“I managed the finances.” “Why did you hide the loan?” “I planned to tell her.”

“Before or after you sold her house?”

His attorney objected, but the damage was done. The judge granted me exclusive temporary use of the house, froze the disputed accounts, barred Travis from creating any further debt in my name, and ordered that all visits with Ruby be supervised until a family evaluator finished an assessment.

Travis watched me as the ruling was read. He seemed to expect embarrassment on my face. He didn’t find it.

Outside the courtroom, Patricia walked up to my father. “This is your fault,” she hissed. “A wife should support her husband.”

Dad looked at her quietly.