At Thanksgiving My Grandmother Asked One Question That Changed Everything

They’re family.”

I nodded slightly to Attorney Watson, who produced the next document without being asked. “These are the deposit records for Ashley Thompson’s account,” he said.

“On the first of every month, five thousand dollars is transferred from the account of Kevin Thompson’s parents.

The stated purpose is rent.”

My grandmother set down her wine glass. “So you not only took Mandy’s house, but used it to charge rent from your in-laws.”

“It was a maintenance fee,” Ashley said. “The upkeep on a property like that is substantial.

Their five thousand dollars is nothing to them.”

“That is not the point,” I said.

“You collected sixty thousand dollars a year from my property. Over three years, that is a hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

Meanwhile, I was choosing between groceries and bus fare.”