Chapter 6 - The Fall of Serena
Two days later, the storm hit Serena.
I was at the clinic finishing an equine ultrasound when Chloe ran into the exam room, holding her phone. "Doc Tori! Look at the Omaha local news!"
I wiped the gel from my hands and took the phone.
The screen displayed a live broadcast outside a high-end luxury clothing boutique in downtown Omaha. Two FBI agents in dark blue jackets were escorting Serena Richard out of the front doors in handcuffs.
Serena was sobbing hysterical tears, trying to hide her face from the flashing news cameras. Behind her, federal agents were carrying out boxes of evidence, clothes, and financial ledgers.
The news anchor’s voice echoed from the speaker: "...federal authorities have raided 'Serena’s Closet,' a high-end fashion boutique, following a sweeping indictment involving wire fraud, money laundering, and grand larceny exceeding one million dollars. Sources report that owner Serena Richard and former bank executive William Hawthorne are facing multiple federal charges..."
Ten minutes later, my phone rang.
It was the main desk at the County Jail.
"Mrs. Hawthorne," the officer said. "You have a collect call from inmate Serena Richard. Do you accept?"
I hesitated for three seconds. "I accept."
A harsh electronic beep sounded, followed by Serena’s frantic, ragged breathing.
"Tori! Tori, please!" Serena screamed into the receiver. "You have to help me! The FBI came to my shop! They put handcuffs on me! They’re saying I’m going to prison for ten years!"
I stood in the calm silence of my clinic, listening to the voice of the girl I had protected, funded, and loved like a daughter for fifteen years.
"Why, Serena?" I asked softly.
"Tori, Dennis told me it was legal!" Serena wept. "He said it was just tax restructuring! He said you didn't care about the money anyway because you were always at the clinic! He said you were boring, Tori! He said you were just a military grunter who didn't know how to live!"
"And what did he say about Meadow?" I asked, my voice dropping into a hollow, dangerous register. "When he threw her down the stairs? Did he say she was boring too?"
"I... I didn't mean for her to get hurt!" Serena sobbed. "I told Dennis to check on her! Tori, I’m your sister! You raised me! You can't let them put me in prison!"
"Serena," I said, feeling the final lingering threads of sisterly love snap cleanly inside my heart. "You stood in my kitchen in my silk robe, drinking whiskey while my daughter was lying in a hospital bed with broken ribs. You tried to bribe a nurse to lie to an injured child."
"Tori, please—"
"Do not call this number again," I said. "And do not look for me when you get out."
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I hung up the phone.
I walked out to the back paddock of my clinic, where the fresh prairie wind blew strong and clean off the fields. I took a deep, clear breath of the winter air. The rot was being excised, piece by piece, layer by layer.
