That’s when I decided to protect myself. I contacted a lawyer, David Morrison, who suggested setting up a trust. It would prevent anyone from being able to claim the property through fraud or coercion. The trust was established within three months. I transferred the house deed and most of the liquid assets into it, with myself as the sole beneficiary and David as the trustee. I kept enough money in my personal accounts to live comfortably, but not enough to make me a target.

I moved into my grandparents’ house and began fixing it up. For about two years, my family left me alone, aside from occasional snide comments at gatherings about how I was “living it up in my mansion.” But apparently, they had been planning something much worse.