Upon execution, Brandon Reeves agrees to assist in the petition for Franklin Reeves to be declared financially incompetent should such declaration be necessary to transfer disputed family-controlled assets.
I read it three times.
Financially incompetent.
My son and his wife had not simply hoped to inherit.
They had considered having me declared unfit so they could take control while I was alive.
I looked at Elaine’s photograph.
The house was silent.
Then my phone rang again.
This time, it was Brandon.
I answered.
His voice was different now. Smaller. Rougher.
“Dad,” he said. “I need to come over.”
“No.”
“Please.”
That word had once been easy for him as a child. Please for another story. Please for pancakes. Please don’t go to work today.
Now it sounded like something dragged through broken glass.
“Why?” I asked.
“I messed up.”
“Yes.”
“No, Dad. Worse than you know.”
“I’m beginning to understand.”
