He grabbed my arm, desperate.
"Honey, I just asked Mom to hold onto it for me. That's all."
I shook him off.
"Fine. Then right now—when we need that money to save my mother's life—are you willing to use it?"
He hesitated. But to his credit, he tried.
"Mom, my savings—"
"What are you afraid of her for?!"
His mother cut him off like a guillotine.
"She's got your child. You think she'll actually leave? She wouldn't dare."
Her face hardened into stone.
"Your money's locked in fixed-term deposits. You're not touching a cent until next year."
Abner's head dropped. Defeated. Silent.
"Cass..." He couldn't even look at me. "Maybe you could ask your relatives? See if they can help?"
His tone was flat. Not a trace of grief. Not a hint of urgency.
He pulled out his phone and transferred twenty thousand dollars.
"This is everything I have left. My entire personal stash. It's yours."
I laughed—a bitter, broken sound—as tears blurred my vision.
"Abner. We've been married for seven years. And this whole time, you've been secretly funneling your salary to your mother." I steadied my voice. "That's concealment of marital assets. It's illegal. Did you know that?"
His jaw went slack.
"That's... that can't be..."