He also produced a formal criminal complaint Gwen had filed — for threats, restriction of communication, psychological abuse, and deliberate medical neglect.

My mother went white. “A police complaint? Against your own family?”

“My family was the woman who waited four years for me,” I said. “You just used our blood as a license to steal my labor and humiliate my wife.”

Seeing her defense collapse, Margaret dropped to her knees, weeping, and grabbed both my hands.

“Gavin, my dear boy, I only wanted to secure Paige’s future!” she begged. “A young woman needs assets so her husband respects her — but you’re a strong man, you can go back to work and earn it all again!”

That one sentence killed whatever affection I had left.