The day my daughter, Amber Gilbert, passed her civil service exam, I bought her a downtown apartment outright and wired her three hundred thousand dollars to go treat herself.
When my daughter-in-law found out, she flipped the table on the spot.
"I gave the Gilbert family a son, and all I got was a two-hundred-thousand-dollar bonus! She's a money pit, and she gets a whole apartment just for passing some government exam? How is that fair?"
"Who buys a house for their daughter? Every penny the Gilberts have is going to belong to my son!"
"You miserable old hag, you've got your priorities completely backwards! When you're bedridden someday, don't come crying to me to wipe your ass!"
I slapped her across the face.
"Your own mother might think you're a money pit, but my daughter is not."
My money. I'll give it to whoever I damn well please.
She thought pushing out a son made her empress dowager? In her dreams.
...
Amber had spent a full year studying for the exam, and she'd finally made it.
To celebrate, I bought her a small apartment downtown, paid in full. It was a ten-minute walk from her office. With renovations, the whole thing came to about two million dollars.
Then I wired her another three hundred thousand and told her to go have fun, let loose a little.
She threw her arms around me and kissed my cheeks over and over. "Mom, you are literally the best mom in the entire world!"
The day she got the deed, she snapped a photo and posted it online:
"Finally have my own little place! Thank you to the most generous mom on the planet. Love you!"
I hit the like button, grinning from ear to ear.
The apartment was close to her office. My girl could sleep an extra half hour every morning.
But that one post kicked a hornet's nest.
That evening, I'd just gotten out of a meeting, and my phone was blowing up. Ninety-nine unread messages. Seventeen missed calls.
I blinked, fumbling to open the notifications.
The family group chat had erupted into a full-blown war.
I scrolled up. Someone had screenshotted Amber's post.
Above that was a link to an Instagram post by my daughter-in-law, Melissa Lawrence.
The title read: "Can someone please explain this?? My sister-in-law passes a government exam and my mother-in-law rewards her with an apartment. I gave this family a SON and got $200K. The favoritism is unreal!"
Over two thousand comments underneath.
Melissa was in the replies going off on everyone:
"I married into a wealthy family, okay? Two hundred thousand is nothing. My mother-in-law's handbag alone costs more than that!"
"I gave them a SON. The only heir to the Gilbert name! She's a money pit who passed one little exam and gets a whole apartment? How is that fair?"
"My mother-in-law is a delusional old bat who can't tell family from outsiders. Everything the Gilberts own will belong to my son someday. Buying her daughter a house? She's spending MY SON'S money!"
The algorithm pushed the post straight to Amber.
She recognized Melissa immediately and went after her in the group chat:
"Melissa, have you no shame? My mom buying me a house is none of your business!"
"It's my mom's money. She can spend it on whoever she wants!"
"Two hundred thousand wasn't enough for you? What about the hundred-plus thousand in gold jewelry they gave you when you were pregnant? Did you feed that to the dogs?"
The two of them tore into each other for hundreds of messages.
I rubbed my temples and rushed home.
The moment I walked through the door, I froze.
Melissa Lawrence stood in the middle of the living room, clutching my grandson Noah, who wasn't even a year old, a suitcase at her feet.
Tears streaked her face. She looked ready to storm out.
When she saw me come in, she startled for a second. Then the tears came pouring down.
"Mom, you're finally home!"
"I can't live in this house anymore. Your daughter can't stand me, and you play favorites. If I want to leave, that should be my right!"
She made a move toward the door.
I frowned. "Melissa, what are you doing?"
She spun around, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
"What am I doing? Why don't you look at the group chat and see how Amber talked to me!"
