My sister-in-law was taking $1,300 from my remote work every month. When I told her to stop, she yelled at me to get out of the house.For almost a year, I worked from the corner of my brother Marco’s dining room table, convincing myself I was being practical.

“Why are you taking $1,300 from my paycheck every month?”

She didn’t even look up.

“That’s your contribution.”

The casualness of it hit harder than the amount.

“My contribution?” I repeated. “We never agreed on anything like that.”

Now she looked at me.

And what I saw in her eyes wasn’t guilt.

It was irritation.

“You live here,” she said, like she was explaining something obvious to a child. “You use electricity, water, internet. Space.”

I stared at her.