Page 5 — I Didn’t Wait To Be Declared “Incompetent.” I Went On Offense.
Here’s the thing Natalie didn’t factor in:
I didn’t survive forty-two years on this land by being passive.
I ran this farm through droughts, a recession, and my husband’s death.
I know what predators sound like when they think they’re alone.
So I stopped reacting — and started moving.
I drove to Charlottesville the next morning and knocked on Joanna Bradford’s door.
Not to gossip.
To warn her.
Because if they were going after her with a guardianship play…
then stopping it there was my only chance to stop it from reaching my doorstep next.
When Joanna opened the door, she looked surprised.
Clear-eyed.
Present.
Not confused.
I told her everything I heard — the facility, the “assessment,” the two signatures, the inheritance, the timeline.
And when I finished, she didn’t cry.
She got very still.
Then she said something that told me we might actually have a chance:
“Steven already brought me papers. Power of attorney. And he got angry when I said my lawyer needed to read them.”
So no — I wasn’t “paranoid.”
I wasn’t “confused.”
I was early.
And in fights like this, early is everything.
If you’ve ever felt your family getting “helpful” in a way that feels off, trust the signal. Not the smile.
Because the most dangerous people don’t break in through windows.
They walk in with concern.
