Chapter 7 - VIVIAN’S LAUGHTER
Elena could not understand her mother’s laughter.
Not really.
Until Vivian was deposed.
Mara Chen, Elena’s attorney, asked:
“Why did you laugh after your husband struck your daughter with a brick?”
Vivian’s face tightened.
“I was in shock.”
“Did you say, ‘Let’s see if he still wants you now’?”
“I don’t remember.”
Video played.
Vivian watched herself say it.
Silence.
Mara asked again:
“Why?”
Vivian looked toward Elena.
Then away.
Finally:
“Because she always gets chosen.”
Elena stopped breathing.
Vivian continued.
“My father chose Elena for the trust vote.”
“Your husband?”
“Always listened to Elena more than Vanessa.”
“That appears inconsistent with the evidence.”
Vivian ignored her.
“Daniel chose Elena.”
There it was.
Not strategy alone.
Resentment.
Vivian had spent years seeing Elena’s refusal to obey as a reward system.
Elena thought she was protecting boundaries.
Vivian saw favoritism.
And Vanessa absorbed that story.
The family did not become cruel because of one land deal.
May you like
The land deal gave old cruelty a financial objective.
That distinction mattered.
