Mark lunged for the folder, but Sophie stepped back and held it tight against her chest. “You tricked her!” he shouted at me. “She is confused, and you took advantage of an old woman!” Rhonda reached for her phone, already dialing the judge she had threatened me with. I stayed in my chair and finished my tea.

Then the doorbell rang again. Dale the realtor stepped inside, pale and sweating, with a deputy standing quietly behind him. “Mark,” the deputy said, opening a notebook, “before anyone signs anything else, I need to ask you about the power of attorney you filed at the county office last Tuesday. The one with your mother’s signature.” Mark’s mouth opened and nothing came out. Rhonda slowly lowered her phone. The cookies slid off my mother’s china plate.