MY SON STARTED DIVIDING UP MY LIFE WHILE I WAS STILL ALIVE. BY LUNCHTIME, MY CARDS WERE DEAD, MY ONLINE BANKING WAS LOCKED, AND I WAS STANDING AT A WHOLE FOODS REGISTER WITH A BASKET FULL OF DINNER I SUDDENLY COULD NOT AFFORD.

Not frightened.

Focused.

The way Warren used to get before walking into difficult negotiations.

« Mrs. Morrison, » Frederick said, « your son accessed accounts that were never included in the power of attorney documentation. »

I stared through the windshield at Desmond’s house.

At the stone columns.

The expensive landscaping.

The life I had financed.