When my wife Emily’s mother, Catherine, unexpectedly resurfaced after ten years, we were both perplexed. Emily wanted to reconnect, believing Catherine’s return would benefit our daughter, Allison. But things quickly went south.

After marrying Emily, I knew her family disapproved. They cut her off, and although it stung, she always insisted she was better off without them. Fast forward a decade: Emily and I thrived professionally and had a beautiful nine-year-old daughter. However, with no family around, Allison relied solely on us and close friends.

Catherine appeared on our doorstep with fruit and wine, claiming she had left Emily’s father and wanted to reconnect. I sensed something off but let Emily take the lead. She and Catherine hit it off, and soon, Emily suggested that Catherine babysit Allison occasionally.

At first, it seemed fine, but I noticed a troubling change in Allison. She became reserved, refusing to talk about her time with her grandmother. One day, while cleaning Allison’s room, Emily found a crumpled drawing. It depicted Catherine taking money from Allison’s box, which was nearly empty.

Concerned, we confronted Catherine. When I demanded she open her purse, she reluctantly revealed Allison’s missing pocket money. “I thought you left it for me,” she claimed, justifying her actions. But Emily was furious. “You took money from a child?”

Catherine admitted to instructing Allison not to talk about their time together, and it became clear that she was manipulating our daughter. I ordered her to leave our home, and she was left helpless as Emily and I stood firm.

Afterward, we reassured Allison, who finally revealed that Catherine had found her money during the first babysitting night. We decided to take Allison to therapy to help her process the situation.

Weeks later, she was back to her cheerful self, and we promised her she would never see Catherine again.

What would you have done in our situation?