Uncover the Conspiracy of the Evil Mother-in-law

Strange things kept happening one after another. This time, Gloria rushed over to protect the flowers on the table and then claimed that she had picked them up.

Seeing her flushed face, I decided not to say anything,

More of my intimate clothing kept disappearing. It always happened when Hugh and I worked during the day and as I counted the days, I realized the thefts had started right after Gloria moved in with us.

One afternoon, while she was out grocery shopping, I couldn't shake my suspicions. I decided to search the house thoroughly. Everything seemed normal. It seemed none of our valuables were missing. However, as I stood in the living room, my eyes drifted to the one place I hadn’t checked yet.

Why would she take those things? It made no sense.

Even though inwardly I already had my suspicions, the moment I pushed open the door to her room, I couldn't help but feel my heart thumping with nervousness.

I held my breath as I walked in. I searched everywhere, but I couldn’t find my missing clothes. The only unusual thing I found was a small collection of boxes.

After thoroughly checking her room, I stood up and sighed, disappointed. Just as I was about to leave, a soft voice came from behind me.

“Yvonne, what are you doing in my room?”

Startled, I stiffened and turned around to face Gloria’s gaze. I forced a smile. “Mom, it's nothing, I came over to see if you have opened the window in your room to ventilate it," I said.

She didn’t respond immediately, only stared at me with those unsettling eyes. The intensity of her gaze made me nervous. After what felt like an eternity, she finally replied with a slow nod and I quickly excused myself from her room.

I had my reasons for suspecting her. During the first year of my marriage to Hugh, I had seen her slip her hand into a relative’s pocket during a family gathering.

It was winter and everyone was wearing thick coats. When that relative realized their money was missing, they assumed it had fallen somewhere along the way. However, I knew the truth that it was Gloria who had taken it.

“We’re all family. My mom would never do something like that,” Hugh had said dismissively when I told him. “Even if she accidentally dipped into their pocket, I’ll cover the missing money. It’s no big deal.”

I had pressed him to talk to her, but I never knew how that conversation ended or even if it happened.

Thinking back on that incident, I shook my head. Maybe I was wrong this time. What would she even want with used clothes? They weren’t worth anything.

It was all just intimate items of mine that had gone missing. That night, I brought up the idea of installing a camera on the balcony to catch the culprit. Unfortunately, the moment I mentioned it, Hugh shot up from the bed with a visibly upset expression.

“We haven’t lost anything valuable! Why do we need surveillance? Are you seriously trying to say we should spy on my mom? Do you even respect her?”

His face turned red with anger as if I had insulted him deeply. Not wanting to escalate the situation, I agreed to drop the idea and let it go.

Unable to reason with him, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. My mouth felt dry, so in the middle of the night, I quietly got up to get some water.

The living room was pitch black as I groped my way toward the kitchen, using the faint light from my phone screen to guide me. I took a few sips from my glass, but just as the phone screen dimmed, I heard a faint rustling sound behind me. My heart stopped for a beat as my mind raced through every possible terrifying scenario.

A few seconds later, the noise grew louder. I rushed to the wall and flipped on the light.

The sudden brightness stung my eyes, but I immediately turned toward the source of the sound.

There, standing in the bathroom doorway was Gloria, dressed in her nightgown. Her mouth was wide open with eyes filled with panic. She barely had time to hide what was in her hand before I grabbed it. It was a piece of soft fabric.

“Mom, why are you holding my underwear in the middle of the night?” I asked. As soon as I realized what it was, I couldn’t help but gasp. My expression froze in shock.

In the dead of night, she had been sneaking into the laundry basket to take my used underwear.

The whole scene felt disturbingly eerie.