Patricia did not — she insisted Travis had built the whole scheme to frame me, and Travis insisted Patricia had run it.

Their loyalty lasted exactly until they were afraid of the consequences. The financial investigation turned up more.

Patricia wasn’t behind on her mortgage at all. She had lost nearly forty thousand dollars gambling and betting online, with collectors calling her almost daily, and she’d convinced Travis that my salary and my house were the fastest way to save her.

But Travis hadn’t acted purely out of loyalty to his mother. He’d been skimming thousands for himself — electronics, sports collectibles, expensive sneakers, a used motorcycle in a rented garage, and a hidden credit card that paid for restaurant meals and weekend trips.

On several of those weekends, when he claimed he was helping Patricia fix up her house, he’d been in hotels with another woman. Her name was Heather Collins.

When Denise handed me the receipts, I braced for the heartbreak everyone talks about.