\u201cWho is Susan?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert asked the question a second time.<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Patrice stood beside the staircase with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Karen remained near the patio door. I stayed by the dining table, watching all three of them.<\/p>\n
Finally, Patrice laughed.<\/p>\n
It sounded forced.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you have a cousin named Susan,\u201d Robert said. \u201cI want to know why she is preparing legal documents about my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice glanced at me.<\/p>\n
That glance mattered.<\/p>\n
She was not frightened of Robert.<\/p>\n
She was frightened of what I knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe works around estate planning,\u201d Patrice said. \u201cI asked for advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdvice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Mom\u2019s house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout planning for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was that word again.<\/p>\n
Planning.<\/p>\n
A harmless word being used as wrapping paper.<\/p>\n
Robert stepped toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she prepare those documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom ask her to?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice sighed. \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I?\u201d<\/p>\n
She did not answer.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
Robert noticed too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked you a question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was creating options.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOptions for whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us.\u201d<\/p>\n
I spoke before Robert could.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid those options include taking my house?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice looked at me sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody is taking anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen show Robert your messages with Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially the one telling you to get my signature before I talked to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert turned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I told him what I had seen.<\/p>\n
Patrice\u2019s face reddened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were spying on my phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was awake on a couch ten feet away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat message is being taken completely out of context.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExcellent,\u201d I said. \u201cShow us the context.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert held out his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me your phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That single word altered the room.<\/p>\n
Robert stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy private conversations are none of your mother\u2019s business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey became her business when you started preparing documents about her property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice looked at Karen.<\/p>\n
Her mother immediately looked away.<\/p>\n
Robert saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing about legal documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert,\u201d Patrice warned.<\/p>\n
Karen flinched.<\/p>\n
That reaction made me study her more closely.<\/p>\n
She knew something.<\/p>\n
Maybe not everything.<\/p>\n
Enough to be afraid.<\/p>\n
Robert pointed toward the living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cInside. The children don\u2019t need to hear this.\u201d<\/p>\n
David and Sophie were still near the pool.<\/p>\n
Their laughter drifted through the glass doors.<\/p>\n
For once, everyone agreed.<\/p>\n
We moved into the living room.<\/p>\n
Patrice remained standing.<\/p>\n
Robert sat forward on the edge of a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart at the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019ll make one.\u201d<\/p>\n
He counted on his fingers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou contacted Susan about Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had legal papers prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew those papers could give me control over her property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice shifted her weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted her signature before she talked to an attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Robert lowered his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd somehow you assumed I would participate.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made Patrice laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would have.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways do what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cComplain, object, pretend you\u2019re uncomfortable\u2014and then accept whatever happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence landed harder than she intended.<\/p>\n
Because it was true.<\/p>\n
I had seen that quality in my son for years.<\/p>\n
Robert rarely initiated cruelty.<\/p>\n
He simply allowed other people to make uncomfortable decisions, then told himself he had not chosen them.<\/p>\n
The couch was a perfect example.<\/p>\n
He had not told me to sleep there.<\/p>\n
He had merely watched Patrice do it.<\/p>\n
Silence was not innocence.<\/p>\n
Robert seemed to understand that at the same moment I did.<\/p>\n
His shoulders lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you expected Mom to sign, and then I\u2019d go along with it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou say that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would never take her house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou complain about money constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mortgage. Tuition. Credit cards. Everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
She gestured toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, Eleanor has a paid-off house and money sitting in accounts doing nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert went pale.<\/p>\n
I felt my own breathing change.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know what is in my accounts?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI meant generally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never told you Mom\u2019s balances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice looked away.<\/p>\n
Then a memory surfaced.<\/p>\n
Six months earlier, Robert had come to my house to install a printer.<\/p>\n
A bank statement had been on my desk.<\/p>\n
Patrice had arrived unexpectedly with Sophie.<\/p>\n
She had gone upstairs to use the bathroom.<\/p>\n
She had been gone almost twenty minutes.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou searched my desk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes flickered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou opened the drawer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was looking for a pen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something inside me sharpen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe drawer was locked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice\u2019s head snapped toward me.<\/p>\n
I had never said that before.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Robert stood slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou opened her locked desk?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo find a pen?\u201d<\/p>\n
She said nothing.<\/p>\n
Robert looked physically ill.<\/p>\n
I felt strangely calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you see?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUseful?\u201d<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Another mistake.<\/p>\n
Robert paced once across the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you copy anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhotograph anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell Susan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answers came too quickly.<\/p>\n
I did not believe them.<\/p>\n
Then Robert said, \u201cHow much money do you think Mom has?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the point.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt became the point when you started calculating what she could solve for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice\u2019s anger broke through.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to pretend you never thought about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re telling me you never once thought about what happens when your mother dies?\u201d<\/p>\n
The words seemed to make the air colder.<\/p>\n
I spoke quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m standing right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice looked at me.<\/p>\n
For once, she appeared embarrassed.<\/p>\n
Only briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone thinks about inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cEveryone does not plan around it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened her mouth.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy money is not family money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert stood so quickly the chair scraped backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListen to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m being practical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re talking about Mom as if she\u2019s already dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
I looked at Patrice.<\/p>\n
She had no answer.<\/p>\n
Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
I stepped away and answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor, I\u2019ve been examining the photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the forms concerns me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced at Patrice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe property transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t appear to come from Susan\u2019s company.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned away from the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where did it come from?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
His tone told me there was more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone contacted your bank three weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey asked what would be required to add an authorized person to your accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it Susan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPatrice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes moved to Robert.<\/p>\n
Daniel said his name.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I heard nothing else.<\/p>\n
Across the room, my son watched me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
I lowered the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone called my bank three weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed before I said anything else.<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
Patrice saw it too.<\/p>\n
Then she smiled.<\/p>\n
It was not amusement.<\/p>\n
It was relief.<\/p>\n
Robert swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel says the caller gave your name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
For the last hour, I had been deciding whether my son was weak, deceived, or complicit.<\/p>\n
Now I knew at least one thing.<\/p>\n
He had been hiding something.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert glanced at Patrice.<\/p>\n
She folded her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo ahead,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
He looked back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t supposed to happen this way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words hurt more than anything Patrice had said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat wasn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Then he told me something I had not expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan contacted me before she ever contacted Patrice.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the floor beneath me become strangely uncertain.<\/p>\n
The man I had spent the afternoon believing might need protection from his wife had known Susan first.<\/p>\n
And suddenly I had no idea which person in the room had started the plan to take control of my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Susan?\u201d Robert asked the question a second time. Nobody moved. Patrice stood beside the staircase with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Karen remained near the patio … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20743,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20708\/revisions\/20743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}