My daughter saw me sitting in the dark and softly asked, ‘Mom, why is there nothing to eat in the kitchen? You get $10,000 a month.’ My daughter-in-law stepped out and said matter-of-factly, ‘I control every dollar she gets.’ My daughter slowly took off her earrings, looked straight at her, and said, ‘Then from today on, that control ends.’

At last he looked at me.

“Mrs. Thompson, you did sign a power of attorney. However, the use of funds appears to have exceeded reasonable fiduciary responsibility. The lender also placed a lien on your home under business collateral. That is serious.”

I folded my hands together to keep them from shaking.

“Can I lose my house?”

He nodded slowly.

“Yes. Unless the loan is renegotiated or settled.”

Daniel looked broken.

“I never wanted to risk your home,” he whispered.

“But you did,” I said.

The attorney continued.

“There may also be exposure here for Mr. Hail if advisory misconduct occurred.”

Martin’s face tightened.

“I provided professional guidance within standard practice.”

The attorney looked unimpressed.

“Using a retiree’s pension to artificially inflate liquidity during debt stress is highly questionable.”

Emma crossed her arms.

“So what happens now?”

The attorney answered plainly.