PART 8
Your father testifies by video deposition because court is too hard on his body. He speaks slowly, sometimes pausing to find words. He tells the court he was drugged, frightened, ashamed, and isolated. He admits he signed things he did not understand because he wanted pain relief, peace, or simply to sleep.
When asked why he did not call for help, he looks into the camera.
“Because she convinced me the people who loved me were tired of me.”
You have to leave the courtroom after that.
Maya finds you in the hallway.
You are crying so hard you cannot breathe.
She stands beside you without touching your shoulder.
After a while, she says, “You know what he just did?”
“What?”
“He told the jury the whole strategy in one sentence.”
You wipe your face.
“Good.”
Then you go back inside.
Vivian testifies against advice.
It is a disaster.
She cannot resist performing.
She describes herself as “the only one who stayed.” She says your father was difficult, ungrateful, humiliating. She says you abandoned him and returned only when money was at stake. She says Marcus was treated like an outsider. She says she “managed” Richard because someone had to.
May you like
The prosecutor lets her talk.
That is how good prosecutors work.
