She Weaponized Our Baby

Darren picked at his teeth, then snorted.

"Who's joking? Lily's the only daughter in her family. I need a place downtown in my name, plus one hundred grand before she'll marry me."

Lily—his online girlfriend from that game.

"Wade, I know you're just a salaried worker. Money's not easy for you," Jennifer said, smiling like she was being reasonable. "Paul and I already talked it through. For the one hundred thousand, we'll sell this house, add our retirement savings, borrow from friends and family. We can make it work.

"But the place Darren will live in after he's married? That's on you, as his brother-in-law."

I looked at her smile, and my blood went cold.

Vanessa and I were set up through relatives. By then, we were both past the usual age to marry. She was quiet, gentle—felt like someone you could build a steady life with. Things just... moved forward.

When we talked about marriage, Jennifer asked for $30,000 in cash. I didn't even hesitate. I drained my savings.

Back then, I really thought once we were married, we'd be family. That if you showed sincerity, you'd get it back.

I didn't expect it to be the start of me turning into their personal ATM.

Not long after the wedding, Vanessa quit her job, said she needed to prepare for pregnancy. She didn't do housework. I handled all three meals.

Every month, I gave her $1,800 for expenses—and sent Jennifer another $300.

Three years ago, Darren ran up twenty grand in online gambling debt. Collectors showed up, splashed paint on Jennifer's house, even threatened to break his hand. Vanessa cried every day. I couldn't watch it—I stepped in and paid it.

To cover it, I slept four hours a night for three years, grinding through four jobs back-to-back.

I never thought everything I gave would get me zero gratitude.

Instead, they just got bolder—and set their sights on my house.

"Jennifer, you know that house is the only thing my parents left me. It's in the best school district in the city—worth over three hundred grand. If I give it to Darren, what happens to Vanessa and me? Where are we supposed to live?"

I looked at her, almost pleading. "Even if you don't care about me, think about the baby Vanessa's carrying. You can't have a kid with no home."

Jennifer didn't budge. She let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"The baby in Vanessa's belly is your family's problem. Whether there's a home? That's something your dead parents should've figured out. I only care about the Sutton name carrying on."

Paul sat beside her, chuckling like he agreed.

I turned to Vanessa, stunned, hoping she'd think about the baby and shut this down.

She didn't.

She slammed an abortion appointment slip onto the table.

"It's because I married a useless guy like you that my brother still isn't married. Wade, you get one choice—the baby or the house."

In five years of marriage, I wasn't perfect—but I gave her everything. I put her first, always. People used to envy her, said she married right.

And now? At her family's push, she was using our own child as leverage.

"You're pregnant. I don't want to argue." I kept my voice low. "Just think about it. How much have we put into this? How long have we waited? That's your child too. No matter how upset you are, you can't treat abortion like it's nothing."