At My Dad’s Funeral, My Stepmom Leaned In for a Final Kiss and Saw Him Blink

And then one day, without even telling me, she switched his longtime doctor to someone she knew.

Someone she claimed was “more modern and holistic.” Around the same time, she fired the butler and maid who’d been with Dad for years.

“I just want to take care of Richard,” she’d say with that perfect smile whenever I questioned anything.

But I watched my dad change. He got quieter and tired. He stopped going to his office as usual and started napping in the middle of the day.

“It’s just age,” Veronica would say.

“He’s slowing down naturally.”

And just when I thought I was being paranoid, I saw her spike his drink.

It was a Thursday night. I lived just a few blocks away and had stopped by after class to drop off some of Dad’s favorite takeout.

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