I saw my brother-in-law get into my newly purchased car as if it belonged to him. “Give me back the keys,” I said, trembling, but my mother-in-law called me “ungrateful,” and seconds later, a brutal kick to the stomach changed my life forever.

That single sentence made my blood boil with a heat that was more intense than anything I had ever experienced.

“You do not need to know that your wife is carrying a child to know that you should protect her from being kicked,” I snapped.

He remained silent for a long moment before he pulled out his phone to show me a message that he claimed proved his loyalty.

It was a text from Brenda that had clearly been sent to the family group chat by mistake instead of a private thread.

“She better not dare report us to the authorities or we will make sure to tell our version of the story,” the message read.

She went on to claim that everything in a marriage was shared property and that there was no physical proof of the pregnancy anyway.

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me as I realized the depths of the depravity I was dealing with.

“No proof of the pregnancy?” I repeated while looking at Owen with complete and utter disgust for his silence.

Owen started to cry for real this time, but the tears felt like an insult to the life that had been taken from me.

“I swear that I did not even see that message until a few minutes ago,” he pleaded while reaching out for my hand.