Chapter 7 - The UnravelingInside the county jail, the reality of their new existence was setting in with brutal force.
Eleanor sat on the edge of a steel-framed cot, staring blankly at the gray cinderblock wall. Her designer clothes had been replaced by coarse orange cotton; her jewelry had been confiscated and logged into a plastic property bag.
Paige was pacing the narrow cell like a trapped animal, her hands clenched into fists, her voice shrill with hysteria.
"This is all a mistake! It’s a nightmare!" Paige shrieked, slamming her palms against the iron bars. "Lucas is our son—our brother! He can't do this to us! He’s just bluffing to scare us!"
"Shut up, Paige!" Eleanor snapped, her voice cracking with suppressed fury. "Just shut your mouth! Your whining gave the prosecutor every excuse to lock us down!"
A heavy set of footsteps echoed down the corridor.
A guard in a dark uniform unlocked the heavy steel door and pulled it open. "Visits. Room Three."
"Who is it?" Eleanor asked, her eyes lighting up with sudden, desperate hope. "Is it our lawyer? Has bail been posted?"
"It’s not your lawyer," the guard replied flatly. "It’s Mason Ward."
A minute later, Eleanor and Paige were seated across a scarred metal table in the consultation booth, separated by a thick sheet of reinforced safety glass. Mason sat on the other side, looking entirely unbothered, sliding a single sheet of paper through the small slot at the bottom of the glass.
Eleanor snatched the paper up, her eyes scanning the bold black type.
"What is this?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"That," Mason said smoothly, folding his hands on the table, "is an official notice of asset forfeiture and permanent disownment. Effective immediately, all personal property remaining in your former residence—including your designer wardrobes, jewelry collections, and private bank accounts—has been seized by the estate trust to cover legal fees and restitution for the fraudulent loans."
Paige grabbed the paper from Eleanor's hands, her eyes bulging in disbelief. "You can't do that! Those are my clothes! That’s our money!"
"It was never your money, Paige," Mason replied coldly. "It was Arthur Sterling’s money, earned through decades of legitimate business. Your mother spent years embezzling from the estate accounts to fund your lifestyle. The bank has already initiated foreclosure proceedings on your personal vehicles and secondary investments."
Eleanor slammed her hands against the glass partition, her face twisting into an ugly mask of pure venom. "Lucas! Bring Lucas here right now! He cannot do this to his own mother! I raised him! I made him who he is!"
May you like
"No, Mrs. Sterling," Mason said, standing up and buttoning his jacket. "You tried to break his wife. And in return, Captain Sterling has authorized me to ensure you spend the next ten to fifteen years reflecting on your actions behind very thick, very cold walls."
He turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving the echoes of Paige’s terrified screams bouncing off the concrete walls.
