Working as a nurse, Zoe frequently relied on her mother-in-law, Denise, to care for her son, Leo. But when the small boy is visibly shaken by his grandmother’s presence, Zoe must probe the elderly woman’s actions, only to realize that Denise has a hidden goal.

I had always thought that my mother-in-law, Denise, was a little overbearing, but I must protect my son, her only grandson, Leo.

Denise wasn’t necessarily cruel, but she had a way of making you feel small without even trying. Nonetheless, she lived two roads away and was always willing to babysit Leo whenever I had a shift at the hospital, and with Andrew’s irregular hours at the law business, Denise had to step in frequently.

“It’s what grandmothers are for, right, Zoe?” she said.

But then, last week, right before I was about to leave for a night shift, he started crying.

“I don’t want Grandma to stay with me!” he blurted.

Big, fat tears rolled down his cheeks, and he clutched my scrub with a grip that seemed stronger than a grown man’s.

My son’s eyes darted to the doorway as if expecting her to walk in at any moment.

“Because… Grandma acts strange,” he said, his eyes wide.

“What’s going on?”

“Where’s my grandbaby?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly. “He ran to his room to play with his toys. Andrew is away for the next two days. He’s meeting with a client and running through a case.”

What did that even mean to a four-year-old?

When I got home the next morning, instead playing and watching TV, his eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying all night.

“Leo?” I said slowly. “Did you sleep at all?”

“No, Mommy,” he said. “I stayed up. I didn’t want to sleep.”

“Why not?” I asked, even though I could already feel my heart sinking.

“Because Grandma scares me,” he said, his hands clutching his teddy bear tightly.

I felt a wave of panic wash over me.

“Scares you? What happened, honey? What did Grandma say or do?”