In the evening, one of the neighbors secretly came and took the box, thinking there was still money inside. He even called the police and left.

The neighbor was not involved in what you might think — he simply took small items, taking advantage of the moment.

But the real shock came in the morning: Mom behaved as if nothing had happened during the night. When I told her about it, she was genuinely surprised.

That’s when I understood that it was neither malice nor coincidence — Mom had truly begun to develop serious memory problems.

Later it turned out that she suffers from dementia and that her sclerosis is progressing.

I hadn’t noticed it before, since I lived far away, but the neighbors had long observed the changes and sometimes took advantage of the situation by taking various things from the house.

The situation became dangerous and alarming. Even though Mom didn’t want to leave her home, I convinced her to move in with me.

Here I will be able to calmly take care of her, ensure her safety, and be by her side whenever she needs it.

Now I know: sometimes even small suspicions hide a much more serious truth.