Chapter 5 - Behind Bars
The visiting room of the federal detention center smelled of cheap disinfectant and heavy steel doors.
Ethan Walker sat at the bolted metal table in a standard orange jumpsuit, his hair unwashed, his cheeks unshaven. The multi-millionaire real estate mogul looked ten years older, his arrogant posture completely broken.
The heavy door clicked open, and a guard escorted Vanessa into the room.
Vanessa looked almost as bad as Ethan. Her designer dress was replaced by an orange jumpsuit as well; her hair was pulled back into a messy elastic band without makeup to hide the deep circles under her eyes. She had been arrested two days prior for conspiracy to commit financial fraud after federal investigators found over five hundred thousand dollars in illicit wire transfers routed through her personal accounts.
When Vanessa saw Ethan sitting across the table, she rushed forward, slamming her hands onto the metal divider.
"Ethan! You have to do something!" she shrieked, tears streaming down her face. "My lawyer says I'm facing five years in federal prison! They seized my apartment, my car, my bank accounts—everything! Why didn't your legal team block this?!"
Ethan slowly raised his head, staring at her with eyes full of venom and bitter hatred.
"My legal team?" Ethan let out a harsh, dry laugh that sounded like glass breaking. "My legal team quit yesterday because I can't pay their retainer. My assets are frozen, my company was taken over by Olivia, and I am facing twenty years for federal wire fraud and tax evasion."
"Taken over by Olivia?!" Vanessa screamed, her voice echoing off the concrete walls so loudly that a guard stepped forward with a warning baton. "How is that possible?! She was just a nobody! She was supposed to go away quietly!"
"She wasn't a nobody, Vanessa," Ethan muttered, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper. "She was the only reason my business survived the 2020 crash. She was the one who designed our investment models while I was out playing golf and pretending to be a self-made genius. I built a house of cards, and we both sat right at the bottom of it."
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Vanessa collapsed into the plastic chair across from him, staring blankly at the floor. "We're ruined..."
"No," Ethan said, looking toward the heavy steel exit doors with cold despair. "Olivia won. And we are going to pay for every single lie."
