The next day, I visited the bank and reviewed the joint account I had opened with Mauricio after my husband died. It was meant for emergencies, not shopping sprees.

The statements showed restaurant bills, spa treatments, hotel stays, expensive shoes, and online purchases. Nearly three hundred and eighty thousand pesos had disappeared.

I immediately closed the account, moved the remaining money into a new account under my name, canceled the extra card, and changed all my passwords.

When Mauricio called, furious because his card had been declined during a business dinner, I calmly replied, “I didn’t embarrass you, son. I simply stopped paying for your lifestyle-