I never told my mother-in-law I was a judge. To her, I was just a kept woman on unemployment. Hours after my C-section, she burst into my room with adoption papers, mocking me: “You don’t deserve a VIP room. Give one of the twins to my infertile daughter; you can’t handle two.” I hugged my babies and pressed the panic button. When the police arrived, she screamed that I was crazy. They proceeded to restrain me… until the chief recognized me…

“What are you talking about?” My voice trembled. Not from fear, but from a burning rage that felt like lava in my veins. “These are my children. Both of them.”

“Don’t be selfish, Elena,” Mrs. Sterling spat. “You know Karen’s been crying all week. She’s been trying for five years. She’s infertile. It’s a tragedy. And here you are, giving birth to twins like a rabbit. It’s just not fair.”

Karen was Mark’s older sister. A woman who never liked me, mainly because I refused to kiss her ring. A woman who had married for money, but couldn’t buy a pregnancy.

“So you want me to… give you one?” I asked, incredulous. “Like it’s a spare kidney?”

“Specifically, the boy,” Mrs. Sterling said, walking toward Leo’s crib. “Karen always wanted a son. Her husband has a legacy to carry on. And let’s be honest, Elena. You’re unemployed. You’re lazy. How are you going to raise two newborns? You’ll be drowning in diapers and crying within a week. Karen already has a nanny lined up. She has a nursery that puts this one to shame. She can give him a real life. You should thank her for taking the weight off your shoulders.”

“A peso?” I sat up, ignoring the tearing sensation in my abdomen. “My son isn’t a peso. He’s my son. And Karen isn’t going to take him away. Get that paper out of my sight.”

Mrs. Sterling’s face hardened. The mask of “concerned grandmother” slipped away, revealing the tyrant beneath.

“Listen here, you little gold digger,” he hissed. “Mark is okay with this. He knows it’s for the best. He knows you can’t handle this. If you don’t sign it willingly, we’ll file for custody on the grounds of incapacity. We’ll tell the court you’re mentally unstable. We’ll say you’re unfit. And with Mark being a lawyer, who do you think they’re going to believe? The successful lawyer or the couch potato?”

“Did Mark accept this?” I asked, with deadly calm.

“Of course,” he lied… or maybe he wasn’t lying. At that moment, I no longer knew who my husband was. “He wants his sister to be happy. He knows that sacrifice is part of family duty. He knows that you are… limited.”

She reached into the crib. Her fingers, laden with heavy gold rings, moved toward Leo.