Jump to content

Vidal Sr. the abuser?


MegansCoils

Recommended Posts

We have a thread about Nathan I thought this guy "deserved" one too.

 

Let's say Chris did abuse Gideon, do you really think that he would keep his brother and his little sister in the same house with the guy who sexually assaulted him? If for nothing else Gideon would have done it since his mom chose not to do the same for him. Maybe he did which is why he's not that close to them? IDK.

 

And the theories start noooooooooooooow!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, I'll bite first Megan. We can have a lot of fun with this thread hashing the whole Vidal family.

 

Important to re-read pages 319-321 of Reflected. This is the scene where Gideon finally starts talking about the sexual abuse. If we're to believe every word tells Eva is the truth this time, the actual abuser is a male doctoral student who accompanied a therapist the Vidals hired to treat Gideon for anger issues.

 

What led to the conversation? Eva told him she wasn't coming back. She'd had it with the empty promises and the shutting out and the silences and the secrets. " ... you've never let me in." were her final words on the subject. They sat there in silence for a little bit. Then Gideon started spilling his guts.

 

She didn't get the whole truth, only pieces of it. But I have to believe that every piece she did hear was the truth. Gideon wouldn't dare tell any more lies. He was desperate. "If I lose you Eva," he said hoarsely, "I have nothing."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, I'll bite first Megan. We can have a lot of fun with this thread hashing the whole Vidal family.

 

Important to re-read pages 319-321 of Reflected. This is the scene where Gideon finally starts talking about the sexual abuse. If we're to believe every word tells Eva is the truth this time, the actual abuser is a male doctoral student who accompanied a therapist the Vidals hired to treat Gideon for anger issues.

 

What led to the conversation? Eva told him she wasn't coming back. She'd had it with the empty promises and the shutting out and the silences and the secrets. " ... you've never let me in." were her final words on the subject. They sat there in silence for a little bit. Then Gideon started spilling his guts.

 

She didn't get the whole truth, only pieces of it. But I have to believe that every piece she did hear was the truth. Gideon wouldn't dare tell any more lies. He was desperate. "If I lose you Eva," he said hoarsely, "I have nothing."

i've said it before and i will say it again - gideon does not specifically say it was the doctoral candidate.  he just says he was left alone with 'him' a lot.  it would be fair to assume that it was the doctoral candidate, but also plausible that it was some other male who was around.

 

i accept only 3 possiblities from our current pool of charecters - vidal, the doc lucas, or this unnamed doctoral candidate.  i could be convinced into any of these camps.  and i also accept the 4th option, which is that it was somebody we have not met or spoke of, yet, or may never (as he might have been 'taken care of' in some respect).  the only 2 people i will not accept would be christopher and angus, who were present in gideon's life then and far too unlikely as suspects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i've said it before and i will say it again - gideon does not specifically say it was the doctoral candidate.  he just says he was left alone with 'him' a lot.  it would be fair to assume that it was the doctoral candidate, but also plausible that it was some other male who was around.

 

i accept only 3 possiblities from our current pool of charecters - vidal, the doc lucas, or this unnamed doctoral candidate.  i could be convinced into any of these camps.  and i also accept the 4th option, which is that it was somebody we have not met or spoke of, yet, or may never (as he might have been 'taken care of' in some respect).  the only 2 people i will not accept would be christopher and angus, who were present in gideon's life then and far too unlikely as suspects.

 

You can scratch Dr. Lucas off the list as a candidate. In response to a spoiler question, Sylvia confirmed Lucas was not the abuser.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I Put On The Other Post I Do NOT Think It was Christopher Sr..!! I think it was his money that did the damage to cover everything up, I also think that's why Gideon has his owners share in Vidal Records, for damage control when the time is right..!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree Mrs. C!  I think Gideon's motive for obtaining financial control of Vidal Records is for revenge against Christopher Sr.

 

My theory: his stepfather used money to sweep the whole sexual abuse situation under the rug as a deep, dark secret no official outsiders were ever to find out about. One of the myriad ways Gideon was victimized was financially. Because Christopher Sr. had the money, he had the power - over Gideon, over Gideon's mother, over every adult Gideon came into contact with under that roof.

 

So now Gideon's the one holding the money power. Why would he invest in the Vidal Records? To help his family? Not!!! He can't stand his family. Why would he gain majority ownership of Vidal Records? So that anytime he felt like it, he could start dismantling the company.

