rubbed the scratch gently with my thumb before placing it in my pocket.

While I was staying at Tania's place for the week, I found my financial analyst license, which I had obtained before I got married, from the bottom of a box. The side of the license was slightly curled, but it had not expired.

Tania contacted a financial firm in the city that she knew and found out they were hiring. The pay was not much, but it was enough for me to feed myself and rent a place. I started my job with the basics by studying the financial reports of large companies. I spend my days reading reports and performing fact-checking analysis until late at night.

The second week, Tania shared something with me after she came home from work. "Chuck went to that old jewelry store in South City to ask about replicating your silver bracelet."

I was writing when she said this, and paused while still holding the pen. Tania leaned against the doorframe and looked at me. "The old jeweller told him that the inscription inside the bracelet was hand-carved and that he couldn't replicate the exact inscription or the age of the bracelet. What he meant to say was that some broken things can never be fixed. It isn't the problem of the material, it's just that one can never turn back time."

When Tania told me this, all I did was stay silent.

In the third week, I contacted a lawyer who helped me draw up a preliminary proposal of how to divide the financial assets between Chuck and me. He flipped through the financial records, and his expression turned increasingly solemn.

"Mrs. Gorman, your joint account was used in the last three years to pay for a third party. This has grossly exceeded any obligations of financial support. If the other party is unable to prove that you have authorized these transactions in a formal document, you have the right to request your money to be returned."

I nodded, and he continued asking, "Do you plan to fight for emotional compensation over your baby?"

After giving it some thought, I shook my head. Some things cannot be valued with money.

When I walked out of the lawyer's firm, I bumped into Chuck outside the building. Sandi was standing next to him with a document in her hand. They had just walked out of the bank next door, and Chuck saw me right away. He froze when he saw the asset division document in my hand. I turned toward the bus stop.

That night, Tania told me that Chuck's assistant contacted my lawyer, and the first thing he asked was, "Is she serious?"

The lawyer replied on my behalf, and he told Chuck's assistant, "The request to freeze the joint account has been approved."

Three days later, Chuck stopped paying the rent for Sandi's condo, and he instructed the driver to move all of Sandi's belongings over to the Gormans' old mansion.

When Tania shared the news with me, she sounded unsure about everything that was happening. "He's trying to make amends."

I was busy compiling financial documents for my clients, and did not look up at her. "He isn't trying to make amends for anything. He's just doing everything he can to cut his losses."

A few days later, I received a receipt from the charity organization. According to their records, the baby products were never sold for charity, but were posted to a cousin of Sandi's who stayed out of state. The name and address of the recipient were clearly stated on the receipt.

I conducted another investigation on the records of the donated items, and I found a record of the silver bracelet being included in the list of donation items. It was returned because the daughter of Sandi's cousin could not wear it due to her baby's wrist being too thin for it.

The return date stated on the receipt was the day before I saw Sandi walk into our bedroom with the silver bracelet in her hand.

That night, I found myself tossing and turning in bed. My phone screen lit up at 2 in the morning. It was a message from Sandi's cousin, which had a picture attached to it. The picture was of a baby, a few months old, lying in her cradle while wearing the silver bracelet on her wrist.

It was not the same bracelet that belonged to my baby, but it looked very similar.

In her message, Sandi's cousin said, "Thank you for thinking of my daughter and giving this one-month-old present to her."

I enlarged the picture and saw a small card stuck to the side of the wrapping paper next to the cradle. It had Sandi's handwriting on it, wishing the baby a happy and healthy life. I turned off the screen of the phone.

Sandi had given well-wishes to another person's baby by taking my baby's things and giving them to her cousin.

When morning came, I washed my face and took a screenshot of the picture, saving it in my evidence file. It was a reminder to myself that some people's kindness was used as a tool for their own selfishness.