On My Birthday, My Daughter Gave Me a Tablet — Eleven Days Later, the Police Took Her Away…

The Investigation Begins

Detective Sarah Chen was in her mid-40s with a no-nonsense demeanor and eyes that had seen too much. She met us at the Toronto Police Services Financial Crimes Unit the next morning. Daniel had made copies of everything he’d found on the tablet before we came.

She examined his documentation carefully, asking technical questions I couldn’t follow. Daniel answered each one with the precision of someone who testifies in court regularly.

“Mr. Morrison,” she said finally, turning to me, “your grandson is correct. This device was configured as a surveillance tool before you received it. Whoever did this has access to everything: your location, your communications, your financial information.”,

“If you’ve accessed any banking sites…”

I hadn’t, thank God for my technological incompetence.

“What does this mean?” I asked. “What do I do?”

Chen leaned back in her chair.

“First, I need to ask you some questions. Does anyone have a financial motive to monitor you? Do you have significant assets? Life insurance? Property?”

I thought about it. My teacher’s pension wasn’t extravagant but it was steady. The house in Oakville was worth close to 2 million in today’s market. Margaret and I had been good savers. I had investments, RRSPs, a paid-off house, and yes, a life insurance policy: $750,000. The beneficiary was supposed to be split between my children, Evelyn and Michael.

“I’m comfortable,” I said carefully. “Not wealthy, but comfortable.”

Chen nodded like she’d expected this answer.

“Mr. Morrison, I’m going to be direct with you. In my experience, when family members install surveillance equipment on elderly relatives, it’s rarely innocent curiosity. There’s usually a larger plan in motion.”,

Elderly relatives. The words stung. Is that what I was now? An elderly relative to be monitored and managed?

“What kind of plan?”

“Financial exploitation. Guardianship fraud. Power of attorney abuse.” She listed them matter-of-factly. “Someone wants access to your assets and they’re building a case to get it.”

Daniel put his hand on my arm.

“Grandpa, who gave you this tablet?”

I couldn’t say it. Couldn’t make my mouth form the words. Chen said them for me.

“Your daughter, Evelyn Morrison.”

I drove home in a daze that afternoon. The tablet sat in a police evidence bag in Detective Chen’s office. She’d asked me to wait before confronting anyone, to let them investigate properly.

“Act normal,” she said. “Don’t let them know you know.”

Betrayal at Home

I parked in my driveway and sat there for a long time staring at the house Margaret and I had bought 40 years ago. We’d raised our children here, celebrated holidays, birthdays, graduations. Margaret had planted the rose bushes by the front door the year Evelyn was born.

My daughter. My firstborn child. The little girl who’d made me Father’s Day cards out of construction paper and dried macaroni. The teenager I’d coached through heartbreak and helped with homework. The woman who’d held my hand at Margaret’s funeral and told me everything would be all right.

That woman wanted to surveil me. Monitor my life. For what?

I went inside, made dinner I couldn’t taste, and went to bed early. I didn’t sleep. I just lay there in the dark staring at the ceiling, listening to the house creek and settle around me.

The call from Detective Chen came 3 days later on a Tuesday morning.

“Mr. Morrison, are you sitting down?”

I lowered myself into the kitchen chair.

“I am now.”

“We’ve been investigating your daughter’s recent activities. Financial records, communications, known associates.” She paused. “Are you aware that Evelyn has been in a relationship with a man named Victor Reinhold?”

The name was familiar. Evelyn had mentioned him once or twice casually, the way you mention a new coworker or neighbor.,

“She’s dating someone. I’ve never met him.”

“Victor Reinhold has a criminal record in British Columbia. Fraud, elder financial abuse. He served 18 months in a provincial correctional facility after exploiting a 73-year-old woman in Victoria. Got her to sign over power of attorney, then drained her accounts. Nearly $200,000.”

My hands started shaking.

“That’s not all,” Chen continued. “We’ve subpoenaed some documents. Mr. Morrison, did you recently change the beneficiary on your life insurance policy?”

“No.”

“According to Canada Life, the beneficiary was changed 7 months ago. Your son Michael was removed entirely. Evelyn is now the sole beneficiary for the full $750,000.”

The kitchen spun. I gripped the table edge.

“I never signed anything.”

“We suspected as much. The signature on file doesn’t match your known samples. Someone forged your name.”

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe.

“There’s more. We found evidence that someone has been making inquiries about guardianship proceedings in Ontario. Specifically about having you declared mentally incapable of managing your own affairs.”,

“Mentally incapable.” The words hit like a physical blow. “On what grounds?”

“That’s what we need your help to find out. Mr. Morrison, I know this is difficult, but if we’re going to build a case, we need evidence of intent. We need to know what they’re planning and why.”

She explained what she wanted me to do. Continue using the tablet normally. Let them think their surveillance was working. Feed them information, carefully controlled, and see how they responded.

“You want me to spy on my own daughter?” I said.

“I want you to protect yourself,” Chen replied. “Before she takes everything you have.”

Setting the Trap

That night, I sat alone in my living room with the tablet in my lap. Detective Chen had returned it to me, modified now so her team could monitor who was monitoring me. A trap within a trap.

I opened the device and started talking, not to anyone in the room, to whoever was listening on the other end.

“Been thinking about the house lately,” I said to myself, loud enough for the microphone to catch. “Too big for one person. Maybe I should think about selling. Downsized to a condo. Get my affairs in order.”,

The words tasted like ash, but I kept going.

“Doctor says I’ve been forgetting things. Maybe I should look into getting some help. Can’t manage everything on my own anymore.”

Lies, all lies. My memory was sharp as ever, my health decent for a man my age. But I was building a character now: the confused old man who needed managing, the vulnerable senior who couldn’t handle his own affairs. I was giving them exactly what they wanted to hear.

The response came faster than I expected. Evelyn called the next morning, bright and cheerful.

“Dad, I was just thinking about you. How are you feeling?”

“Oh, you know, getting old,” I let my voice waver slightly. “Some days are better than others. I worry about you alone in that big house.”

“Have you thought about what we discussed? Maybe looking at some options?”

We hadn’t discussed anything, but I played along.,

“I’ve been thinking about it. You might be right. Maybe it is time to make some changes.”

“That’s so good to hear, Dad.” Relief in her voice, excitement poorly concealed. “I could come by this weekend, help you look at some things. Financial planning, maybe get everything organized.”

“That would be nice, sweetheart.”

After she hung up, I sat very still for a long time. Then I called Detective Chen and told her everything.