Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 70

Evangeline’s PovThe story broke Monday morning at seven am and by seven fifteen my phone had sixty four missed calls and the news was on every channel and every website and every social media platform.HARROW HEIRESS UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR SOUTH SITE FRAUDI sat on the edge of the bed and read the headline three times and then I put my phone face down and got up and got dressed because falling apart was not an option.Nathaniel was already in the living room when I came out and he was on his phone and his expression was the blank controlled one he used when things were very bad."I will handle it," he said into the phone and then hung up and looked at me. "My publicist is on the way. We are holding a press conference at ten.""What are we saying?""That the investigation is politically motivated. That you have cooperated fully with federal investigators. That the charges are baseless and we are confident in the legal process.""All lies.""All necessary. Can you do it?""Yes

Evangeline’s PovThey came Wednesday morning at six fifteen while it was still dark and I was already awake because I had not slept properly in three days and I heard them in the hallway before the doorbell even rang.Too many footsteps.Too organized.I knew before I opened the door.I put on a robe over my pajamas and walked to the front door and opened it before they could knock again and Agent Martinez was standing there with four other agents and a piece of paper."Mrs. Harrow. I have a warrant for your arrest on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud."I took the warrant and read through it and kept my face completely still."I need to call my lawyer.""You can make that call at the field office.""I need to call my lawyer now before I go anywhere. That is my right."Martinez looked at the agent beside him and then back at me."You have five minutes."I called Catherine and she answered on the first ring like she had been waiting."They are here," I said."I know. I got a tip twe

Evangeline's PovProcessing took four hours and every minute of it I stayed completely still inside my head even though my body was being moved through a system designed to break you down into parts.Empty your pockets.Remove your jewelry.Strip.Squat and cough.Shower with industrial soap that smelled like chemicals.Put on the orange uniform that was too big in some places and too small in others.Stand for the photograph.Press your fingers into the ink.Answer questions about medical history and mental health and whether you had ever attempted suicide.No to all of them.I answered everything in a flat voice and kept my face blank and watched the intake officer write down my responses without looking at me like I was a person and more like I was a form she needed to complete."Any history of violence?" she asked."No.""Any gang affiliations?""No.""Any enemies in the prison system?""I do not know anyone in the prison system."She looked up at me for the first time."You are t

Nathaniel's PovI sat in my office and read the prosecution's preliminary brief for the third time and every time I read it the narrative got worse.They were not just building a case against Evangeline.They were building a story.And in that story Evangeline was the unstable wife who emotionally destabilized Daniel before his death.The wife who was obsessed with revenge.The wife who pushed her husband toward dangerous investigations that got him killed.The wife who benefited financially from his death even though she claimed not to care about money.It was a good story.It was complete nonsense but it was a good story.Marcus walked into my office without knocking and dropped another file on my desk."You need to see this," he said.I opened the file and started reading.It was a media analysis report from the last seventy two hours."Seventy percent negative coverage," Marcus said before I could ask. "The narrative is that Evangeline manipulated Daniel and when he tried to back

Evangeline's PovYard time was at two in the afternoon and I walked out with Sandra and we stood near the far wall where there was some shade and I watched the different groups spread out across the open space.Tasha was near the basketball court with her group and she looked over at me twice in the first five minutes and both times I looked back at her without looking away first.Sandra noticed."She is going to make a move soon," she said quietly."I know.""Do you have a plan?""Yes.""What kind of plan?""The kind that ends things quickly."Sandra did not say anything else and we stood there for another ten minutes and then Tasha broke away from her group and walked toward me with two of her friends behind her.I stayed where I was.Tasha stopped about two feet in front of me and crossed her arms."I need money on my commissary account," she said."Okay.""You are going to put it there.""No I am not."She stepped closer."That was not a question.""I know it was not a question. A