 

Gideon's one of the richest men in the world. He can easily afford to take a loss on some subsidiary company he has. It wouldn't damage him -- but it would financially destroy Christopher Sr., and along with him Gideon's mother, Elizabeth Vidal, and his half-brother, Christopher Jr. Think about how Christopher Sr. must squirm knowing that any time Gideon wants to, he can ruin him. And I'll bet the reason Gideon hasn't done so yet is because the mere holding of that power is the revenge.

 

There is a reason why Sylvia has made Eva curious about why Gideon controls Vidal Records. Near the end of Reflected, (right after she has lunch with Christopher Jr.) Eva even says to herself she wants to ask Gideon about it. I think the reason Sylvia slipped that into the story is because now that Gideon is finally willing to talk about the dark past that includes his family, in Entwined, Eva's going to ask him why he gained control of the Vidal family business. And what Gideon tells her is going to reveal exactly how the abuse went down and how it was subsequently covered up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree Mrs. C!  I think Gideon's motive for obtaining financial control of Vidal Records is for revenge against Christopher Sr.

 

My theory: his stepfather used money to sweep the whole sexual abuse situation under the rug as a deep, dark secret no official outsiders were ever to find out about. One of the myriad ways Gideon was victimized was financially. Because Christopher Sr. had the money, he had the power - over Gideon, over Gideon's mother, over every adult Gideon came into contact with under that roof.

 

So now Gideon's the one holding the money power. Why would he invest in the Vidal Records? To help his family? Not!!! He can't stand his family. Why would he gain majority ownership of Vidal Records? So that anytime he felt like it, he could start dismantling the company.

 

Gideon's one of the richest men in the world. He can easily afford to take a loss on some subsidiary company he has. It wouldn't damage him -- but it would financially destroy Christopher Sr., and along with him Gideon's mother, Elizabeth Vidal, and his half-brother, Christopher Jr. Think about how Christopher Sr. must squirm knowing that any time Gideon wants to, he can ruin him. And I'll bet the reason Gideon hasn't done so yet is because the mere holding of that power is the revenge.

 

There is a reason why Sylvia has made Eva curious about why Gideon controls Vidal Records. Near the end of Reflected, (right after she has lunch with Christopher Jr.) Eva even says to herself she wants to ask Gideon about it. I think the reason Sylvia slipped that into the story is because now that Gideon is finally willing to talk about the dark past that includes his family, in Entwined, Eva's going to ask him why he gained control of the Vidal family business. And what Gideon tells her is going to reveal exactly how the abuse went down and how it was subsequently covered up.

DITTO.....!!! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

didn't eva already ask him about why he has majority interest?  it was in the bath, i think, on their weekend.  i could be wrong.  but he didn't answer her in either case.

 

the premise that he just 'acquired' a majority share is hard for me to believe.  why would the majority share be available?  if it was vidal's company he had to make the decision to allow his holding to go below 50%.  additionally, gideon is not merely holding his shares and waiting to ruin the business at his discretion - he's active in the vidal record business.  he knows how's signed under their label, and their bands know well enough that he's in charge by looking at him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Given how wealthy Christopher Vidal Sr. is, and the fact Gideon was able acquire a majority, it is almost certain Vidal Records is a publicly traded company. Meaning its shares are sold on the stock markets. And any investor can buy whatever shares happen to be for sale. When a company is privately held, the founders have absolute control over the percentages of actual ownership. But once the company goes public with selling shares, the company founders no longer have any control over who owns the shares.

 

So why give up the control of a privately-held company in order to turn it into a public one? Because if the initial public offering of those shares is successful, the founders get a lot of money. Sometimes, an overnight fortune. When Google first went public, its founders became overnight billionaires. But they no longer control who owns their company. The shareholders own it. And the board of directors runs it -- a board that is answerable to the shareholders, not the founders. 

 

So there's two ways Gideon could have pulled off getting the majority. The first would be if he was already filthy rich when Vidal Records went public. He could have bought the majority then. The other, if the company had been public for some time, before he grew up and got rich so young, he could have started systematically buying shares each time someone holding shares decided to sell. I'm guessing the latter is true; if Vidal was so rich even when Gideon was a kid, then Vidal likely made his fortune by taking his private company public. And this scenario more fits with Gideon's scheming side: he probably just kept buying Vidal Records stock a chunk at a time until he owned more than anyone else.

 

Now there's a couple of ways Gideon can mess with the company. He could dump all his shares onto the market suddenly, a move that almost certainly would cause the stock price to fall very hard very quickly. Maybe fall so hard it doesn't recover. It'd be a form of corporate suicide. Or if someone attempted a hostile takeover, he could sell his shares to the enemy. The way someone does a hostile takeover of a company is to gain control of its shares. 

