Daddy immediately revoked Darla’s power of attorney and named the attorney and me as his new co-agents. Then we requested Darla’s financial records. For four years, nearly $110,000 in farm rent had been deposited into an account belonging solely to her. Daddy had never authorized her to keep that money. The rent could have been paying his nursing-home expenses while I struggled to cover the gap from my own pocket every month.

Darla arrived at the nursing home that Wednesday already crying. She admitted falling behind on her mortgage and insisted she had always planned to repay everything. Daddy listened without interrupting. When she finished, he told her the worst part wasn’t simply taking his money. She had used his name to lie about selling the farm. He calmly informed her that the only document she would sign before Christmas was a repayment agreement. Darla signed the following week. Then the attorney reviewed everything I had personally paid during those four years and told me something I never expected: every dollar was coming back.