“Terrified,” he says in a hoarse whisper. “I was a scared little boy, always hiding behind my mother’s skirts. He never raised his voice, but he could be cruel. Back then I was never really clear about what he was and wasn’t capable of. And that scared me to death. It definitely kept me in line.”

“And now?” I ask softly.

“Now I know exactly what he’s capable of. When you remove the unknown it’s easier to be brave. I know where I stand with him. I know how to talk to him. I know how to draw my own line in the sand.”

I think back to the time Lander testified against my mother. I had seen it on TV. Not only did he praise Nick Foley, but he testified that he had witnessed an explosive exchange between her and Mrs. Foley. He said that my mother had made threats and that she wasn’t in her right mind. Many of the details of the testimony now seem dubious at best. But now, when I think back on it, what stands out to me is Lander’s appearance. He had been just under twenty-one. I remember he had looked harried, exhausted, and anxious all at the same time. If it hadn’t been for Jessica’s and Sean White’s testimony, Lander’s testimony might have been useless. He had been too unnerved to be given too much credibility, despite the influence of his family name.

Had his father strong-armed him into taking the stand? Looking at him now, it’s hard for me to imagine anyone intimidating him, but he just acknowledged that he wasn’t always this confident. And the relative boy I saw on that witness stand was so very different from the man sitting by my side.

I’m reaching. I know that. Lander’s motivations for perjury shouldn’t matter to the law, and they sure as hell shouldn’t matter to me.

But he had been young—admittedly not much younger than I am now, but the rich age slower than the rest of us. A pampered lifestyle encourages immaturity. So maybe he was scared. When you’re scared you do stupid things.

I’m making excuses for him.

I think about seeing him with Sean White back when I was still a teenager. I think about his current relationship with his father. Hate him or love him, Lander still works for his dad. That is Lander’s choice.

But perhaps there’s a reason for that too.

“Has there ever been a time when things were better between you and Travis?”

“Oh, there was a short period when he seemed to soften up a bit. When I was an undergrad and he was nearing thirty. He had met some woman, I didn’t like her much, but she seemed to be able to reach him in a way that the rest of us never could.”