First she took control of the money Shawn deposited each month, and then she used the power of attorney to make unauthorized bank transactions.
When that was no longer enough, she began preparing the sale of the house.
“And my dad’s signature?” Shawn asked again.
Brenda lowered her gaze and whispered, “I copied it.”
Doña Maria began to cry softly. “How could you do this, daughter?”
Brenda pursed her lips and said, “I just needed to start over.”
“At the cost of letting us die here?” her mother asked.
That question broke her completely, so Brenda sat down on a step and covered her face with her hands.
Shawn felt no satisfaction because she was still his sister, yet she was also the person who had locked up their parents.
“Give me the keys,” Shawn repeated gently.
This time Brenda handed them over without fighting.
Shawn unlocked the padlock and went inside the cell.
When he hugged his mother, he felt afraid because she weighed so little.
Then he held his father tight.
“I am so sorry,” Shawn whispered.
Don Joseph looked at him in surprise. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because I should have come earlier,” Shawn said.
“You did not do this to us,” his father said gently.
“But I stopped asking questions for real,” Shawn admitted.
The old man placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “Then learn from that, but do not carry other people’s sins.”
Shawn called the emergency services immediately.
He also contacted his lawyer, who advised him to preserve the scene and photograph only what was necessary without altering anything.
Less than half an hour later, paramedics and police officers arrived at the scene.
Don Joseph and Doña Maria were transferred to the regional hospital, where doctors confirmed dehydration, malnutrition, and respiratory complications.
Brenda was taken before the authorities to give her statement.
As the patrol car took her away, Doña Maria asked from inside the ambulance, “Are they going to put my daughter in jail?”
Shawn did not know what to answer because she was still her daughter.
The legal system could identify culprits, but a mother’s heart did not work like that
While his parents were receiving medical attention, Shawn returned with a lawyer to gather evidence.
That was when Nancy, the woman who had helped his parents for years, appeared carrying a blue folder.
“Shawn, I kept this because I knew that someday someone would have to see it,” Nancy said.
Inside were copies of bank statements and messages that Brenda had left open on a computer.
Nancy explained that she began to suspect something months ago when Brenda banned all visits.
“Your mother always waited for me to have coffee,” Nancy said. “Suddenly your sister started telling me she was asleep, then sick, and then that she did not want to see anyone.”
One day Nancy overheard an argument where Don Joseph stated the house would never be sold while they were alive, and Brenda told them to sign and live somewhere else.
