Chapter 4 - The Papers Daniel Had Already Signed
Walter opened his front door wearing pajama pants and an Orioles sweatshirt.
He looked tired.
He did not look confused.
“Where’s Caleb?”
“At the hospital.”
Walter’s face tightened immediately.
“What happened?”
Sarah watched him carefully.
“Amber gave him something.”
Walter gripped the doorframe.
Daniel stepped forward. “Dad, can we come in?”
Walter moved aside.
On the kitchen counter stood a plastic medication organizer. Several compartments were empty. A handwritten schedule sat beneath it.
Sarah photographed the setup before touching anything.
Walter noticed.
“Amber makes those.”
“Do you know what each pill is for?” Sarah asked.
“Mostly.”
“Does she ever put medicine in your drinks?”
Walter frowned.
“Sometimes she says one’s easier crushed.”
Daniel looked away.
Sarah caught it.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Daniel walked toward the dining room.
Three months earlier, he admitted, Amber had convinced him Walter needed financial supervision.
“She said Dad was missing mortgage payments and sending money to scams.”
Walter slammed one palm on the counter.
“I missed one electric bill.”
“You sent five thousand dollars to somebody online,” Daniel said.
“I loaned Paul money for his daughter’s tuition.”
Daniel went silent.
Sarah asked, “What did you sign?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“A family consent saying Amber could help with banking and medical appointments.”
“Anything else?”
“She asked me to support a competency evaluation.”
Walter stared at his son.
“You signed that?”
“I thought you needed help.”
“You never asked me.”
Daniel’s shame filled the kitchen.
Sarah understood another layer of Amber’s advantage.
Daniel feared becoming responsible for his father.
He traveled constantly for a pharmaceutical-sales company. Their mortgage was high. Caleb needed after-school care. Sarah’s schedule was inflexible during major projects.
Amber had offered to manage everything.
They had accepted convenience in place of knowledge.
Walter went to a drawer and removed a folder.
“I started keeping copies because Amber takes things.”
Inside were bank statements, pharmacy receipts, and several pages with handwritten notes.
The most recent statement showed a transfer of eighty-six thousand dollars from Walter’s retirement account into a company Sarah did not recognize.
Potomac Senior Services LLC.
Daniel stared at the name.
“Amber told me that was Dad’s home-care provider.”
Walter shook his head.
“I don’t have home care.”
Sarah photographed the page.
The park incident was no longer an isolated act against Caleb.
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It had opened a door into whatever Amber had been doing to Walter.
And Daniel had helped give her the key.
