Without a word, she reached into her oversized tote and pulled out a heavy, locked wooden box.

“Mom,” she whispered, glancing out the window as if she were being followed. “Please hide this for me. Liam keeps demanding the key, and he gets… so angry when I say I lost it. I don’t feel safe with it in the house.”

“Clara, what’s in this?” I asked, my heart hammering.

“Just… household finances. Please, just hide it.”

She left soon after, too frightened to stay.

As soon as her taillights faded down the street, I took a heavy iron fireplace poker and smashed the brass lock.