Dex looked at me.
“New?”
“I changed my will last week.”
Petra laughed once.
“You are cutting Dex out.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“The house goes into a trust for the grandchildren. Dex will serve as trustee with an independent co-trustee. It cannot be sold for anyone’s personal debt, and no spouse can claim it as marital property.”
Petra’s eyes narrowed.
“You are punishing me.”
“I am protecting the children from adult decisions they did not make.”
“And what does Dex get?”
“He gets the right to live here if he ever needs it. He gets the responsibility of preserving the house. He gets a choice.”
“A choice to serve you forever.”
“A choice to be my son without being your instrument.”
Dex sat down slowly.
Josephine placed another page before him.
“I have also documented the attempted coercion and notified the realtor that he has no authority to represent Mrs. Vale. The power of attorney is void. The medical authorization is revoked. Any further attempt to transfer or encumber the property will be reported.”
Carl Venn’s name appeared on a separate letter.
Petra reached for it.
Josephine moved it out of reach.
“No.”
The single word was quiet, but Petra stopped.
Her father looked at her with exhausted sadness.
“Tell me you did not intend to sell the house.”
Petra looked from him to Dex, then to me.
“I intended to save my family.”
“You intended to take something,” Martin said.
“I intended to make sure we were not left with nothing.”
“You were not left with nothing,” Lenora whispered. “You had a husband, children, a home.”
