I thought spending a week at my in-laws’ house would bring my husband Liam and me closer, but from the moment we arrived, something felt off. His mother, Betty, treated Liam like he was still a child and barely acknowledged me beyond polite smiles and subtle jabs. She praised his ex-girlfriend from high school, criticized my cooking, and constantly reminded me that I wasn’t quite what she’d envisioned for her son. I tried to ignore it—until insomnia led me to the kitchen at 2 a.m. There, I froze in the doorway as I saw Betty standing over a candle, whispering in a strange language while burning my wedding photos in a bowl. My heart pounded as she noticed me and instantly switched to a sweet tone, claiming she was “praying” for me. When I woke Liam and brought him downstairs, the evidence had vanished, leaving only the faint smell of smoke and his doubt about what I’d seen.

The next day, when Betty and Liam left the house, I searched her room and found twisted dolls, burned pictures of me, and a notebook filled with symbols. I photographed everything. That night, I confronted her, spilling the contents of the drawer onto the floor. Liam finally saw the truth: his mother had been trying to sabotage our marriage because she wanted him with someone else. The next morning, I exposed her actions to her community and walked away from her house with my husband beside me. Sometimes the greatest protection isn’t magic or revenge—it’s revealing the truth and choosing to leave darkness behind.