Chapter 13 - WHEN THE FAMILY CHOSE SIDES
The Mercer family split into three groups.
The first group blamed Daniel.
The second blamed Patricia.
The third blamed me for forcing everyone to choose.
That third group fascinated me.
Apparently calling 911 had created the conflict.
Not the plate.
Not the forged signature.
Not the planned coercion.
My refusal to absorb those things silently was the real betrayal.
One aunt sent me a message saying, “There were better ways to handle this.”
I replied once.
“What is the better way to handle being struck in the head with a plate?”
She never answered.
Another cousin told Naomi that involving police was “too public.”
Naomi responded, “He made it public when he assaulted her in front of twenty people.”
That ended their conversation.
Daniel's company filed for bankruptcy protection less than two weeks after the dinner.
Employees learned how much money was missing.
Suppliers learned how many creditors existed.
Patricia learned that most of the money from her townhouse was gone.
The apartment could never have saved Daniel.
At best, it would have postponed the collapse.
He had known that.
That revelation turned Patricia against her own son.
For a few days, at least.
According to Claire, Patricia screamed at Daniel for lying about the company's condition.
Daniel screamed back that she had pressured him to solve it.
Then both blamed me.
It would have been funny if the consequences weren't so serious.
The divorce moved forward.
Daniel claimed he wanted reconciliation.
His attorney included the statement in correspondence.
Ava read it to me.
I looked at her.
“Does reconciliation normally begin with attempting to borrow four hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars against your wife's property?”
Ava smiled slightly.
“Not in any marriage I'd recommend.”
Daniel then asked through counsel whether I would consider mediation.
I agreed only for financial and property issues.
There would be no conversation about saving the marriage.
At mediation, Daniel appeared by video from his attorney's office.
I appeared from Ava's.
We did not speak directly.
His position changed several times.
First, he claimed he had an equitable interest in the apartment.
Then he suggested he had been promised one.
Then he argued that marital funds had contributed to its expenses.
Our records answered each claim.
Eventually, his attorney asked for a private session with him.
When they returned, the apartment claim became noticeably weaker.
Then came his real demand.
Daniel wanted me to decline cooperation with the criminal investigation involving the property documents.
Ava immediately ended that portion of the discussion.
“We are not bargaining over criminal evidence.”
The mediator agreed.
Daniel became angry.
Even through the screen, I recognized the shift in his expression.
The tightening jaw.
The narrowed eyes.
The same warning I had failed to understand so many times before.
He leaned toward the camera.
“Rachel knows what this family has done for her.”
I almost responded.
Ava spoke first.
“My client will not be threatened.”
Daniel laughed.
“That wasn't a threat.”
I finally looked straight into the camera.
“That's the problem, Daniel.”
He stopped smiling.
“You don't know what one sounds like anymore.”
The session ended shortly afterward.
Two days later, prosecutors notified me that Daniel had been formally charged in connection with the assault.
The financial investigation remained separate.
Patricia was also informed that investigators wanted another interview.
She refused.
Her attorney spoke for her.
Then Claire called me.
“My mother is panicking.”
“Why?”
“She thinks Daniel is going to blame her.”
I looked out the window of my apartment.
“Will he?”
May you like
Claire was silent.
Then she said, “Rachel, I think he's already started.”
