Chapter 7
Lily’s forensic interview revealed how deeply Brandon had involved the children.
The interviewer asked open questions.
“What happened on Christmas?”
Lily described presents, dinner, and Grandma leaving.
“Why did Grandma leave?”
“Dad said she couldn’t sit.”
“Did you know that would happen?”
“Dad told me Grandma might get confused.”
“What did confused mean?”
“She would say the chair was hers.”
“Was it hers?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“She always sits there.”
“What were you supposed to do if Grandma became angry?”
“Keep the tablet on.”
“Who told you?”
“Dad.”
The room where Claire and I watched the interview became painfully quiet.
Brandon had asked Lily to film me.
She had recorded his plan instead.
“What did Dad say the video was for?”
“To help Grandma.”
“How?”
“Doctors would show she needed rest.”
“What does rest mean?”
“Donna’s house.”
“Did anyone say Grandma would live there?”
“Dad said Grandma could stay in the small room if she was nice.”
My home would be taken.
I would be moved to Donna’s house.
The den renovated for her use would not have been mine.
The plan was worse than I had understood.
Lily continued.
“Did Dad ever ask you to say things about Mom?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“That she cries and forgets school.”
“Does she?”
“She cries in the bathroom.”
“Does she forget school?”
“No.”
“What happens when you answer differently?”
“Dad says try again.”
“Were there recordings?”
“Yes.”
Brandon had prepared evidence against both of us.
If Claire left, he would seek custody.
If I refused the loan, he would seek financial control.
Every woman around him lived inside a file waiting to be used.
Owen’s interview was shorter.
He said:
“Dad says houses belong to dads.”
“Who owns Grandma’s house?”
“Dad says paperwork is slow.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you see Dad hurt Mom?”
“He held her face.”
“How?”
Owen placed both hands against his own jaw.
“Like this.”
“Did Mom ask him to stop?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He said stop making the children scared.”
Coercion had been translated into Claire’s emotional failure.
The same method Brandon used against me.
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He created the fear.
Then used reactions as evidence that the women experiencing it were unstable.
