I stayed beside the table.
"About Shadric?"
"About that year."
"What did he keep from you?"
"If I knew that, he would not have succeeded."
"That sounds convenient."
"It is frustrating, not convenient."
Victoria pushed her untouched plate away.
"Richard decided what was discussed in our house. He called it protecting the family."
"And you accepted that?"
"For too long."
The waiter came towards us, noticed neither of us was eating, and changed direction.
"What changed?" I asked.
"You married my son."
"That made you brave?"
"No. It made silence harder to defend."
I picked up my bag.
"Then stop defending it."
"I am trying."
"Trying starts with telling me why Shadric stopped celebrating his birthday."
"I don't know why."
"You know more than that."
"I know Richard removed e
