Sign the house over to me, Mom, or I’ll have you declared incompetent by

I opened the folder — but not the one he’d brought. Mine. The one I’d kept under the flour canister since March. “Before I sign anything, Ethan, I’d like you to meet someone.” Right on cue, the side door opened, and in walked Marion Alvarez, my estate attorney, followed by Detective Ruiz from the county elder-fraud unit. Brooke’s paint samples clattered to the floor. “Elder fraud?” Ethan laughed, too loud. “Mom, this is embarrassing.” Marion set a recorder on the table. “Mrs. Halloway has recorded every conversation in this kitchen for the past nine months, under single-party consent law. We have you discussing, and I quote, ‘pushing her into assisted living so we can flip the property before Christmas.’ We also have Brooke’s texts to her sister — thank you, iCloud family sharing — outlining a plan to forge a power of attorney.” Brooke’s face went the color of skim milk. I slid my own document across the table. “This is the trust David and I set up in 2019. The house was never mine to give, sweetheart. It belongs to a charitable trust that funds scholarships at your father’s old high school. I only live here as a lifetime tenant.” Ethan’s mouth opened. Closed. “You’ve been lying to me for years?” “No, honey. I’ve been listening to you for years. There’s a difference.” Detective Ruiz stepped forward with a calm, almost gentle voice. “Attempted coercion of an elder is a felony in this state. We can talk about that downtown, or we can talk about it here.” Ethan looked at me the way he used to when he’d broken something and hoped I hadn’t noticed. But I had noticed. I’d noticed for a long time. I walked them to the door myself. Before he stepped outside, I pressed David’s watch into his palm. “Your father wanted you to have this when you became a man worth trusting. Hold onto it. Maybe one day you’ll earn it back.” Then I closed the door, poured the rest of the coffee down the sink, and finally, for the first time in four years, sat down in David’s chair.