Chapter 13 - TWO YEARS LATER
Victor Sloan went to trial twenty-one months after our birthday.
By then I was thirteen.
Esme had braces.
Dante had more gray hair.
Mom no longer ran Voss Biotech.
The company completed a revised acquisition under independent leadership after extensive review.
The price was lower.
Shareholders sued.
Some cases settled.
Some continued.
The world did not collapse.
That bothered Mom in a way she rarely admitted.
For years she had believed keeping the company alive justified enormous personal compromises.
Then the company survived without her.
There is a particular pain in discovering the institution you sacrificed for was less dependent on you than you thought.
Nolan pleaded guilty to killing Dad and related offenses under an agreement requiring testimony.
At Victor's trial, prosecutors used financial records, messages, Nolan's testimony, and the stolen-gun scheme to argue that Victor had directed the effort to retrieve Dad's evidence and understood violence was a foreseeable part of the plan.
Defense attorneys attacked Nolan's credibility.
Reasonably.
He had every incentive to reduce his own punishment.
The jury still convicted Victor on multiple counts, including those tied to the conspiracy surrounding Dad's death.
Sentencing came months later.
We did not attend.
Neither did Mom.
Dante sat through several trial days.
I asked why.
“Adrian shouldn't have only people who loved his company remembering him.”
That sounded sentimental for Dante.
I told him.
He said:
“Don't spread it around.”
Our relationship with Mom changed more slowly.
Esme forgave her before I did.
That caused our first serious fight about Dad.
“You act like staying angry makes you more loyal.”
I snapped:
“You act like forgiving makes you mature.”
Neither was fair.
Dr. Patel helped us separate our relationships.
Twins share genetics.
Not moral conclusions.
Esme began having lunch with Mom twice a week.
I preferred once.
Mom accepted both schedules.
That was new.
Then Dante asked whether we wanted to visit the restaurant in Dad's photograph.
Esme said yes.
I said no.
Dante nodded.
No persuasion.
No disappointment performed for my benefit.
I noticed.
May you like
People really can learn boundaries.
Sometimes embarrassingly late.
