Mother-in-Law Sent Daughter to Sweatshop, Wanted House; I Divorced

The words had barely left my mouth before everyone in the living room froze. My mother-in-law spoke up fast. "Fiona, what's that supposed to mean?" "I'm the child's grandmother. I sent her off to toughen up a little. What's wrong with that?" She stared at me, her face full of fury. Even the younger brother's wife jumped in with a cold little laugh. "We only came over for one visit. There's no need for you to act like this, is there?" And my mother-in-law kept those cold eyes on me. "I brought your brother-in-law and his family here, and this is how you treat us?" "Look at yourself. You've only got the one daughter. But your brother-in-law, he's the one who's earned his place in this family. He gave me a big, healthy grandson!" "And I've already told Brad, everything we've got is going to your nephew someday!" Listening to her, I let out an angry laugh. I couldn't be bothered to keep talking to her anymore. She should take a good look at herself. If it weren't for me, Brad wouldn't have any of the standing he has now. On top of that, back when Brad wanted to marry me, he signed an agreement with me first. All these years I'd worked hard so our family would be better off. And Brad? He never lifted a finger. But the moment his mother made one phone call, he'd agree to anything. I'd assumed the most Brad would do was hand over some money. What I never expected was that this whole family already had their eyes on my property. And now they'd even shipped my daughter off. At that point I couldn't hold the anger down any longer. I fixed my cold gaze on the woman in front of me. "You're going to tell me right now where Yanni is!" "And if you won't, you'll tell me once the police get here!" A trace of chill crept over her face as she listened. "Fiona, what's that supposed to mean?" "I'm your mother-in-law. Is this how you speak to me?" "How can you upset Mom like this?" The younger brother spoke up right away. "I'm calling my brother right now!" And he called Brad, right there in front of me. The call connected quickly. He explained the situation, then looked over at me. "My brother says you're blowing this out of proportion. She's plenty old enough. What's wrong with going out to toughen up a little?" I kept my face cold and said nothing to any of them. I knew Brad would call me the moment he hung up. Sure enough, only a few minutes later, my phone rang. It was him. "Fiona, are you done making a scene?" "My mom is Yanni's own grandmother. What could she possibly do to her?" "She's just gone to toughen up a bit. What's so bad about that?" The second the call connected, there was an edge of impatience in his voice. "It's not easy for my mom and my brother to come visit, and this is how you treat them?" "When the police get here, you tell them it's all a misunderstanding!" The impatience in his voice only grew. I heard him out and let out a cold laugh. "Brad, my business is none of yours to manage!" "And another thing, this is my house. I have every right to throw them out!" "They barged into my home for no reason and took my daughter away. I have every right to sue them too!"

"Fiona, what's that supposed to mean?" On the other end of the line, a cold edge had crept into Brad's voice. "My family comes to my house, and this is how you treat them?" I didn't answer right away. When I did, my voice was just as cold. "They come to our house, and I'll play host." "But not by throwing my daughter out of it!" The words were barely out before I hung up, not giving Brad the chance to say another thing. At that same moment a knock came at the door. I got there first and pulled it open. "Officers, I'm the one who called." I looked at the police standing there and got the words out fast. "They've taken my daughter somewhere and I don't know where." "And my daughter isn't eighteen yet." "She's a minor." "Please, I need you to start looking into this now." My voice came quick and pressed together. The two officers went serious the moment they heard it. After I'd laid it all out, the way they looked at my mother-in-law shifted, something like surprise in it now. They hadn't expected it either, that a woman would do this to her own granddaughter. "Officers, we're all one family. I only handed my granddaughter over to a relative so she could toughen up a little." "Nothing's going to happen to her." "You can go on home." My mother-in-law said it flat out. I kept my eyes locked on her the whole time. "Mom, you'd better tell me where my daughter is." "I'm the child's grandmother. You think I'd ever do anything to hurt her?" She stared at me, and in that moment her eyes were all urgency. "Fiona, how much more of a scene are you going to make?" I didn't say anything. I just looked at her quietly. "Mom, since that's how it is, then there's no problem with me going to see my daughter, is there?" "Why won't you let me go see her?" That threw her for a second. Then she said, "I... I was just worried you'd raise Yanni wrong." "And the place is already cramped. If you bring Yanni back, where are the rest of us supposed to live?" I couldn't be bothered to keep talking to her. I looked at her now, and my eyes were all ice. "Officers, they took my daughter away and they still won't tell me where she is." "I have the right to know where my daughter is." I turned to the police as I said it. At that, the officers nodded, and their voices took on more of an edge when they turned to my mother-in-law. "Out with it. Where did the child go?" One hard word from the officers and my mother-in-law spilled everything. "I sent Yanni to a relative's factory." "I'm her grandmother. How could I hurt her?" Once the officers had the address pinned down, I hurried off toward where the factory was. At the same time I said to the two officers, "Officers, please, come with me to get her." None of them raised any objection. Knowing my daughter was still a minor only made them move faster. What I hadn't counted on was that, the second the car cleared the neighborhood, Brad called again. "Fiona, my mom told me everything." "You're making way too big a scene out of this." "Kicking up a fuss like this, is that any way to act?"

