Chapter 7 - Vanessa’s DownfallWhile Judith was busy trying to play the victim on television, Vanessa was facing a much more cold, harsh reality.
Her boutique, Vanessa’s Couture, was officially declared bankrupt by the state. The locks on the doors were replaced with heavy padlocks, and a bright yellow Seized by State Revenue sign was slapped across the glass.
I sat in my car across the street, watching the moving men load her racks of expensive designer clothes into the back of a plain white box truck. Vanessa stood on the sidewalk, clutching her designer handbag, crying hysterically as she argued with the federal agent supervising the liquidation.
"You can't take those!" she screamed, pointing to a box of luxury jewelry. "Those were gifts from my brother!"
"Gifts purchased with embezzled corporate funds, Miss Vance," the agent replied coldly, not even looking at her. "Everything in this store is being liquidated to repay the creditors. Step back."
Vanessa saw my car. She recognized the sleek black SUV immediately. She ran across the busy street, slamming her hands against my passenger window.
"You did this!" she shrieked, her face distorted with rage and tears. "You ruined my life, Julia! I have nothing! I have to move into a cheap studio apartment in the worst part of town!"
I slowly rolled down the window, just a crack.
"I didn't ruin your life, Vanessa," I said, my voice calm and steady. "Your greed did. You wanted to play the high-society businesswoman on my money while laughing at my broken bones. Now, you get to experience what it's like to actually work for a living."
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"I hate you!" she screamed.
"I don't think about you at all," I replied, rolling the window back up and putting the car in drive, leaving her screaming in the exhaust fumes as I drove away.
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