My mother-in-law looked at my wife, who was six months pregnant, and said, “If you’re going to throw up, eat in the bathroom.” I paid for every dinner, every bill, and that night I decided to get revenge for her snub in a different way.

“You should never apologize for being pregnant or for simply existing in a room,” I told her firmly as we waited at a red light. After she fell asleep, I went to my office and began making a series of very clear and logical decisions.

I realized that my financial support had created a structure in which my mother and sister felt completely untouchable. On Monday morning, I canceled all automatic transfers and removed my credit card from Beverly’s recurring accounts.

I stopped paying her car insurance and contacted my broker to put the house she was living in up for sale. I did the same for Sydney, freezing her housing fund and ending the subsidy on her rental property.

By Wednesday, my phone was blowing up with missed calls and angry messages from both of them. Beverly finally managed to get in touch with me after her card was