The refrigerator was empty. My wife’s hands were trembling. And upstairs, my daughter was livestreaming her new designer bag, bought with the money meant for food. “Dad won’t do anything,” Mia whispered to her boyfriend.

“Daniel?” she whispered weakly.

I dropped my suitcase onto the floor.

“What happened?”

She tried to smile — the kind of smile people wear when pain has already defeated them. “I didn’t want to bother you. You were working.”

I opened the refrigerator.

Empty.

Not badly stocked. Completely empty. Even the shelves looked wiped clean.

The pantry held one stale box of crackers and a bottle of expired vitamins.