Alice’s overheard conversation hadn’t been a misunderstanding or a child’s misinterpretation.

I looked at my granddaughter, innocently working her math problems, then back at my phone.

The final piece of my plan clicked into place.

By Sunday evening, when Rebecca and Philip returned, they’d find something very different from the compliant, naive woman they’d left behind.

They’d find empty spaces where valuable items had been, missing documents, changed locks.

And most importantly, they’d find a grandmother who was done being underestimated and exploited.