Chapter 6 - Vanessa’s Desperate GambleInside the cold, gray visitor’s room of the King County Jail, Vanessa Cole sat behind the thick plexiglass partition, her expensive silk dress replaced by a rumpled orange jumpsuit. Her long dark hair was messy, and her painted nails were chipped from clawing at the concrete walls of her cell.
Across from her sat her younger brother, Jason, looking pale and terrified.
"Jason, you have to help me!" Vanessa hissed, slamming her hands against the glass. "Dad’s accounts are completely frozen. The lawyers he hired for me just quit because our retainer check bounced! They are going to give me a public defender, Jason! A public defender!"
"Vanessa, the news is everywhere," Jason whispered, looking around the room nervously. "The local stations played the audio from the babysitter's tablet. Everyone heard Daniel's voice over the car speakers. The entire city knows you two planned the crash for the four-million-dollar insurance payout. Dad's partners are pulling out of the business, and the bank is foreclosing on the house."
"It was Daniel’s idea!" Vanessa shrieked, her face contorting into an ugly mask of desperation. "He told me Sarah was a quiet, stupid housewife who didn't understand finances! He said her father’s trust was worth fifteen million dollars, and if the kids were gone, she would be too depressed to fight him for the divorce settlement! He lied to me!"
"It doesn't matter whose idea it was, Sis," Jason said, his voice thick with pity. "The federal prosecutors are charging you under the RICO act because you used our company's software to execute the hit. You're looking at the death penalty."
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"No!" Vanessa screamed, lunging against the glass as two burly correctional officers stepped forward, grabbing her arms. "I’m a Cole! I don't belong in this place! Tell Sarah I’ll testify against Daniel! Tell her I’ll tell them everything he did! Just tell her to give me my life back!"
As Vanessa was dragged back toward the cell blocks, her hysterical screams echoing down the long concrete corridor, her brother stood up and walked away without looking back. Her arrogance had led her straight into a cage, and the door was locked tight from the outside.
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