Dorothy rubbed her empty stomach. "Brandon and I haven't eaten in days! Just let me into your apartment so I can get something to eat." Olivia blocked her path. "I already gave you two boxes of crackers. That's enough to last you for two months." Dorothy protested, "Brandon's a growing boy. He's got to eat more than crackers!" "Dorothy, times have changed. Nobody gets to eat as much as they want anymore. Everyone's rationing their food just to get by." Dorothy snapped, "You can live like that if you want, but Brandon absolutely can't! He's the only one left to carry on the Huxleys' bloodline. He's special and way more important than you!" Olivia grew impatient when she heard that. "What's so special about him? I'm my family's only child, too, and so are plenty of people in this building. Most of them didn't even survive." Dorothy's eyes widened with anger. "Where are your manners? Is this how you talk to your mother-in-law?" She started bawling again. "What kind of daughter-in-law dares to boss her mother-in-law around like this? "My life must have been cursed! My husband's gone, my eldest son is dead, and my daughter-in-law couldn't even keep my grandson. Now she won't even feed me, and my only son left!" She kept crying until her voice became hoarse, but Olivia just stood there, unmoved. Dorothy eventually stopped and spoke through her gritted teeth. "How can you be so heartless? If Daniel could see this, he'd never forgive you!" Olivia wouldn't give in. "Dorothy, trust me, Daniel is not going to blame me for any of this."Dorothy's eyes widened. "What did you just say?" Olivia replied, "I've already given you shelter, food, and water. If you need anything else, have Brandon get it himself. "Over the years, you never treated me well. By law, I'm not obligated to take care of you and your son. And in a world like this, there's no law left anyway. "I've already done everything I could. If you keep causing trouble and someone kills you, you'll have nobody to blame but yourself." With that, she turned to leave. Dorothy grabbed her in a panic, yanking her wound and making it ache even more. "You can't just walk away! That crazy dog kept by your friend bit me. You have to give me a rabies shot!" Olivia was expressionless as she replied, "I don't have any." Dorothy pressed on. "That's impossible! You're a doctor. Of course you have medicine." Olivia was speechless. "I'm just a doctor. I don't run a hospital. Why would I have any medicine on hand?" Dorothy insisted, "What kind of doctor doesn't have medicine with them? The doctor in our village had a cabinet full of medicine. If you don't, it just means you failed as a doctor." Olivia was done arguing and tried to leave, but Dorothy held onto her tightly. "If you won't help me, fine. But you have to help with Brandon's marriage! He's fallen for your neighbor across the hall. He wants to marry her. You have to help us arrange it!" "What did you say?" Olivia's voice went cold. She spun around, her face colder than Dorothy had ever seen. "Who gave you the guts to go after Nat?"Dorothy saw Olivia's expression change and was a little confused, not realizing she'd crossed the line. She straightened her neck, wanting to say more, but Olivia shook her off hard. "Dorothy! I only looked out for you because of Daniel. I've already done more than enough. Don't try to take advantage of me!" Dorothy couldn't believe it. "Did you just threaten me?" She acted like she was standing on moral high ground. "I knew it. All those years you pretended to respect me in front of Daniel—it was just an act! Now he's barely gone, and you already dare ... " Before she could finish, Olivia grabbed her collar and slammed her against the wall. Olivia spoke, slow and clear. "Dorothy, I'm warning you. You and your loser son better stay away from Nat, or you'll regret it." Dorothy felt like her whole body was about to be crushed against the wall. She gasped for breath, nearly choking. Her vision blurred for a second. She couldn't help but wonder if the this intimidating woman was the same Olivia she used to know. She used to be gentle and considerate, never once losing her temper, no matter how I treated her. Now, for the first time, she's looking at me like this ... She looks like she wants to tear me apart. She even laid her hands on me! And she's doing this all for a neighbor she's not even related to? Dorothy was still frozen in shock when Olivia slammed the door shut in her face. She stared at the door, stunned, for a long time. It took her a while to come back to herself before she finally shuffled home.Suddenly, she realized she actually had no way to control Olivia. If Olivia decided not to recognize her as her mother-in-law, there was nothing she could do. If only Daniel were still alive. When she reached home, Brandon was lounging on the couch, eyeing her sideways. "What are you mumbling about? Did you get it done?" For once, Dorothy ignored him and walked to her room, frowning.