Chapter 6 - Unraveling the Trust
Caroline arrived at the farm two hours later, accompanied by two armed private investigators she had retained on retainer for our protection. Bradley came in from the barns, his boots dusty, his posture immediately rigid and defensive the moment he saw Bridget sitting at the kitchen table.
"She gave them the thumb drive, Bradley," I said gently, placing a hand on his forearm to calm the tension rolling off him. "She's not our enemy."
Bradley exhaled slowly, nodding once, though his eyes remained watchful. "Alright. But if you try anything to undermine Shelby or this baby, Bridget, I won't hesitate to throw you out myself."
"I know," Bridget said, looking down at her hands with genuine shame. "I spent too long looking the other way just so Mom would buy me nice clothes and tell me she loved me. I was a coward. I'm sorry."
Caroline pulled out a pair of white cotton archival gloves and opened Grandmother Evelyn’s journal. As she turned the yellowed pages, her expression shifted from calm professional focus to pure shock.
"Dear God," Caroline murmured.
"What is it?" I leaned forward, resting my hands against the edge of the mahogany table.
"Your grandmother wasn't just tracking Robert's embezzlement," Caroline said, pointing at a series of dates, banking routing numbers, and signed initials. "Robert wasn't acting alone. He was laundering money through local municipal construction contracts. And the man who approved the zoning exemptions and protected him from state audits is Judge Jonathan Vance."
The room went dead silent.
"Judge Vance?" Bradley said, his voice tightening. "He’s the presiding magistrate for Robert and Eleanor's preliminary bail hearing tomorrow morning."
Caroline slammed the book shut with a dull thud. "Robert isn't worried about the charges because he thinks his co-conspirator is going to grant him an unconditional bond and dismiss the search warrants. They’re planning to walk out of court tomorrow by noon."
"Not if we hand this to the federal prosecutor first," I said, a wave of cold resolve washing over me.
May you like
Caroline shook her head grimly. "The federal attorney general's office is closed for the holiday weekend until Tuesday. Tomorrow morning at nine, Vance has sole jurisdiction over their arraignment. If Vance grants Robert bail, Robert will liquidate whatever offshore accounts he has left and disappear before the feds can touch him."
"Then we don't go to the prosecutor," Bradley said, his jaw squaring like granite. "We take the fight straight into Vance's courtroom."
