Jess had every reason to be wary when her frosty mother-in-law, Debbie, handed her a birthday gift. The bright, patent leather shoes looked perfect on the outside—but behind Debbie’s sweet smile, Jess sensed something wasn’t right.
“Thank you, Debbie,” Jess said politely, even as she caught the backhanded compliment hidden in her words about her “practical” style. Arthur, her husband, encouraged her to give Debbie the benefit of the doubt. Maybe, he hoped, this was her attempt at peace.
Jess left the shoes untouched for a week, but with an upcoming business trip to Chicago, she finally decided to wear them. She never expected trouble would start at the airport.
At security, Jess felt a strange pressure in her left shoe. When TSA officers asked her to remove it, an X-ray revealed something suspicious tucked inside the sole. Trembling, Jess peeled back the insole—hidden there was a small plastic-wrapped package.
She panicked. “These were a gift from my mother-in-law,” she stammered.
Luckily, the package wasn’t drugs—but security wouldn’t let it board the flight. Jess was shaken but managed to continue her trip.
Haunted by what happened, she sent the contents for testing after she got home. The results left her stunned: the package contained a mix of herbs used in folk magic—meant to drive people away and sever ties.
Debbie hadn’t just tried to humiliate Jess—she had used magic to try and force her out of Arthur’s life.
When Jess finally confronted Arthur, he was furious. Without hesitation, he decided: until his mother could admit what she’d done and apologize, she would no longer be part of their lives.
As Jess leaned into her husband’s steady embrace, she realized something: no matter how pretty the gift, true love is what protects you—not spells, and certainly not manipulation.
They would face whatever came next—together.