Chapter 6 - Colin’s Version Of The Story
Colin admitted most of what happened.
Eventually.
His first story was that Violet invited him into the house.
Technically, she gave him the code.
She did not authorize him to search Mara’s office.
His second story was that Violet fell accidentally.
Partially true.
He did not intend to injure her.
He grabbed for her backpack.
She pulled away.
She fell.
Intent mattered.
So did the choice to touch her and then leave her there.
His third story was the most revealing.
“I was trying to protect what my parents built.”
He believed that.
Colin had spent twenty years being the reliable Reed child.
Mara moved away.
Colin stayed.
Their father died.
Colin learned the company.
Their mother developed dementia.
Colin handled care.
Then Mara returned during estate planning and started asking questions.
He felt audited by someone who had not carried the daily burden.
I understood the emotion.
Not the entitlement.
He told investigators the money was temporary.
Much of it had been repaid.
True.
He believed the remaining balance would be repaid after a development sale.
Possible.
He also knowingly concealed parts of the arrangement from his sister and later from the independent trustee.
Also true.
When Mara died, he expected forgiveness by default.
Instead, she left governance instructions.
He experienced that as a final rejection.
Then I restricted his access to Violet.
That turned me into the villain who had taken his sister, company and niece.
Reality was not that simple.
But resentment rarely needs perfect facts.
Colin told Violet:
“Your dad thinks discipline makes him right.”
Not entirely false.
He told himself that made his own secrecy different.
It didn’t.
We were two men making opposite mistakes around the same girl.
I tried to protect Violet by withholding information.
Colin tried to recruit her by giving information with an agenda.
Neither initially trusted her enough to tell the truth cleanly.
The difference was that Colin crossed into manipulation, unlawful conduct and violence.
Understanding scale mattered.
So did refusing false equivalence.
My mistakes did not cause him to hurt Violet.
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They did help create a relationship where she believed telling me the truth would cost her access to part of her mother.
That was mine to repair.
