Damian insisted on naming him and Melissa as our sole heirs. I had my doubts, but Henry, always more trusting, agreed. We signed the papers on a Tuesday. “Now we’re officially a united family forever,” Melissa whispered in my ear. Her words gave me a chill.

The following weeks were strange. Damian and Melissa started visiting more often, always with suggestions about how we should sell our beloved home or what investments we should make. “Mom, you’re being irrational,” Damian said with a new, sharp tone when I resisted. “This house is too big for two people your age.”

Things escalated when Damian suggested we give him power of attorney. That night, after a tense argument with Henry, who thought I was being paranoid, I brought up the past. “Do you remember what Damian was like before Richard died?” I asked. “There was something about him that scared me.”