Chapter 8 - The Fall of Rebecca Anderson
While the children played checkers in Room 412, a storm of a very different kind was breaking across the wealthy suburban enclave of Chestnut Hill.
In a twelve-million-dollar brick mansion surrounded by tall iron gates, Rebecca Anderson sat in her glass-walled living room, pouring her third glass of scotch.
The evening news was playing on the flat-screen television mounted above the marble fireplace.
"...In a shocking turn of events in the financial sector today," the news anchor announced, "Callaway Investments Chairman William Callaway returned to executive duties, squashing an attempted board takeover by senior partner Charles Blackwood. Sources confirm Blackwood has been taken into custody by federal agents on charges of wire fraud and corporate espionage..."
Rebecca slammed her glass down onto the glass coffee table, shattering the base. Amber liquid splashed across her white rug.
"Fool!" she spat into the empty room, her hands shaking violently as she picked up her phone to call her asset protection attorney. "Useless, greedy fool!"
Before the call could connect, the bright headlights of three vehicles flashed through her floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long, geometric shadows across her living room wall.
A heavy knock echoed through the front foyer.
Rebecca smoothed down her ivory wool suit, trying to regain her icy composure, and walked to the front door. She pulled it open, prepared to bark at whatever reporter had bypassed her front gate.
Standing on her porch were two investigators from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, flanked by two uniformed state troopers.
"Rebecca Anderson?" the lead investigator—a stern woman in a grey trench coat—asked, holding up an official badge and a rolled document.
"What is the meaning of this?" Rebecca demanded, her voice rising in pitch. "This is private property! Get off my lawn before I call the Commissioner!"
"We have a warrant for your arrest, Ms. Anderson," the investigator stated coldly.
Rebecca went rigid. "Arrest?! On what possible grounds?!"
"Grand larceny, conspiracy to commit corporate fraud, and child endangerment," the investigator read from the warrant. "Evidence provided by federal prosecutors indicates you accepted two million dollars in offshore payments from Charles Blackwood in exchange for executing a fraudulent power-of-attorney claim against your ex-husband during your daughter's medical crisis."
"That's a lie!" Rebecca screamed, taking a step back into the foyer. "William framed me! He's insane!"
"Save it for the magistrate, Ms. Anderson," the state trooper said, stepping forward with pair of steel handcuffs. "Hands behind your back."
As the cold steel locked around her manicured wrists, Rebecca looked out toward her long, snow-covered driveway.
She saw a black sedan parked near the gate. Inside sat Vance, William’s legal counsel, watching her arrest with a cold, unblinking expression.
May you like
He rolled down his window just enough to toss an envelope onto the snow, containing a final, non-negotiable legal notice: Termination of All Parental Rights & Complete Revocation of Marital Settlement Allowances.
Rebecca was led down her marble steps in handcuffs, her high heels slipping on the ice, her desperate screams echoing uselessly into the cold, empty suburban night.
