A few days later, Lucas called me.
He tried to minimize his involvement.
According to him, Brandon had said the transfers were part of a tax-optimization strategy.
I asked Lucas one question.
“Did you ever call me even once to ask whether I knew about these massive transfers?”
Lucas stayed quiet.
“When I was handing over my personal savings to fund your wedding and help you build your life, I was family. But when you helped your brother hide my money, suddenly none of you cared about me at all.”
Over the following months, Mom slowly recovered physically.
Her bruising disappeared.
The emotional fear took much longer.
Whenever she heard a man shouting in the hallway of our new apartment building, she would freeze.
I also began examining memories from my marriage with completely different eyes.
I remembered Brandon becoming furious when I once sent my father a modest amount of money for his birthday.
