The Morning Was Too Quiet At My Beach House — Just Waves, Wind, And Coffee. Then My Security Guard Called: “Rose… Your Daughter-In-Law Is In The Lobby With Movers. She Says She Owns Your Apartment.” I Stayed Silent And Opened The Security Cameras. Minutes Later I Watched Her Break My Lock, Walk Into My Bedroom, And Whisper On The Phone: “The Sedative In Her Tea Didn’t Work.” Then The Sirens Started… And She Finally Realized I Had Been Watching Her The Entire Time.

The moment passed, and I told myself I was just tired, but two weeks later Simone brought the tea again, and the foggy morning returned with even more intensity.

I opened my calendar and stared at a lunch appointment for a full minute before I could remember who the person was or why I had agreed to meet them.

After I hung up from a call with Julian where I had struggled to find the word for “radiator,” I sat down and wrote the date and the symptoms in my private log.

I made an appointment with my physician, Dr. Sarah Miller, who had been my doctor for fifteen years and was known for her low tolerance for vagueness in her patients.

After the bloodwork returned unremarkable, Dr. Sarah looked at me and said, “Martha, you are healthier than half of my fifty year old patients, so tell me when exactly this fog happens.”

I thought about the thermos in Simone’s hand and replied, “It happens in the mornings, usually after I have had visitors the day before.”

She did not push me further but instead instructed me to keep a very detailed log of everything I ate and drank, along with every person who entered my home.