I stared at the numbers on my laptop screen. My maternity leave was ending soon, and no matter how I ran the numbers, the cheapest childcare option was still out of reach.

"If only that place near the mall still had space," I muttered.

"I still don't understand why you want to waste money on daycare when I can watch this little angel for free," Kelly, my MIL, chimed in. She peered over my shoulder as she swayed baby Lily in her arms. "Those prices are ridiculous!"

My jaw clenched involuntarily. From the moment Jordan had introduced us six years ago, his mother had made it clear no woman would ever be good enough for her precious son.

The passive-aggressive comments about my cooking and the cleanliness of my house were already too much to bear. I had no desire to give her an opening to become overbearing about Lily, too.

"I don't know…" I replied hesitantly.

Kelly tutted. "It's simple, Lauren. Just say 'yes.'"

I looked at my beautiful daughter sleeping peacefully in Kelly's arms. "I'll think about it, Kelly."

When I discussed Kelly's offer with my husband that evening, he thought it was the perfect solution.

"I know you two have had your differences," Jordan said. "But she raised me just fine, didn't she? And it doesn't have to be a permanent arrangement. You said that woman from the daycare center you liked would contact you when they had an opening, right?"

I nodded. "Okay. We'll have Kelly watch Lily for now."

"But you have to ensure she understands we want her to follow normal babysitting rules, okay? Even if she is family. No guests, no extended phone calls, no afternoon glasses of wine," I added. "If I tell her, it'll probably start a fight."

"I'll tell her." Jordan leaned over to kiss my cheek. "Don't worry, babe. I'm sure everything will be fine."

And he was right. It was fine… at first.

For the first week, I got a steady stream of updates from Kelly on how well Lily ate and slept, how her mild diaper rash was doing, and photos of their walks in the park. I'd come home from work to find dinner waiting and the house tidier than I'd left it.

Maybe this arrangement could work after all.

"Thank you for everything this week," I said sincerely that Friday. "It's been a huge weight off our shoulders."

Kelly smiled, her eyes never leaving Lily's face. "Being a grandmother is the greatest joy of my life. I should be thanking you."

I was ready to put all my doubts behind me until the nanny cam incident.

When I got home on Thursday evening, Kelly was standing in the kitchen, nervously wiping her hands on her pants. Her smile seemed forced, her eyes not quite meeting mine.

"How was your day?" she asked too brightly.

"Fine," I replied slowly, setting down my bag. "Where's Lily?"

"Napping in her crib."

I nodded, searching Kelly's face. "Is everything okay?"

She sighed dramatically, reaching into her pocket. "Actually, there was a little accident today. I was cleaning around the shelves and this fell."

She handed me our nanny cam. Its screen was shattered beyond repair.

"I'm so sorry," she continued. "I know how expensive these things are."

I turned the broken device over in my hands, my suspicion mounting.

Kelly had been tidying up, but she'd always steered clear of any tech gadgets. Anything more complicated than a feature phone intimidated her. The idea of her spontaneously deciding to dust around our tech gadgets seemed wildly out of character.