I arrived late to Christmas dinner and froze when I saw my sister serving 20 people alone while her in-laws sat there laughing. When her mother-in-law threw a glass of wine over her head, I jumped up. “What did you just do to my sister?”

Daniel looked completely panicked now. “Emily, please. We can work this out. Don’t do this.”

She turned toward him, calm but emotionally distant. “You had countless chances to work it out. You chose not to.”

A knock echoed through the house.

At first, nobody moved.

Then I stepped forward and opened the door. Two police officers stood outside beside a sharply dressed woman carrying a folder.

“Good evening,” the woman said politely. “I’m Ms. Carter, Emily’s attorney.”

Behind me, I heard Margaret mutter under her breath, but all of her confidence had vanished.