Mom approached him, softening her voice into the tone she always used when trying to regain control.
“Dad, you don’t understand what Avery is saying. She’s upset. She’s always been dramatic. We were managing things for you.”
“You were stealing,” Grandpa said.
Dad’s jaw tightened. “Careful.”
Grandpa leaned forward. Firelight illuminated one side of his lined face.
“I was careful for forty years while you spent money you never earned. I was careful when you convinced your mother to refinance this house before she died. I was careful when you told my doctor I couldn’t remember my own address. Now I’m finished being careful.”
Caleb let out one sharp, nervous laugh.
“This is insane. Grandpa, you’re old. You don’t know what you signed.”
“He knows exactly what he signed,” I said. “Attorney Morris recorded the meeting. Two witnesses were present. So was a medical evaluator.”
Mom stared at me as though I were a stranger.
Throughout my life, I had been the daughter who created problems by noticing them.
I noticed when Dad lied. I noticed when Mom cried alone in the laundry room before emerging with a smile. I noticed Caleb being rescued from every consequence while I was told to toughen up.
Now I noticed fear.
Dad lunged for the red folder.
I stepped away.
Grandpa struck the floor once with his cane.
Two officers entered from the hallway.
Mom’s mouth fell open.
Dad stopped moving.
Grandpa looked almost uninterested.
