Chapter 12 - The Arrest|
Ten minutes later, my phone chimed with a news alert from the Newport Daily Gazette.
I clicked the link.
The headline was front-page news, accompanied by a high-resolution photograph taken outside a luxury high-rise building downtown.
“NEWPORT SOCIALITE ARRESTED IN $2.4M EMBEZZLEMENT AND TRUST FRAUD SCHEME”
The picture showed Vanessa Whitmore, dressed in dark sunglasses and a trench coat, being led down the concrete steps of her building in handcuffs by two uniformed state troopers. Behind her, my mother was being restrained by a female officer, screaming at the news cameras flashing in her face.
The article detailed the charges: grand larceny, scheme to defraud, forgery in the first degree, and conspiracy.
Because the amount exceeded one million dollars, bail had been set at one million dollars cash. Neither Vanessa nor my mother had that kind of liquidity anymore—Graham’s firm had frozen all associated trust accounts two hours earlier.
I sat down on the floor beside Lily’s drawing table.
My daughter looked up from her coloring book, holding up a picture of a sun, a small blue house, and two little figures holding hands.
“Is Aunt Vanessa going away?” Lily asked softly.
I pulled her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her tight.
“Yes, sweetie,” I whispered. “She is.”
“Will we be okay now, Mom?”
May you like
I looked around our tiny, cramped apartment. I thought about the legal documents sitting on Graham’s desk, the frozen millions that belonged to my daughter, and the absolute freedom stretching out in front of us.
“We’re going to be more than okay, Lily,” I said, kissing her cheek. “We’re finally free.”
