My mother collapsed in the snow carrying the steaks my husband had ordered her to buy. “Did she remember them?” Daniel asked when I called from the emergency room.

kitchen island with Marcus, his investor, eating takeout.

He had ordered food for two.

“There she is,” Daniel said. “Is your mother finished performing?”

“Resting.”

I hung up my coat.

“What’s Harbor House Living?”

His fork stopped.

Marcus looked between us.

“A venture,” Daniel said. “Nothing you’d understand.”

The deck showed a renovated boutique building, projected rental income, and a letter bearing Mom’s signature.

It claimed she had agreed to sell her apartments to Daniel’s company for a fraction of their value.

The signature looked believable until I enlarged it.