They Called Me a “Charity Case” at the Family BBQ — By Morning, Their Empire Had 30 Days to Survive

and then called me at midnight in a panic because they’d maxed out a credit card or couldn’t understand a loan document or needed someone to explain why their “brilliant investment idea” was actually a pyramid scheme.

I’d kept making deposits, kept hoping that if I just contributed enough—if I forgave enough, swallowed enough, accommodated enough—I’d continue reading …