Chapter 6 - Society’s Cold Shoulder
While my parents scrambled to find a cheap motel that would accept their maxed-out debit cards, Madison was experiencing a catastrophic social meltdown of her own.
Without her parents' unlimited funds, her influencer lifestyle collapsed overnight. The luxury apartment lease her father had been paying for was terminated by the landlord due to unpaid rent. Her brand sponsorships—secured mostly through her family’s corporate connections—were abruptly canceled when companies caught wind of the federal fraud investigation.
Desperate to maintain appearances, Madison posted another tearful video on social media, claiming she was the victim of a malicious smear campaign by "jealous trolls."
It backfired spectacularly.
Within hours of her post going live, internet sleuths and investigative bloggers dug up court filings from Harrison Vance’s lawsuit. Public records exposed the exact details of the trust fund embezzlement—how my parents had stolen from their own children to fund Madison’s extravagant lifestyle, including the infamous $150,000 yacht.
The backlash was merciless.
Comments on her pages turned into a digital firing squad. Within forty-eight hours, Madison deleted her social media accounts entirely, retreating into the shadows of anonymity as the very society friends she had bragged to began blocking her number and ignoring her texts.
I watched the news unfold from my living room laptop while Jake sat beside me, scrolling through a catalog of commercial garage equipment.
“Do you think they’ll actually go to prison?” Jake asked, not looking up from his tablet.
“If Harrison’s evidence holds up—and it’s airtight—yes,” I replied honestly. “Federal fraud involving protected trusts and interstate wire transfers carries mandatory prison time. They crossed a line long before they ignored my phone call.”
Jake was quiet for a long moment. Then he looked up at me, a small, tentative smile touching the corners of his mouth.
“Em? Can we go somewhere tomorrow?”
“Where?”
“A pawnshop across town,” Jake said softly. “The guy who bought Grandpa’s tools... he hasn't resold them yet. I checked online.”
May you like
My heart skipped a beat. I reached out and ruffled his hair.
“Let’s go get our grandfather back,” I said.
