The gentleman. After her surgery, while she was on Oxycodone, Derek had put a pen in her hand and made himself an authorized user to “help with the bills.”

We dissolved the joint account, opened a dual-signature account in both our names, redirected her Social Security, and filed a fraud report on the forged credit card signatures.

That report went into the bank’s system that afternoon, and it wasn’t coming back out.

As we walked to the car, her spare phone buzzed with a text from Melissa.

Supper club arrives at 6:30 sharp. Have the patio finished. Wear the black apron.

I read it twice, and something cold and steady settled over me. Melissa hadn’t planned a dinner. She’d rented a stage. She’d invited six women from the neighborhood to watch her play lady of the manor, using my mother as a prop.