My mother-in-law sold all her land and house to pay off her eldest brother’s gambling debts. Exactly one month later, she had to sadly rent a house with a small pension…
My mother-in-law used to be the most “powerful” woman in the family. The entire land of nearly 300m², the spacious three-story house in Novaliches, TCT was registered under Nanay Gloria’s name; everything she said, the whole family listened to her. But everything started to change when Kuya Rommel—the eldest son—got involved in gambling.

At first, it was just a loan of a few tens of thousands of pesos, then hundreds of thousands. The more he lost, the more he threw himself into it. Nanay Gloria pawned TCT, sold all her alahas… then sold both the land and the house to “save her son one last time”, crying and saying:
— He is her own flesh and blood, the eldest son, can I just stand by and watch him die?

After selling the house, she moved to an old rented room in an eskinita Caloocan—a room that was barely big enough for a bed and a rickety wooden cabinet. The SSS pension was about ₱7,000/month, and the rent was almost half of it. Every time I stopped by, she forced a smile:

— I’m used to living simply, there’s nothing to suffer…

I’m the youngest daughter-in-law, and for years I lived with my mother-in-law and was not pampered; all the best things she gave were to Kuya Rommel and his wife. But this time… I felt sorry for her.

I didn’t tell Miguel, nor did I discuss it with anyone. I quietly returned to my mother-in-law’s rented room, placed a mini camera the size of a fingertip in the corner of the room, hidden in an old wall clock. I left my secondary phone connected—just to make sure she was safe. Unexpectedly, that night, I witnessed a scene that sent chills down my spine.

At 1 a.m., my phone vibrated continuously, alerting me of movement. I opened it: my mother-in-law’s door was slightly open from the outside. A dark figure wearing a hat loomed in. She was fast asleep, unaware.

That person rummaged around everywhere. He opened the drawer under the bed, pulled out an envelope, counted the money. Then… bent down to kiss my mother-in-law on the forehead—a familiar gesture. I zoomed in on the frame and was stunned: it was Kuya Rommel.

I bit my lip, choking. It turned out that selling the house and paying off his debts was not enough. He didn’t even spare her meager pension.

The next morning, I silently sent the video to the family group on Messenger. Without a word. In less than 5 minutes, the whole family exploded.

Kuya Rommel was called by his own mother, slapped in the face in front of his relatives:

— I lost everything because of you, and now you’re coming back to take every penny from me?

The whole family met, announced that they would cut off all inheritance rights (pamana) and exclude him from death anniversaries and family meetings until he truly repented. As for me… I just stood behind, saying nothing.

That night, Nanay Gloria called me, her hands trembling as she placed the old savings book/passbook in my hands:

I apologize for being biased all these years; now I know who is sincere.

I smiled, did not accept the book, and just said:

I don’t need the book, Mom, I just want you to sleep soundly.

That night, my mother-in-law slept soundly for the first time in many years.

As for me—for the first time, I felt like a daughter-in-law… in the true sense.