The lock screen was crowded with messages from Gordon.

Where are you? We’ve already chosen everything. The staff is waiting. How long does one meeting take? Bring the card.

I never opened the rest. I held down the power button until the shutdown screen appeared, and turned the phone off. The display went black. For the first time all morning, I felt at peace.

Chapter 4 — Declined

While Pearl helped me collect my prescriptions and gently reminded me that her home was always open if I needed a quiet place to recover, Gordon and Rita were still enjoying what they believed was unlimited access to my money.

I pieced together what happened afterward from several people, including a boutique employee who contacted me because Gordon and Rita had repeatedly used my name and phone number to prop up their story.

The moment they entered the luxury boutique, they bypassed the regular showroom and asked to be taken straight to the private-client lounge. Rita introduced herself as the mother of “a senior technology executive” — her favorite way of describing me — and explained that I was finishing an urgent business meeting in the parking lot and would be inside shortly to settle the bill.