I did not watch.
I did not want to.
She called me from jail.
I almost refused.
Then answered.
“Ethan.”
She was crying.
“How could you do this?”
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
“How could I?”
“You turned Dad against me.”
“No.”
“Hannah did.”
“No.”
“She’s always hated me.”
“No.”
“She did this because of the divorce.”
“No.”
“Stop saying no.”
I smiled sadly.
“No.”
Silence.
Then she hissed.
“You believe her over your own sister?”
I looked at Dad.
He was sitting across the room.
He had asked to hear.
I said.
“I believe records.”
She stopped.
“Bank records.”
“Hospital records.”
“Your forged power of attorney.”
“Fake Silver Pines invoices.”
“The old videos.”
Silence.
Then she whispered.
“I was going to pay it back.”
My stomach turned.
There.
Not denial.
Admission.
I asked.
“And Dad?”
“What about him?”
“You left him at County General.”
She started crying harder.
“I couldn’t handle him.”
“You had nurses.”
“They cost money.”
“Money I was sending.”
Silence.
I continued.
“Thirty-five hundred every month.”
“I had debts.”
Dad made a broken sound.
Pain.
I ended the call.
That was the last time I spoke to Melissa before trial.
The charges were extensive.
Financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
Forgery.
Fraud.
Theft.
False records.
Additional offenses.
The prosecution did not charge anything related to causing Dad’s stroke.
There was no evidence.
I was glad.
Facts were enough.
Melissa eventually accepted a plea.
She faced prison.
Not life.
Years.
She also had to surrender property purchased with stolen funds.
The condo.
Investments.
A luxury vehicle.
