PART 4: The Porch Light
Tyler did not get far. The deputy had parked across the end of the driveway, and when Tyler swerved onto the lawn, his car caught the edge of a drainage ditch and stalled.
They found the rest of my mother’s pills in his black jacket, along with a list of names and phone numbers. He had been selling them.
Tyler was arrested that morning for theft of prescription medication and possession with intent to sell.
Raymond was arrested that afternoon. Neglect of a vulnerable adult, financial exploitation, and attempted fraud.
The lawyer he had taken my mother to was not a lawyer. He was a notary who ran a tax prep business out of a strip mall. He was charged too.
The deed was declared void. My father’s trust held.
A judge granted my mother an emergency protective order. Raymond and Tyler were never allowed back in the house.
My mother filed for divorce from her hospital bed. She had been dehydrated and had an untreated urinary infection.
"I’m so ashamed," she told me. "I let them do this to me. In my own house."
"Mom," I said. "You didn’t let anybody do anything. They took advantage of you. That’s what they do. That’s what I’m studying to stop."
EPILOGUE: Home Early
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction inspired by real-life themes. Names, characters, places and events are fictionalized, and any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental. Images are for illustration purposes only.
