Julian had recruited him.

And then there was this vacation.

This beautiful week of sandcastles and smoothies and wine I liked.

I thought of the two of them on the balcony each night, heads bent together, and the cold understanding arrived all at once: Julian had not brought Jim here to help him relax.

He had brought him here, away from home, away from Jim’s girlfriend and his own second thoughts, to a sunlit place where he could apply steady pressure until my brother signed whatever last papers were needed to push the money fully beyond reach — and to push the last of the liability fully onto Jim.

He had used our family vacation as the setting.