On the other end, Brad's voice came thick with anger. "All she did was send Yanni Abbott out to work. My mother is Yanni's grandmother. How could she hurt her?" Listening to that accusing tone of his, I actually laughed from the fury of it. Then I said, flat and quiet, "Brad." "You'd better pray Yanni hasn't suffered a single thing." "Because if she has, I will never let this go." After I hung up, I drew in a deep breath. In that moment, all the grievance I'd held down for so long finally spilled over. I knew exactly what kind of man Brad was. For years, for that so-called family of his, he had poured in far too much. He'd sacrifice me and Yanni without a second thought to do it. The Brad I knew now got nothing from me but a cold face. The car drove straight to the industrial lot. I looked at the run-down building in front of me and was inside almost before it stopped. With two officers clearing the way, I found Yanni fast. When I saw her, I could hardly believe it. She was locked in a cluttered little room, marks and bruises all over her. Her hands were still doing piecework. The moment she saw me, she nearly screamed the words out. "Mom!" She looked at me and cried like her heart was tearing apart. "Mom, I wasn't bad!" "Grandma sent me here!" "They forced me to work, and if I didn't do it right, they hit me!" "They wouldn't even let me rest at night!" She clung to me, sobbing loud and hard. All I could do was try, over and over, to soothe her. I turned to the officers and said it straight. "Officers, you've seen it for yourselves!" "They're using child labor, and on top of that they've abused my daughter!" At that, the officers nodded at once, arrested the factory owner, and took me and Yanni back to the station with them. At the station, crying the whole time, Yanni told them plenty. She'd been asleep when her grandmother yanked her out of bed by force. Her grandmother said the room was meant for her little brother, that Yanni couldn't sleep there, that the house was for her brother too. And she told Yanni that from now on, the money she earned working was for her brother as well. I laughed from the anger of it. "Yanni, remember this." "You're the only daughter I have. You don't have a little brother." "From today on, you stay with me." I looked at her, my face already full of anger. Ever since I gave birth to a daughter, Brad's whole family had looked down on me every way they could. And now it had come to this. I turned to the officers and said it plainly. "Officers, you've heard it too!" "My daughter was abused at that factory!" "On top of that, she was taken by force and made to work against her will!" "I want you to prosecute this to the fullest!" My voice was loud, loud enough that the officers took it seriously at once. They told me they would handle it immediately. "Ms. Dickerson, don't worry. We will deal with this seriously. We're going right now to bring all the suspects in." The officers looked at me and said it quickly. I thanked them, and only then took Yanni and left. Walking out of the station, I turned to look at her, still frightened, and said quickly, "Yanni, don't be scared. From now on, Mom will protect you!" "Mom's taking you to the hospital now. We'll get you checked over properly!" At that, Yanni finally eased a little. I'd just gotten her to the hospital when the phone rang again. And this time it was Brad, unable to hold back his rage. "Fiona, you called the police on my mother?" "What kind of daughter-in-law does that?"