Dear Eric: My sister and I have never been close. My sister, I’ll call her Lydia, has been a pathological liar from the time she learned to speak.

Our mom became terminally ill and was unable to stay by herself and was adamant that she would never be put long term in a nursing facility. She had the financial ability to pay for a caregiver to stay with her in her home. Mom’s grandson volunteered to stay with her. Because of her macular degeneration, Mom gave her grandson access to her financial information and added him as a signer. Long story short, the grandson embezzled more than $100,000.

We made arrangements for a state-appointed guardian ad-litem to take over the finances immediately. The grandson was removed.

Lydia had been a caregiver for more than 25 years, so she was hired.

Six months later, Mom passed away quietly at her home. A few weeks later, I received a phone call from Lydia telling me that she had “accidentally” taken some of Mom’s rings home with her. She must have known the guardian would do an inventory and find them missing. She made up some ridiculous story about how they ended up in her purse. She even went so far as to tell me that she had taken them to a pawn shop to be appraised.

She told me she would mail them back, which she did. So, I have been in a “no contact” mode, feeling very betrayed by Lydia. I was told by a family member that I need to get over it because we all know how Lydia is.

I am hurt that I am being made out to be the bad one in this situation. I’m certain that the family has heard Lydia’s version of the truth that most likely has little resemblance to the actual facts. How do you suggest I handle this situation?

— Ring of Truth

Dear Ring: This is possibly the best of a series of bad outcomes. Lydia may have, as you suspect, tried to get away with stealing the rings but, ultimately, that didn’t happen and now the rings are back.

You can’t control what Lydia does and you can’t control what your family thinks. If you don’t want to talk to her, you don’t have to, but if you’re going “no contact” as a way of teaching her a lesson or eliciting a change in behavior, you may continue to be frustrated.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com