Chapter 4: The Son Who Called Me Incapable
Claire led the children upstairs while Mr.
Reeves showed me the filing.
Daniel’s name appeared beneath the words proposed temporary guardian.
“You asked a court to take control of my decisions?” I said.
“I asked the court to protect you.”
“From whom?”
“From yourself.”
I called my attorney, Nora Ellis, and put the phone on speaker.
She heard three sentences before interrupting me.
“Do not sign anything.
Photograph every page and leave with the originals you brought.”
“This is my house.”
“And tonight it is a room full of witnesses.
Stay calm and preserve everything.”
Daniel laughed without humor.
“Of course you have a lawyer ready.”
“I have a lawyer because I own property.”
“You have a lawyer because you trust strangers more than your own son.”
“You tried to sell my home to one of those strangers.”
Mrs.
Grant lifted her phone.
“And he took my deposit.”
“It was refundable,” Daniel said.
“Then refund it now.”
Daniel said nothing.
Claire came down alone.
“Where is the money?”
“In escrow.”
“Show us.”
“I don’t have to prove anything while everyone is attacking me.”
Claire placed both hands on the table.
“That money was supposed to clear our debts.
You told me the buyer had already been approved.”
“The sale would have fixed everything.”
“My mother’s house would have fixed everything,” I said.
“Not you.”
A knock sounded again.
This time a process server stood outside with a sealed packet.
“Margaret Hart?”
I raised my hand.
He passed me the papers.
“You have a hearing Friday morning.
The court has issued a temporary restriction on major property transactions until then.”
Daniel exhaled and sat down.
“You see?” he said.
“You can’t sell the house, change the occupancy agreement, or throw us out.”
“I had not threatened to do any of those things.”
“You were about to.”
“You created the danger, then asked a judge to protect you from my response.”
My granddaughter slipped down the stairs before Claire could stop her.
She ran to me with tears on her cheeks.
“Grandma, are you taking our house away?”
Her question went through me more sharply than anything Daniel had said.
I crouched, but my knees gave and I sat on the bottom step.
“I would never take safety away from you.”
“Daddy said you might make us leave.”
Claire knelt beside us.
“Your father should never have said that.”
Daniel stood.
“Don’t turn my children against me.”
“You frightened her to protect yourself,” Claire said.
My granddaughter wrapped both arms around my neck.
I tried to answer, but no words came.
Claire put one hand between my shoulders.
“Breathe.
I’ve got her.”
I pressed my face against my granddaughter’s hair, and the tears I had held back finally came.
“Grandma isn’t leaving you,” Claire told her.
“And none of this is Grandma’s fault.”
Daniel stared at his wife.
“You called her a freeloader twenty minutes ago.”
“And I was wrong.”
Nora spoke through the phone.
“Margaret, look at the medical statement attached to the petition.
Who is Dr.
Simon Mercer?”
“He was my husband’s doctor years ago.”
“Has he examined you?”
“Never.”
Daniel reached for the papers.
I folded them against my chest.
Nora’s voice hardened.
“The statement says Dr.
Mercer evaluated you last month.”
“He did not.”
“Then tomorrow morning, we find out who created that letter.”
My phone rang before I could answer.
It was the security department from my bank.
“Mrs.
Hart,” the caller said, “we need to confirm an application for a loan secured against your property.”
“I made no application.”
May you like
There was a pause.
“Then someone has submitted your identification, your tax records, and the same power of attorney.”
