“I have nothing but time,” I said. “And I want everyone to know what they did. Not for revenge. For the next elderly person whose family tries this. So they know they’re not alone. So they know they can fight back.”
The trial took eight months. During that time, I rebuilt my life. I started a foundation for victims of elder financial abuse. I went to Italy with Lorenzo, my Italian teacher, who’d been quietly courting me for months. I volunteered more at the shelter. I made new friends who valued me for who I was, not what I could provide.
Sophie tried to reach out twice. I didn’t respond. Not out of cruelty, but out of self-preservation. She’d made her choice at that wedding entrance, and I’d made mine.
The day the verdict came in, I sat in the courtroom between Martin and my cousin Margaret. The jury found Avery and Taylor liable for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and financial exploitation of an elderly person. The judge ordered them to repay the full $127,000 plus the $20,000 in overcharges, plus interest and legal fees. Total: $183,000.