Chapter 3 - The Power of Attorney They Expected Me to Sign
Caleb filed nothing dramatic while I was in Geneva.
That was one of the first things Ara taught me.
Rich families rarely begin with dramatic things.
They begin with documents that sound responsible.
Caleb’s attorney contacted my Virginia counsel with a proposed temporary medical and financial power of attorney.
Reason:
My extended rehabilitation.
My limited mobility.
Potential cognitive effects from blood loss, anesthesia, pain medication, and trauma.
Agent:
Caleb Blackwood.
Alternate:
Margaret Blackwood.
My mother-in-law.
I laughed when my lawyer, Naomi Hale, read it aloud.
Then stopped when she did not laugh.
“This is serious?”
“It is a proposal.”
“They think I’m incompetent?”
“They are carefully avoiding that word.”
“What happens if I sign?”
“Caleb could manage certain financial matters while you recover.”
“Including the trust?”
“We need the trust instrument.”
Ara already had it.
The answer was yes.
Not automatically.
But with the right authority, Caleb could exercise several voting and administrative rights during my incapacity.
Exactly what his family needed.
“Did Caleb know this before the crash?”
Naomi said:
“We do not know yet.”
I wanted to call him.
Demand an answer.
Ara stopped me.
“You have done that your entire marriage.”
“What?”
“Ask him to explain before you collect facts.”
She was right.
So we collected facts.
The Virginia hospital sent my complete admission record at my request.
One note mattered.
Shortly before I entered surgery, Caleb asked whether I was “capable of understanding consent.”
Dr. Evans documented that I was oriented and capable.
Later, while I was still anesthetized, Caleb asked a nurse whether “temporary incapacity paperwork” could be completed through the hospital.
He was directed to social work and legal services.
Nothing happened.
The timing frightened me.
Then Naomi obtained something else through the divorce process after I filed.
A draft declaration prepared by Blackwood family counsel.
It described me as:
“Experiencing severe emotional instability following traumatic injury.”
“Potentially impaired by narcotic pain management.”
“Making abrupt international decisions inconsistent with prior wishes.”
Those “prior wishes” apparently included refusing to work with Ara because I wanted to remain beside my husband.
Caleb had turned my obedience into evidence that leaving him was irrational.
Then came Khloe.
She messaged me from a new number.
I am sorry about the ER. Caleb panicked. Please don’t destroy his family over me.
I stared at the final sentence.
Not:
Don’t destroy our marriage.
His family.
I showed Ara.
Her expression changed.
“Lucia.”
“What?”
“How much does Khloe know about the transaction?”
May you like
“I don’t know.”
“Then perhaps it is time to learn why she has been standing beside your husband for twenty years.”
