Vassalage: Truth, Lies, and Power

April 11 - Buying Time

There is still no word from my father. But behind the scenes, we are scrambling. On April 11, two documents reveal what was happening in his absence: a letter sent to the school’s staff and a bill of sale quietly signed at home. Together, they show the reality we were facing — empty accounts, payroll looming, and a family trying to protect both a business and a reputation. While he remained silent, we were buying time. But... was he doing the same? This episode contains the full documents, read in their entirety. For background and behind-the-scenes context for this episode, listen to April 11… Continued on Patreon. ⚠️ Content Note: This series discusses sensitive themes and adult content, including suicide, abuse and coercive control, and may not be suitable for all listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 🔒 Link to Patreon episode [https://www.patreon.com/posts/april-9-151099330?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link] 🎵 Music Credit: Opening and closing music features Moonlight Sonata performed with permission by Paul Pitman.  This piece is used intentionally. My father often played Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven on our piano at home, and I remember sitting in the hallway listening as a young child. Its presence in this podcast reflects the emotional atmosphere of these events — restrained, familiar, and unresolved. 🌐 mjmaeyers.com [https://www.mjmaeyers.com]

April 10 - Calculated Silence

On April 10, there are no letters. No explanations. No apologies. No instructions. Just silence. But this isn’t peace — it’s pressure. While my father remains quiet, the rest of us are scrambling behind the scenes to stabilize the school, protect his reputation, and keep everything from collapsing. This episode is short. Because sometimes silence says more than words ever could. But  Silence doesn’t last long. Continue with April 11 — Buying Time, available now.   For background and behind-the-scenes context for this episode, listen to April 10… Continued on Patreon. ⚠️ Content Note: This series discusses sensitive themes and adult content, including suicide, abuse and coercive control, and may not be suitable for all listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 🔒 Link to Patreon episode [https://www.patreon.com/posts/april-9-151099330?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link] 🎵 Music Credit: Opening and closing music features Moonlight Sonata performed with permission by Paul Pitman.  This piece is used intentionally. My father often played Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven on our piano at home, and I remember sitting in the hallway listening as a young child. Its presence in this podcast reflects the emotional atmosphere of these events — restrained, familiar, and unresolved. 🌐 mjmaeyers.com [https://www.mjmaeyers.com]

April 9 - The Monologue

On April 9, communication resumes — but not in the way anyone expected. After days of silence, my father responds with a single, overwhelming letter. At more than 2,500 words, it is not a conversation, but a performance: expansive, accusatory, self-justifying, and meticulously constructed to control the narrative. This episode contains only two letters.  First, my mother’s measured attempt to reach him.  Then, my father’s response — read in full, exactly as it was written and sent. What unfolds is not an exchange, but a monologue. One voice dominates the page, reframing events, assigning blame, and recasting himself as both victim and authority. It marks a clear escalation in tone, and a turning point in how this conflict is being documented — and weaponized. As with all of Season 2, this episode contains no commentary or analysis. Just the letters themselves, in chronological order. For background and behind-the-scenes context for this episode, listen to April 9… Continued on Patreon. ⚠️ Content Note: This series discusses sensitive themes and adult content, including suicide, abuse and coercive control, and may not be suitable for all listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 🔒 Link to Patreon episode [https://www.patreon.com/posts/april-9-151099330?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link] 🎵 Music Credit: Opening and closing music features Moonlight Sonata performed with permission by Paul Pitman.  This piece is used intentionally. My father often played Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven on our piano at home, and I remember sitting in the hallway listening as a young child. Its presence in this podcast reflects the emotional atmosphere of these events — restrained, familiar, and unresolved. 🌐 mjmaeyers.com [https://www.mjmaeyers.com]

April 8 - Controlling the Narrative

After a day of confusing silence, April 8 brings an avalanche of communication. Five letters arrive by mail — all written before my father left, all delivered to our mailbox at the same time. For the first time since he disappeared, we hear directly from him, not in conversation, but through pages of explanation, accusation, and justification. April 8 — Controlling the Narrative consists only of these letters, read in full and in the order they were received. There is no commentary or interpretation — just the words themselves, as my father attempts to define what has happened, assign blame, and shape how his departure will be understood. This episode marks a clear shift. Silence gives way to saturation, and the story begins to be told loudly, repeatedly, and on his terms. April 8… Continued is available free right now on Patreon. The letters in this episode tell only part of the story. What we discovered when we entered his office at the school tells another.   ⚠️ Content Note: This series discusses sensitive themes and adult content, including suicide, abuse and coercive control, and may not be suitable for all listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 🔒 Link to Patreon episode [https://www.patreon.com/posts/april-8-150281394?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link] 🎵 Music Credit: Opening and closing music features Moonlight Sonata performed with permission by Paul Pitman.  This piece is used intentionally. My father often played Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven on our piano at home, and I remember sitting in the hallway listening as a young child. Its presence in this podcast reflects the emotional atmosphere of these events — restrained, familiar, and unresolved. 🌐 mjmaeyers.com [https://www.mjmaeyers.com]

April 7 - What Is He Doing?

April 7 begins with uncertainty. After my father’s disappearance the day before, my family is left trying to piece together what has happened — where he is, what he intends to do next, and how seriously to take the letter he posted on the school door the day before. As concern spreads beyond the immediate family, communication widens and the narrative begins to shift. What started as a private dispute is now pulling in others, adding urgency and confusion to the situation. This brief episode continues Season 2 of Vassalage: Truth, Lies, and Power with the next set of letters, presented exactly as we received them. There is no commentary or analysis — only the documents themselves, read in full and in chronological order.  For background and behind-the-scenes context for this episode, listen to April 7… Continued on Patreon.  ⚠️ Content Note: This series discusses sensitive themes and adult content, including suicide, abuse and coercive control, and may not be suitable for all listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 🔒 Link to Patreon episode [https://www.patreon.com/posts/april-7-what-is-150272508?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link] 🎵 Music Credit: Opening and closing music features Moonlight Sonata performed with permission by Paul Pitman.  This piece is used intentionally. My father often played Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven on our piano at home, and I remember sitting in the hallway listening as a young child. Its presence in this podcast reflects the emotional atmosphere of these events — restrained, familiar, and unresolved. 🌐 mjmaeyers.com [https://www.mjmaeyers.com]