For the next couple weeks, Mara visited her mother in the facility at least a few times a week. Leo had decided not to worry since she didn’t seem badly affected by the visits apart from the obvious sadness she felt with her mother’s condition. On her part, it never crossed her mind to take him along with her. She only took her son on each visit, but in spite of the fact that there was seemingly no marked difference in her mother’s behavior, she still persisted in the regular visits. She had recently asked her stepfather to join her, but neither had his presence made any difference.

One morning,...