Chapter 7 - Evidence Is Not Revenge
I wanted Colin destroyed.
For approximately three days.
I imagined every possible version.
Prison.
Financial ruin.
Losing the company.
Everyone knowing.
Then Violet asked:
“If Uncle Colin loses everything because of me, is that my fault?”
That stopped me.
“No.”
“But you keep saying you’re going to make sure he pays.”
I heard myself.
Former Ranger.
Protective father.
Terrified.
Making consequence sound like retaliation.
I changed the language.
“The police and court will decide the criminal part.”
“And the company?”
“The trustee and owners decide that.”
“You?”
“No.”
That surprised her.
Good.
The black phone became evidence.
Messages showed Colin had encouraged secrecy.
He asked for the alarm code under a false explanation.
He asked Violet about Mara’s computer repeatedly.
Nothing showed that he planned to injure her.
That mattered legally.
His criminal case eventually resolved through a negotiated plea involving assault-related conduct, attempted theft and his conduct inside the house.
He served a limited period in county custody, followed by probation and a no-contact order protecting Violet.
No dramatic decades-long sentence.
No revenge spectacle.
Reed Industrial underwent a separate independent review.
The audit confirmed most of Mara’s concerns.
Related-party advances.
Incomplete disclosures.
Weak governance.
No evidence that Colin had simply stolen the full amount for personal luxury.
Some money had gone into real development projects that later failed.
He sold part of his ownership interest and other assets to resolve the outstanding balance and associated claims.
He lost management control.
The company hired a professional president.
It survived.
Employees kept working.
That mattered to Violet.
She did not want fifty people losing jobs because her uncle frightened her.
Accountability did not require collateral damage to feel complete.
Rebecca once told me:
“Justice works better when you stop asking it to express your anger perfectly.”
May you like
I disliked her immediately.
She was right.
