“And never told you,” Sarah said.

“What does joint tenancy mean as far as the mortgage goes?” I asked.

“It means Brent owns half the property as of today,” Sarah said.

“And if your mother dies, the whole house passes to him automatically.

It skips probate, and it never becomes part of her estate.”

I stared down at the crisp black ink of Brent’s signature beside my mother’s slanted handwriting.

“For the past thirty-six months, I’ve sent three thousand dollars into her account every month,” I said.