pressure Helen into leaving the home before she was ready.”
Nobody looked at me.
They were looking at the envelope.
The same way they had looked at my house.
Like it was something to claim.
Patrick leaned forward.
“Can we just open it?”
Laura held his gaze.
“No.
Your mother opens it.”
My fingers touched the envelope.
For the first time that evening, I saw uncertainty on my son’s face.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Fear.
I slowly opened the seal.
Inside was a letter from Walter and another document with a title that made Patrick’s expression change completely.
I read the first line quietly.
“In the event anyone attempts to remove Helen from this home against her wishes…”
Kendra whispered, “What does it say?”
I looked up.
“It says Walter prepared for exactly this situation.”
Patrick stood.
“Mom, whatever this is, we can talk about it.”
But Laura raised another document.
“There is one more thing.”
She turned toward the television in the corner of the room.
“The security footage from the house has been reviewed.”
The color left Patrick’s face.
Because suddenly this was no longer a conversation about whether I was capable.
It was a conversation about what they had done when they thought I was not watching.
Laura connected her laptop.
The screen turned black.
Then the first video appeared.
And Patrick’s expression told me he already knew what everyone was about to see.
