“I appreciate that you said it.

What you do next matters more.”

We parted without becoming friends.

Forgiveness, I was learning, did not require pretending every wound had vanished.

PART 17

At the hearing, Gordon wore a dark suit and the expression he used when an investor disagreed with him.

He expected to be believed because he had arrived expecting victory.

The judge listened to the attorneys discuss the records: the trust documents, Walter’s medical assessments, the independent lawyer’s notes, and the history of the deed.