Chapter 8 - Cracks in the SchemeWhile my mother settled into her new home, the legal trap I had set for Derek and Lena tightened into an iron grip.
Unable to raise one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in twenty-four hours, Derek attempted to flee to Chicago using what little cash he had left.
However, my legal team had already submitted the forensic bank records and forged deed documents directly to the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office.
On Thursday morning, as Derek stepped out of a coffee shop near the bus station, two state troopers blocked his path.
They pulled his hands behind his back and snapped steel handcuffs around his wrists in full view of morning commuters.
He was charged with grand larceny, forgery, identity fraud, and illegal asset conversion totaling over two hundred thousand dollars.
Lena, stripped of her husband, facing eviction from the old house, and facing potential charges as an accessory, showed up at my new house in Grandview Heights on Friday afternoon.
She stood at the wrought-iron gate, wearing plain clothes, looking broken, exhausted, and completely defeated.
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I walked out to the gate, stopping inches away from her.
“Audrey...” Lena whimpered, tears streaming down her face. “Please... talk to the prosecutor. Tell them not to press charges against me... I didn't know Derek forged the full amount!”
