Chapter 8 - The Prodigal Sister ReturnsBy Sunday night, the fallout was complete.
Destitute, terrified, and stranded in London after her apartment lease was terminated, Claudia was forced to catch a budget commercial flight back to the United States. Her designer luggage had been impounded by the London hotel for unpaid bills, leaving her to arrive at O'Hare International Airport carrying a single plastic shopping bag.
She took a cab straight to Elena’s house, expecting a comforting refuge, a warm meal, and her mother’s protection.
Instead, she found county sheriff deputies standing in the driveway, slapping yellow foreclosure and asset seizure notices across the front door. The house, purchased with embezzled funds, was now government property.
Desperate and crying mascara tears down her face, Claudia pulled out her phone and dialed my number.
I picked up on the third ring, sitting comfortably on the plush leather sofa in Alexander Vale’s penthouse living room while Mateo played with a wooden rattle on the rug beside me.
“Maya! Please!” Claudia sobbed hysterically into the phone. “Mom is in jail! The house is locked! I have nowhere to go! Please tell me where Mateo is! You have to help me, we’re sisters!”
“Claudia,” I said, my voice calm and steady. “You abandoned your son in a kitchen full of bleach. You used an innocent baby as a cash machine to fund your luxury lifestyle in London. You are lucky I’m not the one pressing criminal charges.”
“I’ll give you anything! Just let me see my baby!”
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“You won't be seeing him ever again,” I replied quietly. “Good luck finding a room in London.”
I hung up the phone and blocked her number permanently.
