I said it had been connected to a difficult history and that former residents were working with officials to make the record more accurate.
He nodded and returned to sorting paintbrushes.
I was grateful that he did not ask for a dramatic summary.
I had learned that a public appetite for simple villains could make complicated truths harder to understand.
It was possible Richard had behaved shamefully without being responsible for every wrongdoing at Alder House.
It was also possible that people who described themselves as harmless clerks had made decisions with terrible consequences.
Our job was to keep listening until the distinction became clearer.
CHAPTER 25: The Sister Who Stayed
Jessica’s younger sister, Paige, requested a conversation after Jessica moved into her apartment.
I initially declined because I did not want our family members negotiating our marriage on our behalf.
Paige explained that she was not calling to defend Jessica.
She wanted to return a toolbox I had lent her and ask how to handle belongings that belonged to both of us.
We met outside the house on a cool Saturday morning.
Paige placed the toolbox near the garage and handed me a list of furniture Jessica had asked about.
She did not ask me to reconsider the separation.
Instead, she told me that Jessica had been spending long evenings staring at her phone and worrying about work.
“She expects you to hate her forever,” Paige said.
“I don’t hate her,” I answered.
“I also can’t make her feel better by pretending I’m ready to move past this.”
Paige said she understood.
Before leaving, she asked whether Richard was as frightening as Jessica now believed.
I told her I had witnessed arrogance and dishonesty but could not know everything about the man.
She admitted Jessica had described his office behavior in contradictory ways.
At times Richard had praised her talent and promised responsibilities that never materialized.
At other times he criticized her in front of coworkers and then privately apologized.
Paige had once asked whether the relationship was healthy before knowing about the affair.
Jessica replied that difficult people often became successful leaders.
I recognized how easily that sentence could serve as an excuse for staying in a situation that eroded judgment.
It did not remove Jessica’s responsibility for entering a relationship with a married man while she was married herself.
It did make me more careful about assuming that Richard had offered her a straightforward romance.
