My Husband Suggested We Stay at His Parents’ for a Week – At 2 a.m., I Went to the Kitchen to Drink Water & Saw the Strangest Scene

We’d been married for less than a year when my husband suggested we visit his hometown for the weekend.
His parents were THRILLED. They greeted us with happy faces in front of the house and offered us the guest room. I thought it was sweet—a chance to bond as a new family.
On the second night, the house was quiet, everyone asleep. I wanted some water and headed to the kitchen, but froze halfway because of what I heard.
From the kitchen came my mother-in-law, Betty’s, voice. Through the silence of the night, I heard her words clearly, and I stood rooted to the spot in the hallway:
“Yes, the marriage went through just like we planned. Don’t worry… she won’t be around for long. I’ll handle it.”
She put the phone down and started doing something else. I had no idea what I could possibly say to her, so I forced myself to enter the kitchen just to get some water—and froze in the doorway at what I saw.
I never could have imagined that this sweet woman, who had served me pie with a smile only hours earlier, was capable of something like this.

The invitation came on a Tuesday while Liam and I were doing dishes. “Mom wants us to come to Sage Hill this weekend,” he said, already having agreed. Betty and Arnold greeted us like royalty—or at least, they greeted Liam that way. She hugged me lightly, like stamping a letter she didn’t want to send. Dinner was all about Liam, every story circling back to him. Later, she showed photos: Liam as a boy, Liam at prom with Alice—her voice soft and warm when she said Alice’s name.

That night, I caught Betty in the kitchen, burning our wedding photos by candlelight, whispering words I didn’t understand. When I dragged Liam down, the evidence was gone. He chalked it up to a dream. The next day I searched her room. Dolls with pins, my photo taped to their heads, burned pictures, a notebook of spells. I took photos. At dinner, I confronted her. Liam saw the drawer himself.

“You were supposed to marry Alice,” she said calmly. “I was protecting you.” We locked our door that night. At dawn, I uploaded everything to her church and neighbors. By evening, Betty’s phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. Liam carried our bags out.

In the car, he took my hand. “I’m sorry. Thank you for fighting.” Sometimes the only spell you need is daylight.