Kendall turned to me and begged me to tell the officers I had given her permission. I refused. I explained that she had never been authorized to touch my computer. Dad’s security camera footage confirmed exactly what happened. Kendall immediately blamed me, calling me cheap, secretive, and boring. Then Dad finally spoke. He looked at her and asked, “Kendall, you really don’t know?”

He explained that he had secretly paid off her eleven thousand dollars in credit card debt, helped recover her repossessed car, and covered three months of overdue rent. But the money had never been his. Dad was a retired teacher living on a pension and Social Security. Every dollar, thirty-one thousand in total over three years, had come from me. I had quietly sent it to him because I didn’t want Kendall to feel indebted to me. The paycheck she had mocked was only my take-home amount after retirement contributions, my mortgage, and the long-term care insurance I paid for Dad.