 

And in any case, for right now, Gideon has great power over the board of directors as the biggest shareholder. Christopher Sr. reports to the board of directors, not the other way around.

 

It doesn't surprise me Gideon does stay involved in the running of the company. Because he's got the power to do so. Yet another weapon he holds over his stepfather's head. Some majority shareholders just sit back. Others get involved in running the company.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Everyone,

I don’t think that Christopher Sr. did it either, but I do think that maybe he played a role in a “potential†cover-up. I stated in another posting that if Christopher Sr. did payoff someone to keep quiet, then why leave Gideon in the situation? Why not have a heart and sent him away to boarding school? Why leave Gideon to suffer if in the end it would make Christopher Sr.’s life miserable; either directly or by way of Elizabeth Vidal or Christopher Jr.? It’s all little odd don’t you think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering if Vidal Sr. did payoff the individuals responsible for Gideon’s abuse, how has the Vidal’s marriage survived that kind of constant pressure. At some point didn’t Elizabeth figure out what her husband did? Wouldn’t Gideon actions (gaining controlling interest) pit him against his step-father in Elizabeth’s eyes? Even if Elizabeth Vidal were coerced into believing her husband (another theory mentioned earlier), after all these years how has this issue not driven a wedge between these two adults? Is this now a situation of Elizabeth and Christopher Vidal against Gideon?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gideon has become a potential embarrassment to the Vidals, so it's better to keep him under their roof and watch then send him away to school.

 

He's got definite anger problems, from his father's death - the anger problems pre-date the abuse. In fact, they're the reason he got put into therapy. And now his mother at least is convinced he lied about being abused, doing so for attention as part of being a messed up kid. As far as Vidal Sr., it's one of two things: either he too believes Gideon lied, or worse, he knows Gideon told the truth. And I'll bet by this point, Gideon's anger problems have gotten a lot worse.

 

So why risk sending him to boarding school, where he might start spreading tales, and also where the staff will be able to see much more clearly (because he's around them day and night) that the kid has got issues. Plus, Gideon would probably get himself expelled for fighting.

 

Better to keep Gideon under their roof, where they can control him more than sending him away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering if Vidal Sr. did payoff the individuals responsible for Gideon’s abuse, how has the Vidal’s marriage survived that kind of constant pressure. At some point didn’t Elizabeth figure out what her husband did? Wouldn’t Gideon actions (gaining controlling interest) pit him against his step-father in Elizabeth’s eyes? Even if Elizabeth Vidal were coerced into believing her husband (another theory mentioned earlier), after all these years how has this issue not driven a wedge between these two adults? Is this now a situation of Elizabeth and Christopher Vidal against Gideon?

 

Gideon has pitched himself against both his mother and his step-father. He rarely sees his mother, and he never steps foot in their house (well, except that one time he came charging there to get Eva.) Yes, Elizabeth is caught in the middle. Obviously, it hurts her a great deal that Gideon has alienated himself from her. But she's to blame. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ln Cronan

Gideon said that Dr Lucas alienated him from his family..!! So I'm guessing he played some sort of role in examining Gideon after the whole abuse situation came up..!! I just think it was Christopher Sr that covered it up..!! **sighs**

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Gideon has become a potential embarrassment to the Vidals, so it's better to keep him under their roof and watch then send him away to school.

 

He's got definite anger problems, from his father's death - the anger problems pre-date the abuse. In fact, they're the reason he got put into therapy. And now his mother at least is convinced he lied about being abused, doing so for attention as part of being a messed up kid. As far as Vidal Sr., it's one of two things: either he too believes Gideon lied, or worse, he knows Gideon told the truth. And I'll bet by this point, Gideon's anger problems have gotten a lot worse.

Better to keep Gideon under their roof, where they can control him more than sending him away.

 

Hi LNCronan,

I just wanted to clarify that my understanding was that Gideon was put into therapy because his anger escalated and spilled over onto the family, Christopher Jr. then started misbehaving. You are right in saying that Gideon was angry, but it was my understanding that everything got much worse after Elizabeth married Vidal Sr. and began having more children. I think that's when the anger escalated. What do you think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He was 5 when his world was shattered. His happy home became a place where he parents started screaming at one another. Then his father killed himself. And everyone knew all about the sordid mess, the Ponzi scheme. Other kids bullied him. I imagine he turned into an angry kid years before the Vidals finally sought help. Not really for his sake. For Elizabeth's. Now Christopher was getting out of control, and she was pregnant with Ireland, a difficult pregnancy at that. One more factor was Gideon's age at that point. Somewhere around 11 to 12. The hormones presaging puberty now kicking in, making him now an angry moody kid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.