Margaret Carter never imagined that the person she trusted most—her only son—would one day walk away and leave her behind.. It was a cold winter afternoon when it happened. Margaret, now in her late seventies, was spending the day with her son Paul, just as they had done many times before. He had picked her up from her small home to help her run a few errands—something she had begun to rely on more often as her mobility declined and public transportation became more difficult to navigate.
They drove to a nearby grocery store. Paul parked close to the entrance, helped her out of the car gently, and handed her a short grocery list, saying with a casual smile, “I’ll just circle around the block while you shop—I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Margaret didn’t think anything of it. She had trusted Paul all her life. After all, he was her son—the one person she believed would always be there.
She made her way slowly through the store, picking up a few essentials: bread, milk, tea bags, some fruit. She paid at the register and stepped back…