I Was Excited To Tell My Daughter I Inherited $6 Million From My Sister, But I Heard Her Say..
The Trap Springs
When we got home, Linda was practically glowing.
“Mom, Dr. Morrison called me. He’s concerned about you. He thinks we should consider conservatorship just to protect you,”
she said.
“Conservatorship? What’s that?”
I asked.
“It just means I’d help you make decisions about your money and healthcare to keep you safe,”
Linda explained.
“Oh. Well, if you think it’s necessary,”
I replied.
“I do, Mom. I really do. I love you and I want what’s best for you,”
she said.
That night, I couldn’t sleep, not because of fear, but because of rage. How dare they look at me with fake love while planning to steal everything Emily left me?.
The next morning, Linda told me she had filed the conservatorship petition. The court date was set for three weeks away; she had moved fast.
I called Ryan from my burner phone.
“It’s happening. Court date is December 8th,”
I told him.
“Good. That gives us time. I’ve been documenting everything from my end too—the phone monitoring, the searches, all of it,”
Ryan said.
“And I found something else. Linda’s been accessing your bank account since September,”
he added.
“What?”
I asked.
“She forged power of attorney documents. She’s already moved $50,000 from your pension account into her own. She’s been stealing from you for months,”
he revealed.
The evidence was overwhelming, as Linda had created a paper trail that would bury her. Every fraudulent transaction, every forged signature, and every illegal access to my accounts was captured.
Ryan had it all. I hired a lawyer, Margaret Cho, a woman I’d worked with 20 years ago on an elder abuse case.
She was brilliant, ruthless, and she owed me a favor.
“Barbara, this is a slam dunk,”
she said after reviewing everything.
“But we need to be strategic. Let them think they’re winning right up until the court hearing, then we drop everything at once,”
she planned.
The three weeks before the hearing were surreal. Linda was so happy she had already started shopping for expensive clothes and new cars.
Sophia had booked a trip to Europe for after I was declared incompetent. They were spending money they didn’t have yet—money they thought they’d be able to steal from me.
I continued to play my part as confused, dependent, and grateful for Linda’s help. Inside, I was documenting everything with the cold precision I’d learned over decades of clinical work.
Day in Court
December 8th arrived, and Linda had me dressed like I was going to a funeral.
“We want you to look presentable for the judge, Mom,”
she said.
We drove to the courthouse in downtown San Diego on a beautiful, clear morning. Linda kept patting my hand.
“Don’t worry, Mom. This is all going to be fine. I’m going to take care of everything,”
she promised.
The courtroom was smaller than I expected, and Judge Patricia Reeves presided. She was in her 50s with sharp eyes and a no-nonsense demeanor.
I liked her immediately. Linda’s lawyer, Bradley Simmons, went first.
He was an attorney who specialized in conservatorships and presented his case with practiced ease.
“Your Honor, we’re here today because Mrs. Barbara Mitchell, age 65, is no longer capable of managing her own affairs due to early onset dementia. She has become confused, forgetful, and vulnerable to exploitation,”
he stated.
He presented Dr. Morrison’s evaluation.
“Dr. Morrison, a respected psychiatrist, examined Mrs. Mitchell and found clear signs of cognitive impairment. She couldn’t recall basic facts, became disoriented easily, and showed marked decline in executive function,”
he argued.
Linda testified next, painting herself as the devoted daughter.
“Your Honor, it breaks my heart to do this, but my mother isn’t the woman she used to be. She forgets to eat; she leaves appliances on. Just last week, she couldn’t remember my daughter’s name,”
she said.
“I’m so worried about her, and I just want to make sure she’s protected,”
she added while crying real tears.
Sophia testified too.
“My grandmother raised me when my dad left. She’s the most important person in my life. It’s devastating to watch her decline like this, but my mom is right. We need to protect her, even if it means making hard decisions,”
she said.
Judge Reeves listened carefully, taking notes. When Linda’s side rested, she looked up.
“Mrs. Mitchell, do you have representation?”
she asked.
I stood up slowly, playing my part one last time.
“I… I think so. There’s a lady…”
I stammered.
Margaret Cho stood up from the back of the courtroom.
“Your Honor, I’m Margaret Cho, representing Mrs. Mitchell, and we’d like to present some evidence, if it please the court,”
she announced.
The Truth Revealed
Bradley Simmons looked confused.
“Your Honor, Mrs. Mitchell didn’t indicate she’d be represented,”
he argued.
“She didn’t need to, Mr. Simmons. Mrs. Mitchell has every right to counsel. Ms. Cho, proceed,”
Judge Reeves replied.
Margaret walked to the front with a tablet.
“Your Honor, I’d like to start by playing a recording from October 24th, recorded at approximately 7:30 p.m.,”
she said.
She pressed play, and Linda’s voice filled the courtroom.
“I’ve had access to Mom’s phone for months. I see every call, every text, every email,”
the recording played.
Then Sophia’s voice:
“So when do we start?”
Linda again:
“Tomorrow. I already have everything we need: the prescriptions, the doctor, the psychiatrist.”
The color drained from Linda’s face, and Sophia looked like she might be sick. The recording continued, revealing every detail of their plan and every cold, calculating word.
When it finished, the courtroom was silent.
“Your Honor,”
Margaret continued,
“this recording is just the beginning. We have video evidence of Ms. Linda Mitchell administering drugs to her mother without her knowledge or consent. We have drug tests showing benzodiazepines in beverages Ms. Mitchell prepared for her mother,”
she stated.
“We have evidence of illegal phone monitoring, fraudulent power of attorney documents, and theft of approximately $50,000 from Mrs. Mitchell’s accounts,”
she added.
She pulled up image after image on the screen: the video of Linda drugging my tea, the drug test results, the forged signatures, and the bank transfers.
“Furthermore, Your Honor, we have evidence that Dr. Richard Morrison, who provided the psychiatric evaluation, has a history of falsifying competency evaluations in conservatorship cases,”
Margaret revealed.
“We have documentation showing that Ms. Linda Mitchell knew about his history and specifically chose him for that reason,”
she concluded.
Bradley Simmons was on his feet.
“Your Honor, I had no knowledge of any of this! I was retained under false pretenses!”
he exclaimed.
“Sit down, Mr. Simmons,”
Judge Reeves said.
She turned to Linda.
“Ms. Mitchell, is this recording authentic?”
she asked.
Linda couldn’t speak; she just stared at the floor.
“I’ll take that as a yes,”
the judge said.
“Mrs. Mitchell, would you like to address the court?”
she asked me.
