Jess received an unusually generous birthday gift from her cold and manipulative mother-in-law an expensive pair of shoes that immediately raised her suspicions. While trying to give Debbie the benefit of the doubt, Jess couldn’t shake the feeling that something about the gift felt insincere. Eventually, she decided to wear the shoes during a business trip to Chicago, hoping to take the gesture as a rare attempt at peace. But when she passed through airport security, things took a disturbing turn: TSA officers flagged the shoes and uncovered something hidden inside.

To Jess’s shock and embarrassment, airport security pulled out a small plastic-wrapped bundle of unfamiliar herbs tucked beneath the insole. Tests revealed the contents weren’t illegal drugs but they weren’t harmless either. When Jess had the bundle analyzed after returning home, she discovered they were herbs commonly used in folk magic for “banishing” or “severing ties.” The implication was chilling: this wasn’t a mistake. Her mother-in-law had possibly used witchcraft to symbolically push her out of her husband Arthur’s life.