Chapter 13 - Arresting the Stepmother in Cuffs
Back at the county detention center, Elena sat in a sterile holding cell wearing a standard orange intake jumpsuit.
The heavy steel door rattled open, and a female guard announced a mandatory transfer to maximum security custody.
“Why am I being transferred? I haven't even had my arraignment yet!” Elena protested, standing up from the metal bench.
“Federal warrants superseded local charges due to interstate wire fraud and grand larceny tied to your husband's accounts,” the guard said.
Heavy steel handcuffs snapped around her wrists with a harsh, echoing metal click that made her flinch in terror.
She was led down long, fluorescent-lit concrete corridors past hardened criminals who stared at her with open hostility.
The reality of her ruined life finally crashed down upon her shoulders, crushing any remaining illusion of high-society immunity.
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Her family connections in Europe refused to take her calls, and her expensive defense lawyers had already resigned en masse.
She was completely alone, facing decades behind iron bars with no money, no allies, and no hope of escape.
