I carefully helped Madge put on the Heirloom Locket, but before I could fasten the clasp, a figure came rushing out of nowhere and snatched the gold locket right out of my hands.

"Something this nice—why should she get it?"

I stood frozen, staring blankly at the woman across from me, dressed to the nines. Four months pregnant, and Meryl was still teetering on four-inch stilettos.

"What are you doing here? Give that back!" Madge snapped, unable to contain her fury. She lunged forward to grab the locket back.

But James, who had strolled in behind Meryl without a care in the world, seized Madge by the wrist and yanked her aside.

"My dear little sister, have you no shame at all? You're about to become an aunt, and here you are fighting your own nephew for a trinket. Honestly, I'm embarrassed for you."

Meryl clutched the gold locket tight, her face twisted into a smug, insufferable grin.

"Exactly, Madge. You're a girl—sooner or later you'll marry into someone else's family. What's the point of you wearing a gold locket this valuable? It's a waste, plain and simple."

"Your brother already told me—this is the most precious heirloom the Sullivan family owns. It should go to the baby in my belly. That's what you call returning something to its rightful owner."

Madge's face had gone pale. James's grip had left her wrist red and raw, but he showed no sign of letting up.

"Come on, sis. Snatching things from your sister-in-law isn't a good look. Go ahead—apologize to her."

At those words, Madge turned to stare at him. Her eyes brimmed with hurt and disbelief.

Meryl was already basking in her victory, certain the locket was hers.

I looked up, a cold, derisive smile cutting across my face. My gaze could have frozen steel.

"Since when does an outsider get to decide what happens to Sullivan family heirlooms?"

"Madge is my precious daughter. Whether she marries, whether she wears the locket—that has absolutely nothing to do with you or whatever's in your belly."

"Hand the locket back. Now. Otherwise, I'll report you for robbery in broad daylight. You're not stupid—you know that unlawful possession of someone else's property over a certain value is a criminal offense. That means prison time."

Before I even finished, Meryl dropped her head and began to sniffle. Within seconds she was sobbing like her heart had shattered, throwing herself into James's arms.

"Honey, even if Mom doesn't like me, does she really have to threaten me like this? I'm carrying a Sullivan baby! Even if I'm too clumsy with words to win her over, the child is innocent, isn't it?"

James's brow furrowed with concern. He reached out and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Don't be scared. I'm here. Nobody's going to touch a hair on your head."

That only made Meryl cry harder. Eyes rimmed red, she pressed the gold locket back into James's hand, her voice small and trembling with practiced grief.

"Take it back. I know I come from nothing. I'm not good enough for you, and I'm not good enough for the Sullivan family. Tomorrow, take me to the hospital and I'll get rid of the baby. Then we'll go straight to the courthouse and file for divorce."

She lowered her lashes, dabbing at her tears with the meekness of a saint. "Honey, I love you too much. I can't stand watching you fight with your mother over me. Just marry someone she approves of and live a good life. Don't worry about me. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."

There was an old saying: a woman's tears, wielded just right, could break any man's resolve.

A pushover like James never stood a chance against a master manipulator like Meryl.

The next second, he grabbed the gold locket and hurled it to the ground with all his strength. His eyes bulged with rage as he whipped around and screamed at me.

"Is that what you want, Mom? You won't stop until you've driven Meryl away? If anything—anything—happens to her or the baby, you're a murderer! I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!"

James stormed off with Meryl on his arm, still ranting about how I always played favorites.

Why should that precious heirloom locket go only to Madge, and not to him?

He'd conveniently forgotten that the family had always treated both children equally.

He'd had an identical locket once, years ago.

A gift from their grandmother.

But back in sixth grade, he'd secretly sold it and blown the money on an all-night internet café binge.

When Grandma found out, she broke down crying on the spot. She even spent a fortune afterward, pulling every string she could to track it down.

She never found it. Not even by the day she died.

And now here he was, twisting the story, repackaging his own ingratitude as grievance.

After that day, James moved out with Meryl.

To milk sympathy from everyone they knew, the couple deliberately rented a cramped, run-down one-bedroom in a remote suburb.

Life was rough, sure, but that didn't stop them from flooding social media.

In the photos, Meryl sat outside a building that looked one strong wind away from condemnation, hands cradling her belly in the sunlight.

The caption read: "Baby, Mommy's so sorry for dragging you into this. Even your own grandma doesn't want you. It's my fault for coming from nothing. Mommy's sorry."

Post after post followed.

"Finally got my hands on some apples today! They were from the clearance bin, and I had to cut away the bruised parts, but they were still good. My husband saved up just to buy these for me. No matter how bad things get, I can't bring myself to waste them."

"Honey, every time I see you running around until midnight looking for work, I can barely breathe from the heartache. If it weren't for me and the baby, you'd never have had to cut ties with your family and rough it in this tiny rental with me."

And on and on it went.

Within days, every meddling aunt and distant cousin in the family group chat descended on me like a pack of wolves.

One by one, they crawled out of the woodwork to champion James's cause.

"Pearl, treating your son and daughter-in-law like this? Karma's going to come knocking."

"Exactly! James is a grown man. He has his pride. You throw him out over one disagreement? What kind of mother does that? If you ask me, you're worse than a stepmother."

"Favoring your daughter over your son is a disgrace. The Sullivan family won't stand by while you pull this kind of nonsense."

I scrolled through the barrage of messages calling me selfish, a faint, cold smile curling at the corner of my lips.

Then a text from James caught my eye.

The gist: he'd arranged a dinner that evening. Meryl's parents had traveled all the way from their hometown, and both families would sit down together for a meal. Consider it a modest wedding celebration.

I made a point of looking up the restaurant. The kind of place where a single plate ran four figures.

So that was his game. To save face in front of the in-laws, James really could swallow his pride when it suited him.

At the end of the message, he hinted, ever so delicately, that money was tight. Would I be so kind as to pick up the tab?

That afternoon, I left work right on time, brought Madge along, and headed to the dinner.

The moment I pushed open the private dining room door, a thick wave of liquor and greasy meat hit me full in the face.

"Well, well! You must be the in-law we've been waiting for! We've been counting the days, and here you finally are!"

"My little Meryl kept saying her mother-in-law was impossible to please. I didn't believe it at first, but now I've seen it with my own eyes."

I looked up. Across the table sat a woman with a pinched, mean face.

Her beady eyes were locked on the jade bracelet around my wrist, glittering with naked greed.

Beside her, a balding man who looked about fifty was hunched over a braised pork knuckle, gnawing at it with abandon. Grease slid down his chin and soaked into his collar.

They'd brought someone else along too: a man around thirty whose mental capacity was unclear. A long string of snot dangled from his nose, and he made no move to wipe it.

He stood there in a daze until his gaze drifted past me and landed on Madge. His eyes lit up instantly, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Wife! Mom, I'm finally getting a wife!"