My father-in-law, Arthur Vance, was a retired federal judge whose personal integrity was, in his circles, legendary; he was a man for whom the difference between right and wrong was not an abstraction but the organizing principle of an entire life spent on the bench.

My mother-in-law, Evelyn, was a formidable matriarch who prized propriety and honor above nearly all things.

And then there was Marcus, my brother-in-law, Chloe’s husband, a hardworking and gentle architect who adored his wife without reservation and who believed, with his whole heart, that his older brother Julian was his closest friend in the world.

These were not people who would take Julian’s side out of blood loyalty against clear evidence.

These were people who valued the truth, and honor, and the protection of the vulnerable, more than they valued the comfort of a convenient lie.